CX Today

In an era where data breaches are daily headlines, how a company handles a mistake matters more than the mistake itself. Brad Anderson, President of Product Engineering and Security at Qualtrics argues that “radical transparency” is the only way to survive a security misstep.

In this interview with Nicole Willing, Anderson warns against the common corporate instinct to minimize the impact of a breach (“only a small number of users affected”) before having the facts.

He explains that modern trust is built on clarity: telling customers exactly what happened, who was affected, and what is being done to fix it. If a brand cannot prove it is protecting data, it cannot build loyalty.

Beyond crisis management, Anderson details how to build trust proactively by using AI to detect “digital frustration” signals—like rage-tapping—and intervening to help customers before they abandon the brand. There is a clear difference between AI “science projects” and AI that actually solves problems, Anderson argues, making the case that leaders must shift focus to “pragmatic AI” tools that actively close feedback loops and repair broken journeys in real-time.

Don’t miss this conversation on the critical trust barrier for enterprise AI adoption, and the rise of AI-enabled “synthetic research” to cut insight time from weeks to hours.

For more Customer Experience tech news visit https://www.cxtoday.com

 Francesca Roche sits down with Sarah Bruno, a Partner in the Emerging Technologies Group at Reed Smith, to discuss the recent investigative sweep by California’s Attorney General targeting retail, grocery, and hotel sectors for their use of consumer data in surveillance pricing.

Sarah Bruno explains that the sweep focuses on how companies use algorithms to set individualized prices based on personal and non-personal data that consumers may not anticipate is being collected. She highlights why these sectors are targeted, given their broad consumer base and the variety of data collected both online and offline.

The discussion covers the complexity of compliance. Bruno emphasizes the importance of transparency and human oversight in algorithmic pricing to avoid misleading, unfair, or discriminatory outcomes. She notes that algorithmic pricing can unintentionally lead to discriminatory effects based on data patterns, rather than company intent, and stresses the role of disclosure to maintain customer trust.

Bruno considers how this California sweep could set a precedent for other states, influencing how businesses across the U.S. approach personalized pricing, loyalty programs, and CX transparency. She underscores that companies may need to adapt their data collection, notice, and transparency practices to align with evolving regulatory expectations while preserving customer engagement. 

 Ali Sarrafi, CEO and Founder of Kovant, explains why public AI agent platforms expose credentials, lack controls, and attract bad actors.

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For more Customer Experience tech news visit https://www.cxtoday.com 

Customers don’t complain in private anymore. They post. They tag. They amplify. And they expect a response before the next refresh.

In this CX Today conversation, Rob Wilkinson speaks with Anish Singal, VP of Product Management at Sprinklr, about why “control” is the wrong goal for modern CX, and what it really means to command the moment instead.

From AI signal detection and cross-functional war rooms to predictive analytics and governance at speed, this is a grounded discussion about how brands move from reactive firefighting to outcome-driven social CX.

What you’ll take away:

• Why control breaks at the speed of social, and what “command” really means in practice
• How one social signal can escalate into reputational and revenue risk, and how to contain it early
• Where AI shifts CX from reactive reporting to predictive action
• How to embed governance without slowing teams down
• The three rules modern social CX leaders follow: understand meaning, measure outcomes, empower action
• Why employee experience is the foundation of sustainable, high-speed customer experience

Who should watch?:

• Chief Customer Officers, Heads of CX, and Contact Centre Directors navigating social-first service
• CMOs and digital leaders managing brand reputation in real time
• CIOs and transformation leaders embedding AI into service workflows
• Risk, compliance, and governance teams responsible for brand integrity at scale

If your teams are still trying to contain conversations instead of leading them, this discussion offers a practical blueprint for building readiness, accountability, and measurable impact in 2026 and beyond.

Human in the loop is quickly moving from an AI buzzword to a real operating requirement for customer experience teams.

In this episode of Human in the Loop, we dig into what AI oversight means in practice, and why it is reshaping contact center skills, hiring, and escalation design. CX Today speaks with Martyn Redstone, Founder at GenAssess, about the skills that matter most as AI agents take on more routine customer queries. We also explore the implications of AI regulation, including the EU AI Act, and why “who owns the escalation” is becoming a leadership-level question.

In this conversation, we cover:

• How human oversight is showing up in AI regulation
• Why escalations get harder when AI tries first
• What skills-based hiring looks like in an AI-augmented contact center
• Why critical thinking and AI literacy are now essential agent skills
• How to build a feedback loop that improves automation over time

Sumant Mauskar explains how AI-powered voice fraud is attacking contact centers at scale, why the NICE integration matters, and what bi-directional trust really means

Contact centers have an AI problem, and asking agents if calls "sound weird" isn't going to fix it.

According to Sumant Mauskar, Global Partners SVP at Pindrop, humans can detect video deepfakes around 60% of the time. For audio? That drops to 35%. As synthetic voice quality improves daily, traditional fraud detection methods are failing at exactly the moment fraudsters are scaling up attacks.

