CX Network

As we near the end of the working week, CX Network has top five essential reads to keep you ahead of the curve. This week, ahead of All Access: Future Contact Centers in July, our top reads have a strong theme: >>> Discover how six developments in tech, policies, and management are changing the contact center in 2026 >>> The forces changing WFM according to Bryce Ackerman, internal WFM consultant for Roche and an All Access speaker >>> And how to secure your contact center in the AI era, as explained by Assaf Keren, chief security officer for Qualtrics and former CISO for PayPal Rounding off your expertly curated reading list, we also have: >> The first of a three-part series from Natalie Calvert, who explains why the disappearance of the chief customer role is inadvertently creating a customer crisis >> Nathalie DeChellis on how CX can use agentic orchestration to escape the false choices holding it back >> And Joanna Clark-Simpson outlines the practical steps any company can take to improve CX. (Hint: it doesn’t involve a bigger marketing spend) Happy reading and happy Friday!

Customer listening – organizations either get it or they don’t. But those who refuse to engage are now faced with a new challenge: AI agents working on behalf of customers depend on online reviews to verify if a seller or product is worth their time. If the bad reviews build up, brands will be overlooked by the bots surfacing recommendations. At the same time, we’re seeing those in the know declare synthetic data as the big new capability changing VoC. But is it? This edition of the weekly looks at: >> The organizations that are driving change through their customer listening programs >> The excitement – and apprehension – around synthetic data >> And the growing importance of online reviews in an agentic economy Rose Morishita Straughn Amelia Brand Chloe Chappell Nick Henry David James John Kearns Sarah Lattouf Georgina Wilczek

🚨Kicking off next Tuesday! 🚨 The reality of modern CX is simple: your AI strategy is only as good as the data foundation underneath it. Without the right data readiness, even the most advanced AI tools can lead to fragmented customer journeys. That is why we are hosting All Access: AI + Data in CX next Tuesday, the 2nd-3rd of June! We are bringing together leading global brands and CX practitioners to explore how to successfully scale AI, master data governance and drive real ROI. A massive thank you to our incredible sponsors of Genesys (lead sponsor), Kustomer, NiCE, Five9 & Fullstory for partnering with us to bring these insights to the community Our agenda is jam packed over the two days (all times below in EST) 📅 Day 1 Tuesday the 2nd of June: 🔛 9:30am-10am - How Lidl is redesigning customer service at scale with agentic AI 🎤 Fabian Quast, Product Owner & Senior Consultant International, Lidl GB 🔛 10am-10:30am - The loyalty–efficiency trade-off that’s breaking CX — and how agentic orchestration can end it 🎤 Nathalie DeChellis, Senior Director Product Marketing, Genesys 🔛 10:30am-11am - Designing the AI-connected enterprise experience 🎤 Brian Mistretta, Product Marketing Director, NiCE 🎤 Karen Inbar, Industry Marketing Director, NiCE 🔛 11am-11:30am - Proving AI ROI: What CX teams get wrong (and right) 🎤 Caitlin Coen, Customer Marketing, Kustomer 🎤 Monika Aufdermauer, VP, User Success, KOHO 🔛 11:30am-12pm - Where is the AI vendor market going, and what will this mean for CXOs? 🎤 Bill Staikos, Managing Partner, Be Customer Led 🔛 12pm-12:30pm - How CVS Health uses agentic twins for deep customer insights 🎤 Sri Narasimhan, VP, Head of Enterprise Customer Experience & Insights, CVS Health 📅 Day 2 Wednesday the 3rd of June: 🔛 10am-10:30am - Powering customer-centric growth with AI and data 🎤 Patty Soltis, Senior CX Manager, Upwork 🎤 Ekaterina Mamonova, CCXP, Bain CCX, Global Head, Broker Proposition, Liberty Specialty Markets 🔛 10:30am-11am - How to use AI to build equitable CX - at population scale 🎤 Kapil Poreddy, Senior Software Engineering Manager, Walmart Global Tech Don't miss out on these actionable insights to level up your strategy for 2026. There's still time to register if you haven't already, use the link here and we look forward to seeing you! https://lnkd.in/eYTkXEbP

It's been a big week for CX news, which means we have a bumper edition of the Weekly Round-up for you this Friday Feast your eyes on this: >> How Qualtrics' multi-billion-dollar deal creates the "largest AI dataset for human experiential context ever assembled" >> ASOS launches new app through ChatGPT as AI-first customer journeys continue to reshape CX >> 10 trends changing CX in 2026, as confirmed by our research into the state of CX in 2026 >> Is synthetic data the future of customer listening? Some practitioners believe synthetic data is essential in a world that demands real-time insights, while others are apprehensive about accuracy. CX Network explores what’s happening >> Essential AI guardrails: How to do security testing, APIs, and logs Mrunal Gangrade explains the critical steps practitioners must take first >> And is AI taking CX jobs? Cornelia Gamlem SPHR and Barbara Mitchell look into what's happening and how to make the current squeeze a win-win for all parties Catch you next week David James Sarah Lattouf Nick Henry Rose Morishita Straughn Amelia Brand John Kearns Chloe Chappell

