CX vendors crown new AI champions
PLUS: AI readiness audits and 90-day implementation roadmaps
DCX AI TODAY
🗓️ July 11, 2025 ⏱️ Read Time: ~5 minutes
👋 Welcome
There's a quiet shift happening in how companies think about AI in customer experience. Past the headlines and pilot programs, we're starting to see what actually works when you move from experimenting to scaling.
📡 Signal in the Noise
This week brings concrete results from companies that moved beyond proof-of-concepts. Awards recognize real implementations, frameworks emerge for systematic adoption, and the tools are getting surprisingly practical.
🧠 Executive Lens
We're past the "will AI transform CX?" question. Now it's about understanding which approaches create lasting value versus which ones just create impressive demos. The difference matters more than most realize.
📰 Stories That Matter
🏆 CX vendors crown new AI champions
The CX Awards 2025 results reveal which platforms delivered real business impact versus impressive presentations. NLX won best conversational AI platform, Oracle took best CRM solution (their no-cost AI integration apparently impressed judges), and Zendesk swept both "Best Overall CX Solution" and "Most Innovative Product." What's interesting is how judges focused on actual customer success stories rather than flashy feature lists.
Why This Matters: These results show where the industry thinks proven value lies, not just where the marketing budgets went.
Try This: Check how your current vendors performed—their award presence (or absence) might tell you something about betting on proven versus bleeding-edge solutions.
Source: CX Today
📈 Real-world AI customer service results reveal what actually works
New data from Microsoft's customer implementations shows concrete results from AI customer service deployments. Fluid AI helped banks achieve 90% autonomous query handling while increasing customer satisfaction by 30%. Groupama's virtual assistant reaches 80% success rates, and a digital bank automated 75% of incoming queries. The data contrasts sharply with generic promises—these are specific, measurable outcomes from companies that moved past pilot programs to full deployment.
Why This Matters: After years of AI hype, real performance data shows which approaches deliver measurable customer experience improvements versus theoretical benefits.
Try This: When evaluating AI vendors, demand specific success metrics from similar implementations rather than accepting generic capability claims.
Source: Microsoft
🎯 Harvard study reveals untapped potential in conversational AI engagement
Harvard Business Review published research showing most companies are using conversational AI like expensive FAQ systems instead of actual conversation tools. The study, backed by Infobip, found that organizations succeeding with conversational AI focus on creating genuine dialogue experiences that adapt and learn, rather than following rigid scripts. It's a reminder that having the technology doesn't automatically mean you're using it well.
Why This Matters: The gap between AI capability and actual implementation effectiveness is bigger than most organizations realize.
Try This: Review your chatbot conversations from last week—how many were actual dialogues versus glorified menu systems?
Source: Harvard Business Review
📊 Gartner survey reveals the reality behind customer service AI adoption
Gartner's latest survey shows 85% of customer service leaders plan to explore conversational AI in 2025, but the details tell a more complex story. While 75% feel executive pressure to implement GenAI, 61% admit they have backlogs of articles to edit and over a third lack formal processes for updating knowledge bases. The customer service function is shifting from people-focused to technology-focused, with these leaders now identifying AI opportunities more than IT departments.
Why This Matters: The enthusiasm for AI is real, but so are the operational challenges that could determine success or failure.
Try This: Before implementing conversational AI, audit your knowledge management—do you have clean, current information for AI to work with?
Source: Gartner
🛠️ New analysis reveals which AI customer support tools actually deliver results
Kommunicate published a comprehensive analysis of the top AI tools for customer support teams, examining everything from chatbots to CRM platforms. The review highlights how tools like Tidio's Lyro resolve up to 70% of inquiries without human intervention, while platforms like Intercom and Help Scout focus on enhancing rather than replacing human agents. What's notable is the emphasis on practical implementation challenges—many advanced features require expensive enterprise plans, and setup complexity varies dramatically between vendors.
Why This Matters: With so many AI customer support tools available, understanding which ones deliver measurable results versus marketing promises is crucial for budget allocation.
Try This: Use their evaluation framework to assess your current tools—are you paying for features you actually use, or could simpler solutions deliver better ROI?
Source: Kommunicate
✍️ Prompt of the Day
AI Readiness Audit for CX Leaders
Analyze our current customer experience technology stack and identify gaps for AI integration. For each customer touchpoint, evaluate: current automation level, customer satisfaction impact, potential for AI enhancement, implementation complexity, and expected ROI timeframe. Provide specific recommendations prioritized by business impact and technical feasibility.
Focus on: [describe your main customer interaction channels]
Current tools: [list your CX tech stack]
Key pain points: [describe top 3 customer experience challenges]
What this uncovers: Hidden opportunities where AI can deliver immediate customer experience improvements
How to apply it: Creates a strategic roadmap for AI adoption that aligns with actual business priorities
Where to test: Use this framework in your next CX strategy planning session
🛠️ Try This Prompt
Acting as a customer experience strategist, create a 90-day action plan for implementing AI-powered customer insights at our organization. Include specific milestones, required resources, potential obstacles, success metrics, and quick wins we can achieve in the first 30 days. Structure this as a presentation-ready executive summary with clear next steps and budget requirements.
Our context: [insert your company size, industry, current CX challenges]
Available budget: [your investment range]
Team capacity: [current CX team structure]
• Immediate use case: Transforms AI strategy discussions into actionable implementation plans
• Tactical benefit: Provides concrete timelines and resource requirements for realistic planning
• How to incorporate quickly: Use this framework to pitch AI initiatives to senior leadership with confidence
📎 CX Note to Self
"The winners aren't the companies with the most advanced AI—they're the ones who know exactly where NOT to use it."
👋 See You Monday
That's it for today. Hit reply with your thoughts. 👋
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Have an AI‑mazing day!
—Mark
💡 P.S. Want more prompts? Grab the FREE 32 Power Prompts That Will Change Your CX Strategy – Forever to start transforming your team, now.