What Most CX Programs Get Wrong About AI

May 19, 2025

Customer experience leaders are racing to adopt AI—but in the frenzy to innovate, many are missing the point. It’s not about the tools you deploy; it’s about the strategy behind them.

AI and customer experience technologies are being deployed at a breakneck pace! But something vital is getting lost in the noise – strategy.

Across industries, CX leaders are investing in advanced platforms, intelligent analytics, and omnichannel service tools. Yet many still struggle to move the needle. Too often, technology is treated as a standalone solution rather than a strategic enabler.

It’s no longer about which AI tool you use—it’s about how deeply it’s woven into your culture, decisions, and customer promises.

Technology as a Crutch or Catalyst?

For years, automation and AI have been viewed through the lens of cost efficiency. If it saves time or money, deploy it. But that lens is outdated. In reality, customers don’t reward operational efficiency—they reward experiences that feel effortless, human, and connected.

According to Neal Woodson, an author and an advocate for human-centred service and leadership, AI can be a strategic partner with a bit of creativity and judicious humanity.

“Now, what would happen if, instead of seeing these two, technology and humans, as competitors, we began to see them as partners or teammates? How would that impact the experience of your customers? Greater speed, more efficiency, and better decision-making due to better access to immediate relevant information are just a few of the possibilities,” he said.

This simple but powerful idea flips the narrative: AI shouldn’t just reduce effort; it should amplify empathy. That’s a strategic shift, not a technical one.

CX Leaders Are Moving Upstream

The most forward-looking CX leaders are already ahead of this curve. They’re not just deploying AI but embedding it into decision-making loops, journey design, and cross-functional planning. They’re using pilots not to check a box, but to test how AI can accelerate transformation.

Jared Koll says there are three core CX challenges: no budget, too much risk, or simply insufficient time.

“What ties all these examples together is a mindset shift: treating budget, time, and risk not as immovable barriers, but as levers. When used in the right sequence, these levers unlock measurable gains,” he says, calling this the CX Dream Path framework that starts with cost optimisation, moves into AI integration, and results in a higher-performing, tech-enabled customer experience that’s fully aligned to business goals.

Meanwhile, companies are also bringing IT into the heart of the CX conversation, repositioning technical teams from support roles to strategic influencers.

“The IT team is at the table for running and growing the business. This has increased the responsibility of IT teams manifold to ensure the models they build for data capture, storage, analysis, and drawing inference are close to reality, do not step on customer privacy, do not infringe on any copyrights and bring that efficiency and effectiveness to business,” says Vijay Tambwekar, Author of Customer Experience Decoded and former Strategic Advisor at NTT Data Services.

Now, this isn’t just a mindset shift—it’s an operating model shift. Silos are dissolving and Strategy is becoming shared.

Insight Over Information

Another hallmark of this transformation is the dramatic shift from gathering more data to gaining better insight. Traditional surveys and feedback forms are losing ground to more dynamic, real-time intelligence powered by AI.

In this model, CX teams don’t react to feedback—they predict behaviour, identify friction early, and adjust in real time. That’s only possible when technology serves a strategic intent, not just a functional one.

“One of the greatest paradoxes of many VoC programs emerges: knowing more than ever about your customers… and doing nothing with it. Knowledge alone is not enough. It only creates value when it leads to action. This is where activation comes in—the ability to translate insights into decisions, responses, and tangible improvements,” says Hector Premuda, CX advisor and professor.

The Cost of Staying Tactical

For those still stuck in tool-based thinking, the risks are mounting. Legacy systems, fragmented platforms, and under-leveraged data create gaps between brand promise and customer reality.

For instance, 65% of retailers feel their in-store technology isn’t keeping up with consumer expectations, according to a recent survey report by Retail Systems Research (RSR), threatening their competitiveness.

President and CEO of Jumpmind, Joe Corbin said: “Many retailers have yet to crack the code on creating relevant and inspired in-store shopping experiences and time is running out.”

Here for instance, a mindset shift towards technology as a strategy can change the game.