Ulta Beauty eyes AI agents amid growth plans

The company is working on the tech foundation to enable adoption, which it hopes will lead to improved employee and customer experiences. 

By Lindsey Wilkinson • July 28, 2025

Why more CX leaders are looking to Africa for contact center agents

Perhaps most attractive is the continent’s untapped labor market, which largely comprises young people with an affinity for technology. 

By S.L. Fuller • Updated July 30, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

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

Guitar Center brings AI assistant to the store floor

The Rig Advisor tool compares gear in real-time and provides live inventory updates.

By Xanayra Marin-Lopez • July 25, 2025

AI shopping assistants have a trust problem

Skepticism about the tech is a major barrier to its adoption, as it ranks among the least trusted sources for shopping information, according to a new report.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • July 24, 2025

How AI is changing expectations for customer support on social media

Only one-quarter of consumers say they prefer AI-powered support, but 71% are somewhat or very satisfied with AI support experiences, according to an Emplifi survey.

By Kristen Doerer • July 23, 2025

AI to bring ‘massive disruption’ to contact center workforces, Forrester says

The analyst firm expects virtual assistants to handle more complex customer inquiries. As a result, humans will provide more back-office support. 

By Michael Brady • July 22, 2025

How generative AI is reshaping the CX practice

From customer service chatbot to product discovery enabler, here are some of the roles generative AI has been playing this year.

By Bryan Wassel • July 22, 2025

3 trends shaping the future of customer service

“AI and rapidly changing customer expectations are driving the evolution of the customer service function,” Gartner’s Brad Fager said.

By Michael Brady • July 17, 2025

AI is wreaking havoc on mobile user experience, report finds

Error clicks on mobile skyrocketed 667% year-over-year, frustrating consumers along the way, according to a report by behavioral data company Fullstory.

By Michael Brady • July 16, 2025

C-suite leaders have a vision for where generative AI fits in CX

More than half of C-suite respondents said that generative AI in customer service and customer experience would be extremely important, per a Publicis Sapient survey.

By Kristen Doerer • July 7, 2025

Will AI ‘completely rewire’ loyalty programs?

Companies have been able to segment customer data for years, but AI takes it a step further, enabling brands to target offers to specific individuals through their rewards programs.

By Michael Brady • June 30, 2025

Customers value 24/7 self-service less than you think

The perception gap around AI-powered self-service may have more to do with poor execution than “a lack of interest,” Five9 research found.

By Michael Brady • June 26, 2025

Trust in AI is growing in finance, especially behind the scenes

The more complex or sensitive the task, the more consumers want to speak to a human or know that a human is in the loop when using AI, a TD Bank survey found.

By Kristen Doerer • June 20, 2025

Amazon CEO: AI agents will shrink staff but improve CX

Generative AI’s ability to remove rote work could help the retailer focus on the user experience, but will reduce the number of people required for today’s jobs, along the way.

By Bryan Wassel • June 18, 2025

Cigna launches new generative AI assistant for members

The health insurer is trying to improve the customer experience by connecting them with an AI bot, but analyses show generative AI can make mistakes. 

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 17, 2025

Consumers turn to AI for faster, natural language product searches

Help finding products quickly was one of the top three responses from shoppers when asked what they expect from AI assistants, according to a Bloomreach survey.

By Bryan Wassel • June 17, 2025

Want to prepare for generative AI? Get your knowledge base up to par

The future is uncertain, but investing in how information is presented to customers and web crawlers will give leaders a head start.

By Bryan Wassel • June 16, 2025

4 steps for leading CX AI adoption and upskilling

Four actionable steps for leading AI adoption and upskilling in your business.

By Siobhán Corley-Richards/Zoom • June 16, 2025

Starbucks deploys virtual assistant to improve workflows

Green Dot Assist will help staff look up various ingredients for drinks, troubleshoot equipment and help managers staff last-minute callouts.

By Julie Littman • June 12, 2025

Walmart debuts Sparky, its generative AI assistant for customers

Joining Wally, an AI assistant for merchants, Sparky will summarize reviews for customers and help shoppers plan purchases.

By Xanayra Marin-Lopez • June 11, 2025

Generative AI enters ‘recommendation era’ as search falls to the wayside

“It used to be you could search for a brand or a product, or you could search for a price," Accenture's Jill Standish said. "But could you ask for advice?”

By Bryan Wassel • June 9, 2025

Business leaders expect agentic AI to take over customer service

The enthusiasm toward agentic AI in business circles is more muted for customers. Three-quarters of consumers believe customer service is now too impersonal.

By Kristen Doerer • May 30, 2025

Intuit leans into AI to improve taxpayer experience, boost revenue

The company’s AI agents and AI-aided human experts are reducing the time customers spend on returns, CEO Sasan Goodarzi said.

By Kristen Doerer • May 28, 2025

Lowe’s looks to pro loyalty program to drive higher spend

The retailer’s investments in AI advisers and loyalty programs are part of its efforts to accelerate sales growth among pro customers and digital.

By Kristen Doerer • May 22, 2025

Klarna credits AI for slashing customer service costs

Though the buy now, pay later firm will once again hire customer service agents, it sees its AI chatbot as a success that has cut costs.

By Kristen Doerer • May 21, 2025