DCX Links | October 13, 2024
From T-Mobile’s bold move to redefine CX with OpenAI to a fresh look at privacy expectations...This Week's DCX Hot Takes!
Weekly inspiration, education, and coaching for customer-obsessed leaders.
Welcome to this week's roundup of customer experience insights!
This week’s DCX Links is all about helping you level up—keeping your customers at the center while adapting to a world increasingly shaped by AI.
We’re diving into T-Mobile’s partnership with OpenAI to completely redefine customer experience—showing what’s possible when real-time data meets smart AI. We’ll also talk about why scaling personalization relies on AI to keep things personal, even as we grow.
Then there’s Meta’s new Movie Gen tech, opening up new possibilities for creators to bring their vision to life, whether they’re pros or just starting out. For practical improvements, I’ve got 3 Psychological Steps to Elevate CX—actionable ideas you can use right now to shape better experiences for your customers.
Doug Rushkoff’s powerful call to join Team Human reminds us that while tech is amazing, it’s still our human connections that drive CX. And lastly, we’ll rethink what privacy means in the digital age—how respecting your customers' boundaries can be the key to deeper trust.
These stories are meant to inspire, educate, and coach you to deliver the best experiences possible. So jump in, explore, and let me know which one speaks to you the most—let’s keep getting better together.
Happy reading!
-Mark
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Here are this week’s must-read links:
T-Mobile and OpenAI Aim to Redefine Customer Experience
Personalization at Scale Requires AI
Meta's Movie Gen Could Unlock a New Era for Creators
3 Psychological Steps to Elevate Customer Experience
Doug Rushkoff’s Call to Join ‘Team Human’
Rethinking Privacy in the Digital Age
Enjoy!
T-Mobile and OpenAI Aim to Redefine Customer Experience
T-Mobile and OpenAI are teaming up to launch IntentCX, an AI-decisioning platform that will reshape how businesses handle customer care. With plans to roll it out in 2025, the system aims to move beyond the limitations of current customer service technologies by using real-time data and customer intent to predict and resolve issues.
Why it matters:
Most AI customer solutions today are limited to predefined actions and scripted responses, leading to guesswork that leaves customers frustrated. IntentCX promises to move past that by:
Personalizing service: It uses real customer data to offer AI-driven, tailored solutions, both automating interactions and supporting live agents.
Engaging deeply: It understands multi-threaded conversations in multiple languages, ensuring that customers feel truly heard.
Taking proactive action: IntentCX doesn’t just respond to issues — it anticipates them and solves problems before they escalate.
Real-time decisioning: Whether it’s a network issue or a billing question, the platform will analyze data in the moment and deliver solutions on the spot.
The big picture:
This collaboration goes beyond just improving T-Mobile’s customer service. With the support of OpenAI’s latest models, IntentCX will have broad applications, creating a blueprint for companies across industries to enhance customer engagement through AI.
What they’re saying:
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert called the partnership a “game-changer” in delivering next-level customer experiences, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized the unique potential to create “faster, more intuitive, and accessible experiences” for millions.
What’s next:
T-Mobile will begin integrating IntentCX into its operations in 2025, with the long-term goal of expanding these AI capabilities into other areas of customer interaction, positioning it as a model for companies everywhere looking to boost customer satisfaction.
Personalization at Scale Requires AI
In a recent Harvard Business Review webinar, Boston Consulting Group’s Mark Abraham and Harvard Business School’s David Edelman, authors of Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, emphasized that businesses must embrace AI to deliver personalization at scale. Personalization, they argue, is no longer a nice-to-have but a business imperative for companies seeking to build trusted, long-term relationships with customers.
Why it matters:
Many companies know personalization is key to success, yet few are effectively executing it. The result? Missed opportunities and frustrated customers. Abraham and Edelman outline the essential elements needed for businesses to get it right:
Strategic integration: Personalization should be embedded into the company’s strategy from the top down.
AI-driven capabilities: AI unlocks the potential for true personalization by processing massive amounts of data and predicting customer needs.
Industry examples: Success stories from retail, healthcare, banking, and tech show the power of AI-enabled personalization in action.
The big picture:
As customer expectations rise, businesses that fail to deliver personalization risk losing out. But scaling personalized experiences remains challenging, which is why AI is crucial to providing individualized, data-driven interactions that evolve with the customer.
What they’re saying:
“Personalization is not just about tailoring messages; it's about building relationships that drive business growth,” said Mark Abraham. David Edelman added, “The companies that will win are those that leverage AI to engage with customers meaningfully at every touchpoint.”
What’s next:
Companies need to prioritize AI investments to meet the rising demand for personalized experiences. Those that do will see increased loyalty and lifetime value from their customers.
Source: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI
Related: Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI | Amazon
Meta's Movie Gen Could Unlock a New Era for Creators
Meta has unveiled Movie Gen, a generative AI tool designed to revolutionize content creation by enabling anyone—from aspiring filmmakers to casual creators—to generate custom videos, edit existing footage, and create personalized media using simple text prompts. The tool also supports audio generation, seamlessly syncing sound effects and music to video content.
Why it matters:
With AI increasingly empowering creators, Movie Gen takes things to the next level by:
Video generation: Creating high-quality, 16-second videos from text prompts with state-of-the-art motion and object interaction.
Personalized videos: Allowing users to upload a photo and generate custom videos that preserve their likeness and incorporate rich details from a text prompt.
Precise editing: Offering advanced video editing capabilities with localized and global changes, enabling creators to edit without specialized skills.
Audio generation: Generating high-quality soundscapes, music, and effects in sync with video, using a powerful 13B parameter model.
