Customer Service


  • Two people sit on a stage for a fireside chat at a conference.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Reuters Events
    Image attribution tooltip

    In an AI world, Nordstrom is leaning into human care

    AI has a role to play, but when customers "really want the face-to-face, eye-to-eye, voice-to-voice connection,” the retailer is there to meet the need, Nordstrom’s Heather Bissell said.

    By Nov. 5, 2025
  • The logo of a Marriott hotel
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Marriott will lay off portion of customer engagement center workforce

    The company confirmed that organizational changes are being implemented “to better reflect how our guests interact with us across channels.”

    By Jenna Graber • Nov. 4, 2025
  • A person assists a family in getting a product behind glass casing at a store. Explore the Trendline
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Trendline

    Customer service

    In this Trendline, CX Dive explores how customer service is evolving to fit the needs of the modern businesses and demands of today’s customers.

    By CX Dive staff
  • A woman sits at a desk in a dark room with a phone in her hand, looking unsettled. The shadow of a tree is projected on the wall behind her.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    3 of the spookiest customer experiences

    CX Dive spoke to three experts about the spookiest customer experiences, what they do to customers, and how they can cost companies. 

    By , Oct. 30, 2025
  • Close up of Wayfair storefront.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Scott Olson via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Wayfair invests in AI to power its customer experience push

    The retailer is using the technology in its product image carousels, search engine and contact center operations.

    By Oct. 28, 2025
  • A Williams-Sonoma store with a customer walking by.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle / Staff via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Williams-Sonoma deploys AI agents across its brand portfolio to offer 24/7 support

    The retailer expects the agents to be able to handle more than 60% of chat inquiries, increasing efficiency and reducing service costs.

    By Oct. 15, 2025
  • Contact center agents work in a row at call center.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Consumers see live human customer service as key to loyalty

    Nearly three in five consumers say help from real people helps create trust, according to a Ricoh survey.

    By Oct. 10, 2025
  • The inside of a Madison Reed color bar.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Madison Reed
    Image attribution tooltip

    How Madison Reed rolled out agentic AI to support, not replace, people

    The hair care company has focused on automating high-volume, low-friction tasks like membership management to free up stylists for more important work.

    By Oct. 8, 2025
  • A promotional image of one of Starbucks' AmazonGo Locations
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Starbucks
    Image attribution tooltip

    Why mobile-order and pickup-only restaurants fail

    Starbucks learned the hard way that customers care more about experience than efficiency. 

    By Michael Brady • Oct. 7, 2025
  • A close up of a man's hand holding a phone displaying a conversation with a chatbot.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    CX quality is improving, no thanks to AI customer support

    Half of consumers are concerned that AI will impede their ability to connect to a human, according to Qualtrics XM Institute.

    By Oct. 7, 2025
  • A person calls customer service on their cell phone
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Consumers grow frustrated with unclear digital self service

    Most consumers say they have abandoned a digital task because it was too annoying, Liferay found.

    By Oct. 6, 2025
  • A car sits underneath Taco Bell's new drive-thru camera stations, which are decorated in neon signage
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Taco Bell Corp.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Chick-fil-A wins on order accuracy, experience at the drive-thru

    Speed of service improved slightly at quick-service restaurants, but mobile orders, app payments and customizations have created more complex transactions, Intouch Insight’s report revealed.

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Oct. 3, 2025
  • A person types on a phone, interacting with a chatbot
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    AI chatbots consistently fall short on complex tasks

    Companies should let bots handle simple issues and escalate complex requests to AI-supported human agents to boost outcomes, loyalty and efficiency, according to Bain & Co.

    By Michael Brady • Oct. 3, 2025
  • A customer service agent works at her computer.
    Image attribution tooltip
    sturti via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Winning consumers back after a poor experience takes action, not words

    Business leaders and customers agree that resolution should be fast, but leaders place greater value in apologies, according to a survey released by Sprinklr.

    By Oct. 2, 2025
  • A woman makes a phone call while sitting at a table and gesturing
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Good AI customer service is about not getting caught up in the details

    Chatbot responses should be “relevant, accurate, and not over or under informative” throughout the entire experience, according to PolyAI’s Oliver Shoulson.

    By Updated Oct. 3, 2025
  • An exterior shot of a Red Lobster restaurant from downhill, in the foreground, lush shrubbery separates the restaurant from the camera.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Red Lobster
    Image attribution tooltip

    Red Lobster deploys AI bots to answer phones

    SoundHound’s voice automation technology is expected to free up workers and improve front-of-house service.

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Sept. 24, 2025
  • Picture of a man and a woman working at two computer stations in an office with headsets on.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    A bipartisan bill wants to keep call centers in the US. Here’s how leaders can prepare.

    The legislation's future is unclear, but experts say contact centers should plan ahead and reduce call volumes, improve service and examine costs.

    By Sept. 15, 2025
  • Call center workers in an office.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Gartner predicts Fortune 500 companies won’t eliminate human agents anytime soon

    “At the end of the day do we think there will be fewer agents? Yes. But a fully agentless future is not going to happen,” Gartner’s Kathy Ross said.

    By Sept. 12, 2025
  • Co-founders stand next to each other at a press conference outside
    Image attribution tooltip
    Brook Mitchell via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Atlassian lays off another 200 customer service, support staff

    The company came to the decision after its customer experience improvements to platform and tools reduced support needs, a spokesperson told CX Dive.

    By Sept. 10, 2025
  • The outside of an Office Depot store.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle / Staff via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Office Depot promises 15-minute pickup service

    The retailer says it will fulfill online and mobile orders for in-store and curbside pickup within 15 minutes, or it’ll send customers a $15 coupon.

    By Sept. 8, 2025
  • Entrance to a modern glass building with a large blue cloud-shaped sign that reads “salesforce.” The text “Welcome to Salesforce Tower” is displayed on the wall below the sign.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Alamy
    Image attribution tooltip

    Salesforce still sees a place for live customer service agents after massive cuts

    The company slashed about 4,000 customer service agents as its use of AI picked up, but CEO Marc Benioff still expects people and AI to work together.

    By Sept. 4, 2025
  • A woman chooses the goods online at the self-service device
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    CX leaders expect self-service and live chat to overtake phone, email by 2027

    Customer experience executives, however, are skeptical that AI agents will significantly expand and improve self-service, according to a Gartner survey.

    By Michael Brady • Sept. 3, 2025
  • A woman shows an older woman something on a smartphone.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Generational preferences are shaping attitudes toward customer service

    All consumers demand accuracy, while younger consumers stand out with an affinity for self-service and AI, a Decagon survey found.

    By Aug. 27, 2025
  • Corporate business team on meeting in the office.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Customer surveys alone are insufficient for understanding CX, study finds

    Conversational intelligence can fill the gaps in insight left by surveys, and merging both strategies can help leaders craft better experiences, experts say.

    By Aug. 25, 2025
  • Pedestrians pass by a Bank of America branch.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    How Bank of America’s Erica raised the stakes for virtual assistants

    “A big area of focus for us was: How can we find that balance between the AI support and the human support that Bank of America is known for?” said Jorge Camargo, head of digital platforms.

    By Aug. 25, 2025
  • Zoom's Eric Yuan
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kena Betancur via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Zoom stakes the future of its contact center business in AI

    The vendor’s ability to support agents with AI, as well as offer agentic AI that can handle calls on its own, are each driving adoption, executives said.

    By Aug. 22, 2025