🚨 NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN: CX Network’s Top 50 CX Leaders to Follow in 2026! Who’s shaping the future of customer experience? We’re looking for the leaders, innovators, change-makers and big thinkers pushing CX forward - the people driving transformation, championing customer-centricity, sparking conversations and influencing the wider industry. Our annual flagship Top 50 CX Leaders to Follow list celebrates the voices the CX community should be watching, learning from and following in 2026. Know someone making a real impact in CX? (Maybe it’s you 👀) Now’s the time to nominate them. We want to hear about leaders delivering measurable impact, bold ideas and meaningful contributions to the future of customer experience. ⏰ But don’t wait - nominations close EOW. 📩 Submit your nomination here: https://lnkd.in/eBym2UVG

AI is raising the bar for customer experience, but many organisations are struggling to keep pace. Join ServiceNow and CX Network on 17 June 2026 for an APAC-focused webinar exploring how organisations can close the gap between customer expectations and CX delivery with AI-powered strategies. Unlocking AI-powered CX: Turning insight into exceptional customer experiences 📅 17 June 2026 ⏰ 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM SGT Drawing on insights from 34,000+ consumers, service reps, and executives across 17 countries, the session will cover: ✔️ Why customer expectations are outpacing CX delivery ✔️ The operational barriers holding service teams back ✔️ How organisations can use AI to create more connected, human-centred experiences Speakers include: 🎤 Cameron Adams, Senior Manager, CRM Solution Consulting 🎤 Elisha Harrington, APJ Innovation Officer 👉 Register now to learn how leading organisations are turning AI insight into measurable CX impact. https://lnkd.in/ekEN7Pvn #CustomerExperience #CX #AI #DigitalTransformation #ServiceNow #APAC

🚨 NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN: CX Network’s Top 50 CX Leaders to Follow in 2026! Who’s shaping the future of customer experience? We’re looking for the leaders, innovators, change-makers and big thinkers pushing CX forward - the people driving transformation, championing customer-centricity, sparking conversations and influencing the wider industry. Our annual flagship Top 50 CX Leaders to Follow list celebrates the voices the CX community should be watching, learning from and following in 2026. Know someone making a real impact in CX? (Maybe it’s you 👀) Now’s the time to nominate them. We want to hear about leaders delivering measurable impact, bold ideas and meaningful contributions to the future of customer experience. ⏰ But don’t wait - nominations close EOW. 📩 Submit your nomination here: https://lnkd.in/eBym2UVG

Tackling tech stack sprawl in CX 🚀 For years, CX leaders have been told to “rationalize the stack” to improve efficiency and customer experience. Many have consolidated tools and reduced vendors. But the expected CX gains often haven’t followed. Why? Because the real issue isn’t the number of tools—it’s fragmented customer context across them. As journeys expand across channels and AI becomes embedded in every function 🤖, disconnected systems struggle to act consistently on customer intent. Our latest report, Tackling tech stack sprawl in CX, explores how leading organisations are addressing this challenge without rip-and-replace approaches—through shared customer context and smarter integration. Featuring insights from smart Europe, ALDO Group, Be Customer Led, and CSG. Key insights: • Why consolidation alone doesn’t fix CX fragmentation • How shared customer context drives consistency across channels 🤝 • What CX stack maturity looks like in the age of AI 👉 Download the report to explore how to move toward true CX maturity in the AI era. https://lnkd.in/ekxvXm2D

The Friday round-up is here, packed with five essential reads to keep you ahead on the latest happenings in CX This week... >> If your loyalty benefits can't be read in real time, do they exist to an AI agent? James McIntyre (CCXP) explores the agentic commerce consideration loyalty leaders are be missing >> In a landscape of fakes, Trustpilot exec Allyse Slocum tells CX Network how organizations can leverage their online reviews to boost AI search visibility >> Are you being misled by containment rate claims from your contact center AI vendor? 💫Marie Angselius Schönbeck explains why high containment does not mean high satisfaction >>Big businesses have already squeezed out what classical CX can give. Now they must widen the lens to accommodate six under-acknowledged stakeholders. Nathalie Schooling explains >> And CX Network looks at five cutting-edge conversational AI use cases from fintech, fashion, and travel

On Tuesday, we held our 5th All Access webinar series of 2026, All Access: Redefining Contact Centers in the Age of AI. With over 850 registrants for this series, we held expert-led sessions combined with real-world case studies for our attendees to understand how modern contact centers can evolve from cost centers into strategic drivers of experience, loyalty and growth. A big thank you to our sponsors of ElevenLabs, SuccessKPI, REGAL & Five9 who made this series possible and are now benefiting from this partnership! And a big thank you to all our speakers below who held expert sessions and drove strong engagement, with over 20 different questions asked in our Q&A box throughout the day! 🎤 Harry Clapham, Directory, Operations Strategy & Enablement - Tangerine 🎤 Ebrahim Hyder, VP, Customer Care 🎤 Georgina Wilczek, Event Host - CX Network 🎤 Sasha Glatt, Growth - ElevenLabs 🎤 Mike Ahnemann, VP, Global Customer Success - SuccessKPI 🎤 David Sokolow, VP of Product - REGAL 🎤 Lex Sivakumar, VP of Growth - REGAL 🎤 Manav Kapoor, Sr Product Manager - Amazon If you're interested in getting part of our next series, whether through sponsoring with speaking roles or just participating at the event, the learning will continue at All Access: Future Contact Centers on July 21st and you can get in touch with us in the comments to learn more about the sponsorship availabilities we have. Register for All Access: Future Contact Centers using the link below, looking forward to seeing you then! https://lnkd.in/e5NF3sYA