Expert CX Insights

Trying to provide exceptional customer experiences without high-quality data to back it up is like trying to drive with your eyes closed. Effectively leveraging customer and product data can help CX leaders create friction-free customer journeys and design customer-centric products and services.

In this interview, smart Europe GmbH’s Head of Customer Engagement Solutions, Aymen Ismail, shares his vision of how CX leaders can supercharge customer experiences with data insights.

Read on to discover:

• A three-step reality check every CX leader should do before implementing AI
• How combining customer 360° and product 360° views can help CX leaders drive loyalty, efficiency and growth
• Why eliminating silos is key to unlocking powerful data insights

In this 2025 edition of The PXO’s Handbook, Crystal Broj, Chief Digital Transformation Officer at the Medical University of South Carolina, reflects on the evolving role of patient experience in a rapidly digitising healthcare landscape. From overcoming legacy barriers to integrating technology with empathy, she offers practical insights for PXOs navigating the demands of modern care delivery.

Explore the key trends and challenges shaping customer behaviours for 2026 and beyond.

How do these factors impact the decisions you make as a Customer Service/Customer Experience leader in Retail?

Brought to you in association with GENESYS and the CX Network, this insightful report is well worth a quick read by any industry leader who champions CX.

Unlock the future of customer experience with this in‑depth 2026 CX trends report, created in partnership with Tata Communications. Designed for forward‑thinking CX leaders in banking, insurance, wealth management, and fintech, this research explores how AI‑first journeys, voice AI, agentic AI, and autonomous AI workers are reshaping customer expectations and operational models across financial services.

Drawing on insights from global CX practitioners, the report reveals how AI‑driven discoverability, hyper‑personalization, and autonomous orchestration are redefining what great service looks like in a high‑trust, high‑regulation environment. Another highlights that "customers are becoming more selective, less loyal, and harder to win" - a reality financial institutions must urgently address.

This report helps financial services organizations:

• Build AI‑first customer journeys that reduce friction and increase trust
• Deploy voice AI responsibly while balancing personalization and privacy
• Leverage AI agents and digital workers to scale service without scaling headcount
• Use unified data to deliver seamless, compliant, real‑time experiences
• Strengthen customer loyalty in an era of cognitive overload and fragile trust

Packed with case studies, strategic frameworks, and practical guidance, this report is essential reading for financial services leaders looking to modernize CX, improve operational efficiency, and future‑proof their customer engagement strategy.

If loyalty points no longer inspire customers, where do brands turn next?

Developed alongside the CX Network, this compact yet powerful report breaks down the major loyalty shifts taking shape across fashion, ecommerce, and grocery retail in 2026.

• Created specifically for Senior CX Leaders, it features first hand insights from leading global brands. The report explores why customer loyalty is becoming increasingly unstable - and highlights the innovative approaches top organisations are using to strengthen it. Within the report, industry voices reveal the new playbook that's redefining loyalty today, including:
• The erosion of points‑based loyalty models and how forward‑thinking brands are replacing them with experiences built on exclusivity, community, and shared values.
• The rise of emotional loyalty over transactional benefits, and what it takes to forge true connection in an oversaturated, price‑driven ecosystem.
• Proven loyalty‑building tactics from luxury and lifestyle brands, demonstrating how deeper belonging can be cultivated to drive higher repeat engagement.
• The coming disruption from AI search and conversational journeys, which will once again shift how customers form trust.

Efficiency has become the baseline. As Al reshapes discovery, customer data becomes harder to earn and frictionless experiences become the norm, brands will need to create value in new ways. Three shifts are changing how customers discover, engage with and stay loyal to brands.