DCX Links | March 23, 2025
The Leadership Edge: When to Follow the Trend and When to Break It
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Welcome to the DCX roundup of customer experience insights!
AI? Everyone’s adding it.
Chat interfaces? Feels like a must.
Scaling automation? The more, the better—right?
Not so fast.
The best companies don’t just chase trends; they lead by making intentional choices about where technology helps and where the human touch still wins.
This week, we’re looking at companies that are getting it right—those using AI to enhance rather than replace, those structuring their customer journeys with strategy instead of shortcuts, and the leaders who know that making tough calls is part of the job.
Because in the end, great CX isn’t about following what everyone else is doing—it’s about knowing when to double down, when to pull back, and when to rewrite the playbook entirely.
Happy reading—and stay curious, DCXers!
-Mark
This week’s must-read links:
How OluKai Keeps It Real with AI-Powered Customer Service
Chat Interfaces Are Everywhere—But Do They Actually Help?
AI Professor Twins: The Future of Learning and CX
How Nissan Transformed CX: From Scattered to Streamlined
Ben Horowitz is Not Afraid
The AI Takeover in Banking: Ready or Not?
How OluKai Keeps It Real with AI-Powered Customer Service
Growing fast? Keeping things personal gets tricky. That’s the challenge OluKai faced as their brand took off. So, they teamed up with Sierra.ai to build an AI-powered customer service agent that helps them scale while keeping every interaction warm and authentic.
Why this matters:
If you’re in CX, you know that as your brand grows, keeping customer interactions personal can get tough. OluKai shows that AI isn’t just about automation—it can actually make service more human.
What Their AI Agent Does:
Talks Like a Human: Sierra’s AI isn’t your typical chatbot—it picks up on tone, context, and nuances, so conversations feel natural and helpful.
Does More Than Answer Questions: This AI takes action. It tracks orders, processes returns, and schedules deliveries, so customers get real solutions fast.
Always Available, Always Learning: Whether it’s 2 AM or lunchtime, the AI is ready to help. And with every interaction, it gets smarter, improving responses over time.
Helps, Not Replaces, the Team: When things get complicated, Sierra hands off to a human agent with all the details, so customers don’t have to start from scratch.
The Impact:
70% of OluKai’s customer requests are handled by AI, with a 4.5 out of 5 customer satisfaction rating. The result? Faster resolutions, happier customers, and human agents who can focus on creating unforgettable experiences that keep people coming back.
🔗 Full breakdown? Right this way → Source
Chat Interfaces Are Everywhere—But Do They Actually Help?
Chat is the hot thing in CX right now. If you read Sierra.ai’s case study, you saw how AI-powered chat can streamline support and boost efficiency. But is chat always the right tool? Zeh Fernandes isn’t so sure—he argues that while chat feels innovative, it’s often more of a shiny distraction than a real solution.
Why this matters:
If you work in CX, you know the pressure to add chat everywhere. It feels modern, but that doesn’t mean it always improves the experience. Sometimes, a good old-fashioned UI works better.
What’s Really Going On:
It’s not a magic fix. Chat can be great for quick tasks, but when precision matters—like picking a color or filtering search results—a structured interface wins every time.
Looks simple, but isn’t. Chat makes it seem like problems are solved, but often it just shifts complexity onto the user. Imagine replacing a color picker with an AI that tries to guess what "sunset orange" means to you. Frustrating, right?
Hype vs. reality. A slick chat demo wows investors, but does it actually help customers in daily interactions? Too often, chat is added because it looks cool, not because it’s the best solution.
The Takeaway:
Don’t fall for the chat bandwagon just because it’s trending. The real challenge is designing interfaces that actually make life easier for customers—whether that’s chat, buttons, forms, or something entirely new.
🔗 Learn more→ Source
AI Professor Twins
Imagine a tutor who’s always available, never gets tired, and doesn’t judge you for rewatching the same lesson five times. That’s PRIA—an AI-powered learning assistant from Praxis AI, designed to make education smarter, more personal, and actually fun.
Why this matters:
PRIA isn’t just changing education—it’s a preview of where customer experience is headed. AI isn’t just about automating processes; it’s about making interactions more intuitive, personalized, and seamless.
What PRIA Teaches Us About CX:
Personalization at Scale: PRIA adapts to how each student learns. Imagine CX working the same way—anticipating needs, adjusting responses, and delivering a uniquely tailored experience every time.
24/7 Support Without Friction: PRIA is always there when students need it. Customers expect the same—instant, always-on support without roadblocks or delays.
Smarter, Not Just Faster: PRIA isn’t just about speed—it helps students truly grasp concepts. The best CX isn’t just quick—it’s meaningful, providing real value rather than just deflecting inquiries.
The Big Picture:
AI should make interactions feel more natural, not more robotic. PRIA is showing how AI can enhance learning without losing the human element—something every CX leader should take note of.
