Alexa Goes Desktop
Plus: Samsung scales “Galaxy AI” to 800M devices — and voice commerce gets more agentic
📅 January 6, 2026 | ⏱️ 4-min read
Good Morning!
The Executive Hook:
Here’s the thing about AI in CX. Most customers are not impressed by what model you picked or what you named it. They notice whether you remembered what they said, whether the issue got solved, and whether you wasted their time. That is why the most meaningful AI changes right now are not the flashy demos. They are the ones that reshape when customers expect help and where they expect it to show up.
🧠 THE DEEP DIVE: Amazon brings Alexa+ to the web and raises the self-service bar
The Big Picture: Amazon made its upgraded Alexa+ available through a browser, which turns it into something you can use across devices, not just something that lives on a speaker.
What’s happening:
Alexa+ now works through Alexa.com, so you do not need an Echo to use it.
This is a better fit for the moments when people want to type, scan options, and manage multi-step tasks like planning or lists.
Amazon is also tying it to an updated Alexa app, which signals they want the experience to feel consistent across web, mobile, and devices.
Why it matters:
For CX leaders, this is a reminder that customers do not think in channels. They think in outcomes. When an assistant lives in the browser, it starts to behave like a front door to service. People will try it before they look for a help center article, and definitely before they open a ticket.
The takeaway:
If your self-service still depends on customers clicking through a maze or repeating themselves every time they switch channels, the gap will show. Start tightening continuity. Let the customer carry one thread from device to device, and make sure your systems can keep up.
Source: TechCrunch
📊 CX BY THE NUMBERS: Customers are using AI — just not with you
Data Source: Qualtrics — 2026 Consumer Experience Trends Report (2026)
73% of customers say they are already using AI, but only 20% are interacting with customer support agents. A lot of AI activity is happening outside your official experience.
92% link satisfaction more to good service than good value for the money. Price matters, but service is still what customers remember.
86% will share more personal data if you are clear about how it is used. Transparency is doing real work now.
The Insight:
The hard part is not getting customers to use AI. The hard part is getting them to trust it and accept it inside your experience. The brands that do well in 2026 will not be the ones with the most AI features. They will be the ones that explain what the AI is doing, give customers control, and make it simple to reach a human when the moment calls for it.
🧰 THE AI TOOLBOX: Zendesk Advanced AI Agents — Reporting Dashboard
The Tool: If you’re running AI agents – Advanced in Zendesk, the Reporting dashboard is basically your “how’s the bot doing… really?” home base. It’s designed to give you a quick, organization-wide view of performance without living in spreadsheets.
What it does (in plain English):
Zendesk breaks the dashboard into three tabs, and each one answers a different CX question:
Overview: “How much is the bot handling, and are customers happy about it?” (volume, performance metrics, and BSAT, plus trends over time).
Contact reasons: “What topics are working… and which ones are causing trouble?” You can see performance by use case and by knowledge source (down to article-level impact).
Custom resolutions: “How did these conversations end?” (only for certain accounts). This includes resolution states like Resolved, Informed, Escalated, Unresolved, and Undefined (often drop-off or missing resolution state).
CX Use Case:
Spot the “confidence gap.” Watch metrics like Understood conversations, Handled conversations, and Escalated conversations. It’ll tell you where the bot is clear vs. where customers are hitting the “get me a human” wall.
Fix the real root cause of escalations. In Contact reasons, you can see escalation rate + BSAT by use case, and you can also see which knowledge articles are associated with escalations (or automated resolutions). That’s how you find the one weak article that’s quietly creating repeat contacts.
Trust:
This is the part I like: the dashboard doesn’t let you hide behind “deflection.” It brings BSAT into the conversation and helps you see outcomes, not just volume. If you want AI that builds loyalty instead of eroding it, this is where you keep yourself honest.
Source: Zendesk
⚡ SPEED ROUND: Quick Hits
Samsung plans to double AI-enabled mobile devices to 800M in 2026. More AI in more pockets means higher expectations for instant, personalized help — everywhere.
Zeta Global teams with OpenAI for “answer-driven marketing” (Athena). Marketing is shifting from campaigns to conversations — where the “best next message” is generated in the moment.
SoundHound unveils agentic voice commerce for vehicles and TVs. Voice isn’t coming back as “commands.” It’s coming back as “tasks,” with agents that can complete purchases and reservations end-to-end.
Source: SoundHound AI
📡 THE SIGNAL: Continuity is becoming the quiet advantage
Customers are carrying a simple expectation into every interaction: you should already know. They want you to remember what they tried, recognize the device they are on, and understand what they are trying to accomplish. AI can finally help deliver that, but it also makes the gaps more obvious when the experience falls apart across channels. The leadership move right now is not adding more AI features. It is designing the journey so context carries cleanly and humans can step in without forcing the customer to start over. That is how trust gets built.
See you tomorrow,
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📬 Feedback & Ideas
What’s the biggest AI friction point inside your CX organization right now? Reply in one sentence — I’ll pull real-world examples into future issues.
Continuity is one of those things people rarely praise, but always notice when it is missing. Seeing it framed as the quiet advantage feels exactly right.