The big picture:
This isn’t just about helping professionals. Meta aims to democratize creativity, offering tools that empower anyone to bring their ideas to life, regardless of technical expertise. By integrating AI into content creation, Meta envisions endless possibilities—from animated personal projects to professional filmmaking.
What they’re saying:
Meta emphasizes that Movie Gen isn’t about replacing artists but enhancing their creativity. “We believe in the power of this technology to help people express themselves in new ways,” the company stated in its announcement.
What’s next:
Meta plans to refine Movie Gen through collaboration with creators, incorporating feedback and expanding the platform’s capabilities. While the technology is still being optimized, it promises to redefine content creation across multiple platforms, from Reels to WhatsApp.
Source: Meta Movie Gen
Videos: Figures and samples from the Meta Movie Gen Research paper
Related: Meta AI
Related: Read the Research Paper
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This guide shows how aligning team goals with customer needs drives real business success and gives you practical, no-nonsense tips for making it happen. If you’re serious about getting everyone on the same page, this is your roadmap!
3 Psychological Steps to Elevate Customer Experience
To improve customer loyalty, focusing on delighting customers isn’t enough. Behavioral psychology shows that addressing negative experiences has a more significant impact on satisfaction.
Why it matters:
For CX professionals, applying psychological principles can create smoother, more effective customer interactions:
Step 1: Remove negatives: Eliminate uncertainty, reduce perceived effort, and minimize choice overload. Example: Like Uber, reduce wait-time ambiguity to improve customer satisfaction.
Step 2: Focus on key moments: Use the peak-end rule to ensure emotionally intense and final moments leave a positive impression.
Step 3: Delight strategically: Only after addressing pain points should you add small delights.
The big picture:
By addressing disloyalty drivers first and using behavioral economics to guide design, companies can optimize CX, creating lasting positive impressions and improving retention.
Key takeaway:
CX success lies in first removing frustration, then building positive experiences, and finally surprising customers with thoughtful touches.
Source: 3 Steps to Improve Customer Experience Using Psychology
Related: Learn Behavioral Economics & Psychology in Business
"Love your content and valuable insights into CX and industry trends. Thanks for sharing with us!" - Corey
Doug Rushkoff’s Call to Join ‘Team Human’
In a thought-provoking TED Talk from 2018, media theorist Doug Rushkoff recounts an encounter with tech billionaires obsessed with safeguarding their wealth from apocalyptic scenarios. His response? We need to stop using technology to insulate ourselves from the world and start using it to foster human connection and collaboration. Rushkoff’s key message is clear: it’s time to get back to being on Team Human.
Why it matters:
Rushkoff warns that our digital economy increasingly devalues human creativity and connection. CX professionals, who rely on empathy and human understanding, should take this message seriously. Key takeaways for customer experience leaders include:
Human-first technology: Instead of using data solely to predict behavior, technology should enhance human relationships and foster empathy.
Collaboration over isolation: Businesses should focus on creating environments where customers and employees feel connected and valued, not sidelined by tech that isolates them.
Values over predictions: Optimizing CX means embracing creativity and novelty, not just using data for precision and efficiency.
The big picture:
Rushkoff argues that the digital landscape suppresses what makes us human—creativity, empathy, and connection. CX professionals can lead by designing platforms that bring customers and companies together, valuing humans as more than data points.
What he’s saying:
“We can't think that humans are the problem and technology is the solution,” Rushkoff says. He calls for a shift where technology is optimized for human benefit, not corporate profit.
What’s next:
As CX leaders, we can adopt Rushkoff’s vision by embedding empathy, collaboration, and creativity into every customer interaction. By focusing on human needs, we can build a future worth staying for.
Source: How to be "Team Human" in the digital future
Related: Team Human | Amazon
Rethinking Privacy in the Digital Age
Lowry Pressly’s new book The Right to Oblivion challenges the prevailing notion of privacy in our data-driven world. Rather than focusing on controlling the spread of personal data, Pressly argues that true privacy is about preventing the creation of data in the first place. This shift in thinking has deep implications for how companies, especially those focused on customer experience (CX), handle data collection and personalization.
Why it matters:
For CX professionals, this fresh perspective on privacy calls into question many of the core assumptions about data usage and customer trust. Key takeaways include:
Data minimization: Instead of collecting more data to enhance personalization, CX leaders should rethink what data is truly necessary. By reducing the amount of personal information gathered, brands can build trust and respect customer boundaries.
Human dignity: Pressly’s concept of “oblivion” suggests that people need space to evolve and change without being locked into a digital profile. CX leaders should ensure that personalization efforts respect this fluidity, allowing customers to feel in control of their own narratives.
Trust over surveillance: Tracking customer behavior through excessive data erodes trust. CX teams should focus on creating experiences that build relationships without relying on invasive monitoring.
The big picture:
As digital experiences evolve, CX professionals need to balance personalization with respect for customer privacy. Pressly’s argument invites businesses to see privacy not just as a compliance issue but as a moral imperative, reshaping how companies interact with their customers in a way that prioritizes human agency.
What he’s saying:
“Privacy protects against the creation of information,” Pressly asserts, highlighting how constant data generation can undermine personal autonomy. For CX, this suggests that offering value to customers doesn’t require knowing everything about them—just enough to build meaningful connections.
What’s next:
CX professionals should embrace a new model of privacy that prioritizes minimal data collection, fosters trust, and allows customers the freedom to shape their own experiences. This approach could redefine how we think about customer loyalty in the digital age.
Source: What is Prvacy For | The Atlantic
I hope you found this week’s links and commentary useful. If you have suggestions for future DCX Links editions, send me a note.
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SPECIAL FOR DCX READERS: For a limited time, get the best-selling CX course for only $29.99! That’s less than $1 per day to elevate your career!
P.S.
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-Mark
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