E-commerce retailers plan hefty investments in agentic commerce, study finds

Top applications include Al-powered product discovery, Al chatbots and personalized recommendations.

By Kristen Doerer • March 16, 2026

Ulta sees AI as a personalization tool — and its loyalty program as the fuel

AI “will enable us to deliver relevance, inspiration and expertise seamlessly across the guest beauty journey,” CEO Kecia Steelman said.

By Bryan Wassel • March 13, 2026

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Top 5 stories from CX Dive

The top stories from CX Dive look at customer experience trends, generative AI use cases and the components of a good tech stack.

By CX Dive staff

Hilton launches generative AI agent to help customers plan trips

Users of the beta AI concierge can ask such questions as, “Where can I stay during peak cherry blossom season?”

By Kristen Doerer • March 10, 2026

The new CX mandate: Driving revenue, managing risk and scaling AI responsibly

Operationalize AI in CX: drive efficiency, control risk, scale with discipline.

By Ian Jones, Chief Marketing Officer, Qualfon • March 9, 2026

How agentic AI is shifting the digital shopping landscape

Agentic AI is throwing a wrench into the brand-customer relationship, as customers increasingly seek out third-party AI tools to research brands and services and shop.

By Kristen Doerer • March 6, 2026

Best Buy wants to be at the forefront of agentic AI discovery

“As agentic commerce matures, we want to serve our customers in new ways, both on and off of platforms,” CEO Corie Barry said.

By Bryan Wassel • March 4, 2026

What’s essential for AI shopping assistant success

The biggest risk isn’t falling behind on deployment — it’s deploying before the organization is ready, experts say.

By Michael Brady • Updated March 12, 2026

Gartner challenges assumption that AI will be cheaper than human support

AI is supposed to cut customer service costs, but Gartner predicts that by 2030, costs per resolution for generative AI will exceed $3 — more than many offshore agents.

By Kristen Doerer • March 2, 2026

Lowe’s CEO credits AI for ‘dramatic improvements in customer service’

The Mylow AI assistant is particularly helpful for new associates, providing them with product knowledge when they engage with customers, CEO Marvin Ellison said.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 25, 2026

When AI deployments struggle — and how to get them back on track

Most AI support deployments don’t fail because of the technology — but how they’re rolled out.

By Katrina Klein • Feb. 24, 2026

Booking slashes customer service costs with AI, CFO says

The company’s customer service costs are down by about 10%, despite an uptick in bookings, CFO Ewout Steenbergen said.

By Alexei Alexis • Feb. 24, 2026

AI isn’t replacing that many jobs — yet

Companies that laid off workers for AI didn’t do so because the technology was so successful, but to move resources to invest in the technology.

By Kristen Doerer • Feb. 24, 2026

Klarna pursues ‘Uber’ style customer service model

“If AI can do customer service, it means it’s going to be the cheap customer service,” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said. “We said the future of VIP experience will be the human connection, the relationship.”

By Kristen Doerer • Feb. 20, 2026

Walmart sees speed and convenience boosting trust in its AI agent

Half of Walmart app users have interacted with Sparky, Walmart's David Guggina said. The average order value for users of the AI agent is higher, too.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 20, 2026

Walmart furthers gains with higher-income shoppers

The retailer released a conservative outlook as lower-income households remain stretched, but it reported wins with customers using its AI assistant Sparky. 

By Dani James • Feb. 19, 2026

Williams-Sonoma to test ads in ChatGPT

The home retailer is partnering with OpenAI to reach customers at decision-making moments and enhance product discovery.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • Feb. 19, 2026

Uber debuts AI-powered personal shopper feature

Available on Uber Eats with grocers like Albertsons and Kroger, the feature can build full grocery baskets using simple text or image prompts.

By Peyton Bigora • Feb. 13, 2026

A guide to implementing AI in customer experience

From change management to adapting digital experience for AI assistants, brands must treat AI deployment holistically.

By Kristen Doerer • Feb. 12, 2026

Why brands need to optimize their mobile apps and websites for AI

Brands have built their digital experiences on Google’s search algorithm, but that needs to change as consumer behavior evolves, experts say.

By Michael Brady • Feb. 11, 2026

What Lowe’s has learned from the Mylow AI assistant

A year since launching Mylow, the retailer is improving how it uses AI to connect online and in-store experiences, fine tune personalization and instill trust.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 9, 2026

Albertsons unveils one-stop digital shop for party planning

The new platform, Celebrations, is equipped with the grocer’s new AI shopping assistant and gives customers access to a wide range of hosting and decorating necessities.

By Peyton Bigora • Feb. 9, 2026

Amazon CEO says retailers have upper hand in agentic AI shopping

Andy Jassy believes third-party agents are good at aggregation, but retailers still hold the advantage in customer trust and data.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 6, 2026

Fogo de Chão deploys AI phone system

The full-service chain has been leaning heavily on AI to manage various elements of its operations to enhance the guest experience.

By Julie Littman • Feb. 6, 2026

Google plans new checkout experience inside AI mode

Executives see agentic AI as a driver for growth and are working to improve the experience through its Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard for agentic commerce.

By Bryan Wassel • Feb. 5, 2026

With reliability restored, Sonos focuses on customer advocacy

Having spent the past year working to win back customer trust, the sound company is ready to build on that, rolling out new products and previewing its AI ambitions.

By Kristen Doerer • Feb. 5, 2026