How to celebrate Customer Experience Day

Customer Experience Day, on May 15, is a great excuse to focus on CX strategy. With so many new observances crowding the calendar, it’s easy to overlook them. But CX Day stands out, especially for this community, because CX isn’t just a service; it’s a powerful business differentiator.

Nextiva initiated this new holiday because May 15, 2025 is the seventeenth anniversary of its founding and an oppotunity to contemplate the future of CX, particularly how artificial intelligence-driven technology is "redefining how businesses engage, serve and build lasting relationships with their customers," according to a press release.

"AI is a powerful tool, but it doesn’t replace the human touch, it amplifies it. The companies seeing the greatest CX success aren’t moving away from people; they’re empowering them,” Tomas Gorny, co-founder and CEO of Nextiva told CX Network on the eve of the holiday. “As AI handles repetitive tasks and surfaces insights, humans become more essential, not less, bringing empathy, judgment and creativity to the moments that matter most. The future of customer experience is humans and machines working together in harmony.”

The significance of customer experience

CX Day is also a chance to recognize the outstanding work of those who dedicate themselves to buidling relationships, trust, loyalty and brand reputation. In fact, they are the ones who must lead the business into this new world of AI. Recently, readers reacted to a CX Network newsletter on LinkedIn about how poor digital CX results in loss of revenue and reputation. 

"AI isn’t a nice-to-have anymore... it’s the cornerstone of any serious CX strategy. From predictive support to hyper-personalized journeys, AI-driven customer experience isn't the future... it’s the survival plan," wrote reader and innovation expert Ryan Barnard-Marks in the comments. "The real question is though: who’s bold enough to turn AI adoption into their competitive edge...?"

CX tech: AI and automation with a human focus

In fact, CX must be part of an organization's DNA because without customers, an organization ceases to exist. AI is making it possible for brands to keep up with increasingly high expectations for fast, smart and effective customer support. Currently, organizations are turning to chatbots, predictive analytics, AI agents and more. At the moment, the majority of thought leaders, practitioners and even vendors are stressing the application of AI to enhance, rather than replace, humans. The key is to integrate the technology into the existing customer journey. 

Learn more:  The complete guide to generative AI for customer experience, A guide to measuring the ROI on AI-powered CX and The ethical AI guide for customer experience

Contact centers: The frontline of CX

Contact centers are the focal point of support the center of judgment, the place that shapes first and lasting impressions of a brand. In the age of AI, human contact center agents must balance speed, empathy and problem solving simultaneously. They must figure out when to leverage AI and when to show their humanity.  In the middle of this Great Transformation, omnichannel support, which allows companies to communicate and support customers seamlessly from one channel to another self-service options are in demand. 

Learn more: The contact center guide, The omnichannel guide and The customer service guide  

Workforce management: Empowering the people 

Most observers of business have recognized the connection between the employee experience and customer experience, particularly at contact centers. Forecasting and scheduling are vital to ensure enough staff are always on hand to respond to customers and expedite support. As AI and other advanced technologies demand new skills, training human agents is of great importance. Emotional well-being and employee engagement are paramount as companies ask humans to tap into soft skills and be more human in this tech-rich period. 

Learn more: All Access: Workforce Management for Contact Center 2025 and The CX Network guide to employee experience

Metrics that matter: Proving the value of CX

Nowadays, organizations can get their hands on more data than ever. AI and machine learning have made data analysis simpler by understanding, organizing and translating it for humans. Once upon a time, the customer satisfaction score (CSAT) was the main priority. Now, there are so much more, including net promoter score, customer effort score and real-time analytics, which is the immediate collection and analysis of data points as consumers are interacting with a company. This wealth of data allows brands to measure impact across the full customer journey and pinpoint issues, notice patterns and make predictions on what will happen next. Predictive analytics has changed the game by making it so that companies can be proactive, rather than reactive, to customer needs. To stay competitive CX leaders must think beyond dashboards and seek actionable insights. 

Learn more: The Net Promoter Score (NPS) guide, Guide to customer experience metrics and The 8 metrics that CX practitioners should track to measure success

Voice of the Customer (VoC): Listening to learn and lead 

VoC programs are essential to continuous improvement VoC programs are essential to continuous improvement because they provide a systematic way to gather, analyze and act on customer feedback. This is one of the basic ingredients to modern CX it is a result of gathering feedback through surveys, reviews and social listening. Nowadays, there are many more avenues for interacting with customers and getting their opinions and suggestions. This helps brands build trust and loyalty.  

Learn more: The CX Network guide to Voice of the Customer, 5 crucial steps for implementing a VoC program, and What is VoC?  

What's next in CX? 

CX is swiftly evolving to meet higher and higher customer expectations and adopt the technology necessary to adapt. AI is transforming how CX leaders approach their work. It enables them to provide customers more efficient and personalized support across the many channels they use to interact with a brand. CX Network recognizes the importance of staying on top of trends and remaining competitive in this unique era. As a result, it is sharing content and inviting CX leaders to join webinars that are most relevant and can help them gain an edge in the age of AI in CX. 

Register for free to join and network at: All Access: AI + Data in CX, All Access: Future Contact Centers, All Access: Omnichannel CX, All Access: Customer Insights and Data Analytics

Quick links: 

• The Global State of CX 2024
• The future of customer experience - A CX Network guide
• Join the CX Network community for free