🔗 Get more educated→ Source
How Nissan Transformed CX: From Scattered to Streamlined
This CX Cast episode by Forrester, hosted by Martin Gill and Angelina Gennis, dives into how Jivesh Juneja, Customer Journey Director at Nissan, helped reshape the company’s customer experience from the ground up. Over the past decade, Nissan has moved from a disconnected, fragmented approach to a customer journey-driven model that actually delivers results.
Why it matters:
For a global giant like Nissan, CX isn’t just about making interactions smoother—it’s about keeping up with customers’ changing expectations and staying competitive in an industry that’s evolving fast.
What Nissan Did Differently:
Simplified the Customer Journey. Nissan took 70+ disjointed micro-journeys and condensed them into seven core journeys—like choosing a car, test-driving, financing, and ownership.
Put Power in the Right Hands. They introduced Journey Directors—think of them as mini-CEOs for each customer journey—with real budgets and decision-making authority.
Connected Online to the Showroom. By linking customers’ online browsing data with dealerships, Nissan cut the average time to sale by six days and boosted conversion rates by 6%.
Adopted Agile at Scale. Nissan implemented a scaled agile framework (SAFe) to get CX, product, and market teams working together—breaking down silos and making smarter decisions.
The Takeaway:
Nissan’s CX overhaul proves that great customer experience isn’t just about throwing tech at the problem. It’s about aligning teams, structuring decisions around customer needs, and using data to drive real results. The brands that figure this out will set the new CX standard—everyone else will be playing catch-up.
🔗 Related research→ Case Study
Ben Horowitz is not afraid
Ben Horowitz doesn’t sugarcoat leadership—it’s not about easy wins or feel-good decisions. Real leadership is about making the tough calls, especially when emotions are involved.
Why it matters: Leaders who avoid difficult decisions create bigger problems down the road. What feels like a short-term kindness often turns into long-term dysfunction.
Leadership Truth Bombs:
Nice Now, Nightmare Later. Dodging tough decisions leads to “management debt” that compounds over time, weakening teams and reputations.
Tiny Sparks, Big Fires. Ignoring one bad hire or a minor issue can spiral into widespread dysfunction, attrition, and team breakdowns.
Smooth Sailing or Survival Mode? Stable times allow for careful scaling, but crises demand fast, decisive, and sometimes unpopular choices.
Flying Blind is Part of the Job. Leaders act in real time with limited data, while outsiders judge with hindsight. Waiting for certainty means waiting too long.
Feel the Fear, Do It Anyway. Everyone feels fear—what separates leaders from bystanders is acting despite it.
The bottom line: Leadership isn’t about being liked in the moment—it’s about earning long-term respect by making the right calls, even when they’re hard.
The AI Takeover in Banking: Ready or Not?
Capgemini’s 2024 World Retail Banking Report makes one thing clear—AI isn’t coming, it’s already here. And banks that don’t embrace it aren’t just missing out; they’re setting themselves up for failure.
Why it matters:
Customers now expect banking to be frictionless, personalized, and as intuitive as their favorite streaming service. AI is the only way banks can meet these expectations while keeping costs in check. But it’s not just about slapping a chatbot onto a website—banks need a real strategy.
Big Shifts in Banking:
AI isn’t optional anymore. 80% of banking execs say generative AI is a game-changer, automating tasks, personalizing experiences, and making banks more agile. The ones who hesitate? They’ll be left with outdated systems and frustrated customers.
Efficiency vs. Experience. AI can cut costs and streamline operations, but banks need to make sure they’re enhancing customer relationships, not replacing them. Customers want convenience, not cold, robotic interactions.
The digital arms race. Despite economic uncertainty, 70% of bank CXOs are ramping up digital investments. This isn’t about keeping up—it’s about redefining what banking looks like for the next decade.
The CX Wake-Up Call:
AI isn’t just another tech trend—it’s fundamentally changing how customers interact with financial institutions. The banks that figure out how to make AI work for people, not just profits, will build loyalty and long-term success. The ones that don’t? They’ll be playing catch-up in a world that’s already moved on.
🔗 Get the full report from CAPGemini→ Source
Thank you!
I hope you found value in this week’s links. See you next Sunday at 8:15 am ET!
If this edition sparked ideas, share it with a colleague or team member. Let’s grow the DCX community together!
👋 Please Reach Out
I created this newsletter to help customer-obsessed pros like you deliver exceptional experiences and tackle challenges head-on. But honestly? The best part is connecting with awesome, like-minded people—just like you! 😊
Here’s how you can get involved:
Got feedback? Tell me what’s working, what’s not, or what you’d love to see next.
Stuck on something? Hit me up whether it’s a CX challenge, strategy question, or team issue—I’m here to help.
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— Mark
www.marklevy.co
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