"You need good AI to fight bad AI," Mauskar says.

He points to a retail client that discovered AI bots requesting $21 returns across thousands of calls. Each amount sat below agent authorization thresholds, so the money went out without question. Death by a thousand cuts.

Pindrop's recent native integration with NICE CX One addresses this by analyzing calls in real time without adding customer friction. The system processes voice alongside metadata, providing agents with simple red, yellow, or green risk indicators based on multifactor analysis.

"We get a copy of the call, process it, and pass information back to NICE," Mauskar explains. "The customer experience doesn't change at all."

But the bigger challenge is coming. As legitimate AI agents start calling contact centers on behalf of customers, CX leaders will need to distinguish between good synthetic voices and bad ones. Mauskar calls this bi-directional trust, and believes the window to prepare is closing fast.

For contact centers still relying on knowledge-based authentication and human intuition, the data tells a different story. The fraudsters are already inside.

In this interview with Paul Vezelis, Co-Founder and CEO of Traxlo, we explore how the platform’s pay-per-task model is reshaping retail operations, diving into operational innovation, workforce flexibility, and customer experience in modern retail. 

Traxlo connects thousands of gig workers with retailers to complete specific operational tasks like shelf replenishment, inventory checks, and online order picking, ensuring consistent execution that supports both customer and employee experiences.

Paul explains how the model works in practice, the advantages it offers over traditional staffing, and the results seen by retailers and shoppers. 

The discussion also covers Traxlo’s plans to integrate AI through its tasku.ai engine, using large language models and computer vision to automate task creation, verify completion, and expand the types of tasks that can be managed efficiently, sharing his perspective on why 2026 could be a turning point for retail and warehouse labor as AI and robotics reshape the industry.

In this interview, he explains why service is slipping despite heavy investment, where AI helps (and where it doesn’t), and the practical steps leaders can take to rebuild CSX from the frontline up.

Alex Mead delivers a timely reality check: despite all the investment in journey mapping, NPS and “CX programmes,” the day-to-day service experience is getting worse. In this interview, he argues that “customer experience” has become a catch‑all that too often blurs brand and marketing with the operational discipline that really shapes loyalty: customer service experience (CSX).

Mead also challenges the “silver bullet” mindset around AI. GenAI can absolutely raise the bar, he says, but only when organisations have a clear CSX vision, strong foundations (data, knowledge and processes), and leaders who genuinely walk in the shoes of customers and employees. He makes the case for empowering frontline teams, modernising contact centre knowledge in real time, and bringing back practical, accountable service leadership to cut through what he calls the “tide of CX nonsense.”

If you want a grounded view on what’s broken in CX (and what to fix first) this is one to watch.

When headlines scream "data leak" but companies claim "no breach," customers are left confused—and trust takes a hit. In this CX Today interview, Ron Zayas, CEO of Ironwall by Incogni, explains why a recent Instagram incident is a wake-up call for CX leaders, arguing that technical security definitions often miss the reality of "cumulative risk."

Zayas delivers a stark warning: risk is no longer just about stolen passwords. He explains how aggregated identity data—even without a confirmed system breach—allows bad actors to build detailed profiles for phishing and impersonation. He compares holding customer data to a bank holding money: if a bank is careless with security, customers will withdraw their assets regardless of whether their specific dollar was stolen.

The conversation also covers the critical role of crisis communication. Zayas advises leaders to resist the urge to downplay incidents or hide behind legal technicalities. Instead, he advocates for treating data like currency, minimizing third-party sharing, and offering customers concrete, practical advice when their data is exposed.

If you want to understand why privacy is the new loyalty driver—and how to communicate effectively when the worst happens—tune in to this conversation. 

In this CX Today interview, Associate Editor, Rhys Fisher, speaks with Sundeep Boughan, Director of Sales Engineering at Puzzel, to unpack findings from the company's latest State of the Contact Centre report.

With 1,500+ contact center professionals surveyed, they cut through the AI hype to explore what “AI readiness” truly means, how conversational intelligence is driving real ROI, and why copilots and agentic AI are reshaping the future of the agent experience.

If you’re navigating AI investments in your contact center, this is a must-watch.

Main Description:

AI isn’t a silver bullet anymore – it’s about outcomes. Sundeep shares practical lessons from the field and what separates pilots from real impact.

You’ll learn:

Why 85% feel “ready” for AI but only 34% are truly prepared (hint: it’s data + customer readiness)

How conversation analytics reveals hidden intent and silent pain points

Why copilots are delivering fast wins with summaries, knowledge surfacing & onboarding

What agentic AI means for automation, outcomes, and the future role of agents

Next steps:

Download the report, audit your data quality, map quick-win use cases, and pilot copilots where agent fatigue is highest.