Economic challenges influence customer satisfaction with banks

Satisfaction dipped in the second half of the year, a warning sign that ‘the wind is not at banks’ back,” JD Power’s Jennifer White said.

By Kristen Doerer • April 8, 2026

Companies can’t offset rising customer service tech costs with staff cuts, Gartner finds

Automation can’t replace human agents without the risk of operational disruption and a worse customer experience, the firm says.

By Bryan Wassel • April 6, 2026

Explore the Trendline➔

Contact Center

In this Trendline, CX Dive explores contact center technologies and strategies to improve customer experience.

By CX Dive staff

CX quality marginally improved globally last year, KPMG finds

Across all sectors, healthcare, retail, grocery and banking provided the best experiences, the advisory firm found.

By Kristen Doerer • April 6, 2026

Self-service is a start, but phone remains the top support channel

Problems with self service, including AI chatbots that fail to understand queries and a lack of empathy, mean live agents remain essential, ServiceNow found.

By Bryan Wassel • April 3, 2026

Human-driven service expected to be a luxury in 10 years, survey finds

More than two-thirds of consumers believe that AI- or machine-driven service will provide basic services, with people at the heart of premium experiences, according to Medallia.

By Michael Brady • April 3, 2026

Starbucks adds performance bonuses, aligning worker incentives with CX goals

Baristas and shift supervisors at stores that hit sales, operational and customer satisfaction targets could see $300 quarterly bonuses starting in July.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 2, 2026

Consumers want associates to handle follow-up communication

Shoppers want personalized communication, but they want it to come directly from staff, which can in turn drive sales, an Endear study found.

By Bryan Wassel • March 31, 2026

Field service turns to AI to give technicians more time with customers

AAA Roadside Assistance sped up its response time to customers by 5 minutes after deploying Salesforce’s field service management software.

By Michael Brady • March 30, 2026

Chewy’s customer care AI tools reduce handle times, lower costs

CEO Sumit Singh said AI tools “improve on the ability for us to self-serve customers that then drives reduced contact rates, which then directly leads to lowering of costs.”

By Kristen Doerer • March 27, 2026

Booking.com points to human support as its ‘differentiator’

The online travel agency is using AI to route customers to the best channel on first contact and to contextualize customers’ inquiries for service representatives.

By Kristen Doerer • March 27, 2026

Agentic AI is finally starting to pay off for customer support

Nearly two-thirds of service leaders reported higher agent productivity, with 39% reporting lower cost per contact, according to Deloitte Digital.

By Michael Brady • March 27, 2026

Consumers prefer talking to people in customer service

Two-thirds of consumers are not confident with how companies use generative AI to interact with customers, a Pegasystems survey found.  

By Bryan Wassel • March 9, 2026

FCC tackles call center offshoring with proposed rules

The proposed rule would require affected companies to disclose a customer service agent’s location and limit call volume from overseas contact centers, among other changes.

By Bryan Wassel • March 6, 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

The No.1 barrier to exceptional service, according to employees? Staffing.

Staffing concerns have increased at the same time that employers are reducing headcount and asking employees take on more work, Gallup found.

By Kristen Doerer • Updated Feb. 27, 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

The customer experience outlook for 2026

Inflation and economic uncertainty are leading companies to court wealthy customers with premium experiences, while AI could upend digital customer journeys.

By Bryan Wassel , Kristen Doerer • Jan. 29, 2026

AI fatigue is real: 4 ways leaders can cut through the noise to improve CX

Feeling AI fatigue? Learn four ways to cut internal noise and help your team deliver customer-facing AI experiences people trust.

By Katie Costanzo, President, CX, CSG • Jan. 26, 2026

Personal bios for customer service agents can boost satisfaction

When customers see a real person's face and bio rather than a corporate logo, they perceive agents as friendlier and better able to solve their problems, according to academic researchers.

By Michael Brady • Jan. 23, 2026

The customer experience reset after the AI rush

AI promises speed, but 600+ consumers report more loops, frustration and declining trust.

Jan. 20, 2026

Walmart: This year, AI tinkering ‘becomes transformation’

A year from now, customers will look back and realize just how much has changed about the shopping experience, Walmart’s Daniel Danker predicts.

By Cara Salpini • Jan. 16, 2026

How True Classic takes a proactive approach to the last mile

Customers should feel cared for after they make a purchase, not like they need to go looking for answers, according to True Classic’s Jordan Gesky.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 13, 2026

California law gives food delivery customers right to talk to a human

The legislation puts guardrails around how food delivery companies handle service issues and to what extent it can rely on automation.

By Kristen Doerer • Jan. 9, 2026

Consumers want price monitoring, 24/7 support from AI agents, survey finds

Customers are embracing AI for product discovery and customer service, but trust remains a barrier to wider adoption, IBM Institute for Business Value and National Retail Federation found.

By Bryan Wassel • Jan. 9, 2026

6 customer experience trends to watch in 2026

In the year ahead, CX leaders will face persistent challenges, from economic anxiety to AI transforming support.

By Kristen Doerer , Bryan Wassel • Jan. 6, 2026