Welcome to the DCX weekly roundup of customer experience insights!
What do Zoom, Nike, Klarna, and a tuxedo-wearing robot named Oto have in common? They’re all reshaping what customer experience looks like in a world where AI is everywhere—but trust is everything.
This week, we explore the fine balance between automation and empathy, spotlight the dangers of overstepping privacy boundaries, and uncover the CX strategies driving real revenue gains.
Whether you’re mapping journeys, rethinking service handoffs, or debating where robots belong in hospitality—these stories reveal what’s working, what’s not, and where your next CX win might be hiding.
This week’s must-read links:
Conversations Become the New CX Engine
Kmart in Hot Water Over Facial Recognition
Say Hello to Oto, Vegas’ Robot Concierge
Klarna’s AI Plan Backfires as Humans Return to Customer Service
71% of Consumers Will Pay More for Data Trust
Nike’s 110% Revenue Boost from AI-Powered Journeys
Conversations Become the New CX Engine
Zoom isn’t just about video calls anymore. The company is leaning hard into a bigger play—using conversations as the engine that drives alignment, action, and better customer outcomes. The idea: stop letting important discussions fade away and start turning them into real results.
As Metric Sherpa founder and Principal Analyst, Justin Robbins, reported from Zoomtopia 2025, “The answers to many of the toughest business problems are already hiding inside conversations. The real opportunity is connecting, understanding, and acting on them.”
Why it matters:
Leaders know the pain of dropped handoffs, lost insights, and promises that never reach the customer.
Zoom’s betting that AI can close those gaps—tracking context, nudging next steps, and keeping teams aligned.
For CX pros, it’s a chance to finally stitch sales, service, and operations together.
What’s new:
AI Companion 3.0 doesn’t just listen—it reasons, follows up, schedules, and pulls insights on its own.
Expert Assist gives agents real-time, evolving guidance so they’re never left hanging mid-call.
CX Insights goes past dashboards, serving up recommendations leaders can act on right away.
The bottom line:
Zoom’s building a system where people, bots, and data all play by the same rules. With integrations into tools like Slack, Teams, and ServiceNow, it could actually reduce friction—if companies trust AI to take the wheel.
The CX To-Do: Test these tools where handoffs break down most. If conversations start leading to outcomes, you’ll know you’re onto something.
🔗 Go Deeper: Metric Sherpa
Kmart in Hot Water Over Facial Recognition
Kmart Australia just got called out by Australia’s privacy regulator for going too far. From 2020 to 2022, the retailer used facial recognition cameras in 28 stores—scanning every single person who walked in. The idea was to stop refund fraud. The problem? It swept up thousands of innocent shoppers without their knowledge or consent.
Why it matters:
Your face is deeply personal, and once captured, you can’t change it like a password.
The system barely stopped any fraud, making the privacy trade-off feel unfair.
For CX leaders, it’s a reminder: if customers feel spied on, trust crumbles fast.
What happened:
Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said the move was “disproportionate” and unnecessary since Kmart had simpler options—like checking IDs more carefully.
Shoppers were never told or asked for permission, which breaks one of the core rules of data use: transparency.
Kmart argued it was about safety, but regulators pushed back, saying the tech didn’t actually prevent theft or violence.
The bottom line:
Just because a tool is available doesn’t mean it should be used. If “safety” is your only reason, it probably won’t hold up under scrutiny.
The CX To-Do: Before rolling out tech that touches customer data, ask yourself: does it really solve the problem—or create a bigger one?
🔗 Go Deeper: The Conversation
Say Hello to Oto, Vegas’ Robot Concierge
Las Vegas hotels are known for going big, and the new Otonomus Hotel is no different. Their newest “employee” is Oto, a humanoid robot concierge who greets guests in a top hat and vest. Oto can chat in more than 50 languages, help with room changes, and keep small talk rolling while guests check in.
Why it matters:
Hotels are testing how AI can mix with human service to create something new.
For CX folks, it’s a chance to see if robots can add convenience without losing the personal touch.
In a city built on experiences, standing out matters—and Oto is designed to do just that.
What’s new:
Oto was built by IntBot, a startup making humanoid robots that feel approachable and fun.
The AI-powered hotel, near Allegiant Stadium, opened in July and already hosted big events with world leaders.
Oto isn’t just a gimmick—it’s meant to make guests feel more comfortable and entertained.
The bottom line:
Robots like Oto could be the future of travel, but it depends on how guests respond. If people see them as helpful (and not creepy), expect to see more popping up.
The CX To-Do: Keep an eye on how travelers react. The mix of wow-factor and real usefulness will decide if robots like Oto stick around.
🔗 More → KTSM-LA
Who in the world could have predicted this?
Klarna, the “buy now, pay later” giant, thought it had cracked the code: replace 700 customer service reps with AI. The CEO bragged about not hiring a human for a year. But by 2025, the plan collapsed—so badly that the company is now making engineers and marketers pick up phones in call centers.
Why it matters:
It shows what happens when companies chase savings instead of customer trust.
People still want a human when money and emotions are on the line.
For CX leaders, it’s a reminder: AI should support people, not replace them.
What went wrong:
Klarna’s AI “agents” couldn’t handle real customer problems.
By May 2025, the company was racing to rehire—but rebuilding a whole department isn’t easy once you’ve let it go.
In the meantime, staff from other teams are stuck fielding calls they weren’t hired for.
The bottom line:
Klarna went from bragging about AI to selling itself as “the best at offering a human to speak to.” They’re not alone—studies show 95% of corporate AI projects fail to hit promised results.
The CX To-Do: Use AI for the boring stuff like FAQs or routing calls, but keep humans in place for the moments that matter.
🔗 Learn More→ Futurism
DCX Stat of the Week
71% of U.S. consumers and 66% of UK consumers would choose a brand they trust with their data even if it costs more.
Takeaway: Consumers are putting trust ahead of price. If your CX program builds credible data practices and clearly communicates them, you can win loyalty even when you’re not the cheapest option.
🔗 Go Deeper: Forsta
🔗 MORE STATS: Daily Stats published on Substack Notes
DCX Case Study of the Week
Nike’s 110% Revenue Boost from AI-Powered Journeys
CX Challenge: Nike’s generic, “batch-and-blast” email strategy failed to build customer relationships or capitalize on buying signals, leaving significant revenue on the table.
Action Taken: The team deployed an AI-powered platform to segment customers based on their real-time behavior and buying stage. They then launched 10 automated lifecycle campaigns—from welcome series to browse abandonment—that delivered personalized, timely messages.
Result: The shift drove a +110% increase in revenue from automation, a +32.5% lift in website visits, and a +28% higher average order value within 90 days. This personalized approach made their 2024 Double 11 campaign the highest-grossing of the year.
Lesson for CX Pros: Focus on when you communicate, not just what you say. Segmenting customers by their journey stage and automating relevant messages creates exponentially more value than sending generic blasts to everyone.
Quote: “We have successfully built a meaningful relationship with athletes.”
🔗 Further Reading: Nike Hong Kong Success Story (SAP Emarsys)
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
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— Mark
www.marklevy.co
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