As AI proliferates, contact centers pursue workforce redesign over mass layoffs

Nearly 9 in 10 service and support leaders are having representatives take on new responsibilities and tasks, Gartner found.

By Kristen Doerer • May 5, 2026

Walmart is bringing beauty-focused store associates to hundreds of stores

The "Beauty Expert" position, which features specialized training, is expanding this year after a successful pilot.

By Dani James • May 4, 2026

Agents are overloaded. AI often makes it worse, experts say.

“There are no easy calls anymore,” Experience Investigators’ Jeannie Walters said.

By Michael Brady • May 4, 2026

T-Mobile boasts of ‘industry-leading’ NPS score

The company's  strategy to provide customers with the best network, value and experience is driving new and deepening customer relationships as well as outsized financial results, executives said.

By Kristen Doerer • April 30, 2026

Despite the hype, AI is not replacing the customer service workforce

The hype says “agentless” service is imminent, but data shows most teams are still staffing up while trying to make AI actually function in real workflows.

By Eric Keller • April 27, 2026

Home Depot adds AI phone agents. How could it affect customer support?

The home improvement retailer saw significant time savings in a 50-store pilot and plans to expand the system to all U.S. stores during the coming year.

By Bryan Wassel • April 22, 2026

Why Warby Parker’s CEO zeroes in on NPS

“It's probably the best measure of customer satisfaction, and if that starts to drop for any reason, we’re going really deep into that,” Neil Blumenthal said.

By Kristen Doerer • April 21, 2026

JetBlue CEO: ‘Humanity has become the new luxury’

“We’ve long said that competitors could match the leather seats, the TVs, the Wi-Fi,” CEO Joanna Geraghty said. “And indeed they have. But what they haven’t matched is our people.”

By Kristen Doerer • April 17, 2026

Authenticity builds trust. How can brands maintain it?

Customers are looking for brands that offer honest and truthful communication, keep their promises, and feel genuine and relatable, an Emplifi survey found.

By Bryan Wassel • April 17, 2026

Many agents plan to leave their current job, but fear of AI isn’t a big factor

Most representatives are on the lookout for positions offering hours that fit their needs and expect AI to make their jobs more complex or technical, Verint found.

By Bryan Wassel • April 14, 2026

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

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

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

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

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