CX Today

Steve Blood, VP of Market Intelligence at Five9, exposes the hidden dangers lurking within legacy contact center systems. While many CX leaders view modernization as daunting, Blood argues that standing still is actually the most expensive decision you can make.

Blood reveals how on-premises platforms are quietly draining value through lost customer insights, agent frustration, and missed personalization opportunities—what he calls the "hidden cost of the unknown." More critically, he unpacks why the upcoming EU AI Act in 2026 will force organizations to rethink their entire technology strategy or face massive fines.

Blood doesn't just outline the problems; he offers a pragmatic roadmap for moving from legacy to AI-first without the "big bang" risks. From building a credible business case that unites IT and CX leaders to empowering agents as AI supervisors, this conversation is packed with actionable advice.

If you're debating whether to modernize now or wait, this interview explains why the window for waiting is closing fast—and how to make your move with confidence.

Watch now to discover why the future of CX belongs to the bold, not the comfortable.

Modern contact centres have become fragile ecosystems—cloud platforms, Voice AI, IVRs, CRMs, and third-party APIs all owned by different teams and vendors. When something breaks, customers feel it immediately, but no one has a single end-to-end view of what's actually happening. The result? Blind spots, finger-pointing, and resolution times that damage both revenue and reputation.

In this conversation, CX Evangelist Luke Jamieson from Operata breaks down how CX Observability transforms the daily reality for operations teams—moving them from reactive firefighting to proactive control.

You'll discover why traditional monitoring tools can't answer the questions executives are now asking, how observability slashes mean time to resolution by eliminating the "ping pong effect" of service desk tickets, and why Voice AI adoption makes this capability non-negotiable. Jamieson calls out, 

Whether you're managing increasingly complex CX stacks or exploring how to protect customer experience as AI scales, this is your practical guide to regaining visibility and control.

Watch now to learn how CX Observability gives your teams the clarity they need to stop guessing and start preventing problems before customers ever feel them.

Rob Scott sits down with Jami Ferguson, VP of Product at SMG, to explore what it truly means to be an AI native organization. Far from surface-level automation, this is about structural transformation—where AI doesn't just enhance, it drives, adapts, and evolves customer experience strategy from the ground up.

If you're tired of AI hype with little delivery, this conversation will cut through the noise and show what real change looks like.

Key discussion points:

• AI-native vs. AI-enhanced: Why architecture—not just features—matters.
• The data dilemma: Why clean, unified data is the linchpin of AI success.
• Agents in action: How real-time AI workflows boost guest recovery and CX outcomes.
• Human-first AI: Why native AI enables more human experiences—not fewer.

Want to see how true AI-native platforms deliver real-time value across customer experience touchpoints?

Visit smg.com to explore the Ignite® platform in more detail.

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How clarity, sovereignty, and small-model precision are reshaping AI for 2026. 

In this discussion, host Rhys Fisher sits down with James Scott, Senior Solutions Engineer for North America at Diabolocom, to unpack one of the most pressing issues heading into 2026: How do we make AI truly trustworthy and measurable?

With global regulations tightening and organizations demanding clearer ROI, Scott brings a refreshingly transparent perspective on what “good AI” should look like – and why smaller, specialized models may be the future of CX.

AI is everywhere, but not every organisation knows how to make it work. In this candid interview, Diabolocom’s James Scott breaks down why so many AI deployments fall short and how clarity, sovereignty, and domain-specific models are rewriting the rules for success in customer experience.

Key Highlights:

• Why clarity beats hype: AI ROI hinges on specific problem-solving, not chasing the latest trend.
• Security built in, not bolted on: Diabolocom owns its entire data pipeline, enabling GDPR- and EU AI Act–aligned governance by default.
• Goodbye black box AI: Smaller, specialized models reduce unpredictability, hallucinations, and compliance risk.
• Measurable AI performance: Transparent decision paths, benchmarking tools, and human-in-the-loop workflows ensure leaders can trust results.
• Scott also reveals how Diabolocom’s academic partnerships, open-source research, and European engineering mindset create a competitive advantage for scaling companies that can’t afford uncertainty.

CX Today's Charlie Mitchell hosts Shelly Kramer, President & CEO at Kramer & Company, to deep dive on the Webex Contact Center.

Cisco's cloud contact center platform recently featured as one of only two "Customers' Choice" CCaaS solutions in a recent Gartner Peer Insights study into the space.

But, what differentiates it? 

Mitchell and Kramer unpack five of its most differentiative features, including:

• Its Agent Experience Suite: From the fundamentals of auto-summaries to the uniqueness of its Burnout Detection software, Cisco's agent experience suite is not only deep, but innovative, too.
• MCP and Ecosystem Integrations: Alongside embracing MCP, Cisco is rapidly building out its industry integrations, including headline collaborations with Microsoft, Salesforce, and Epic.
• Thousand Eyes: Much of CCaaS is becoming commoditized. Yet, Cisco's broader suite allows it to embed differentiated features into is CCaaS solution. Thousand Eyes is an excellent example.
• Proactive Messaging: Most CCaaS vendors offer proactive messaging. However, Cisco's CPaaS heritage allows it to go further and help its customers expand their outbound strategies.
• CCaaS-UCaaS-CPaaS: Beyond CCaaS-CPaaS, Cisco brings UCaaS into the fold. In doing so, it enables swarming, a tool that is especially powerful in dispersed contact center environments.

Next Steps:

Dive deeper into the Cisco Webex Contact Center here: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/contact-center/index.html

Every CX leader's nightmare: the one call that went catastrophically wrong.

In this eye-opening interview, Rob Scott sits down with Clayton Lougée, VP of Value Consulting at Cyara, to unpack the hidden dangers lurking in your contact center—and how a single customer interaction can spiral into millions in losses.

What You'll Learn:

• The Real Cost of CX Failures - Beyond refunds: the hidden costs of broken experiences, from team morale to regulatory fines ($14B+ annually)
• Why Traditional Testing Fails - 90% of Gen AI projects are stuck in proof-of-concept because organizations can't validate they'll work with real customers
• The Trust Erosion Timeline - How customer emotions cascade from frustration to abandonment in minutes
• The AI Assurance Gap - Why autonomous agents raise the stakes and require entirely new approaches to testing
• Real-World Impact - How healthcare providers use Cyara to prevent compliance violations when lives are literally at stake
• Actionable Advice - What CX and IT leaders can do today to prevent tomorrow's disasters

Key Takeaways:

• $3.8 trillion in avoidable churn due to bad CX
• 67% of customers abandon after just ONE poor experience
• Most organizations discover failures through customer complaints—not proactive monitoring
• Peak moments (Black Friday, open enrollment, holiday travel) are when brands are most vulnerable
• The shift from scripted automation to agentic AI requires validation that can match autonomous systems operating 24/7
• "It's not just a technology problem—it's a trust problem." – Clayton Lougée

About the Guest:

Clayton Lougée is VP of Value Consulting at Cyara, where he helps enterprise organizations build trust in every customer interaction through comprehensive CX assurance strategies.

Rhys Fisher sits down with Zac Scalzi, Director of Sales at Cobrowse, and Ian Roberts, Director of Care Operations & Technologies at Quicken Inc.

Together, they explore how visual intelligence, AI augmentation, and agent-first design are redefining digital customer support.

If you're navigating AI adoption, struggling with fragmented customer journeys, or simply want real-world proof of what next-gen support can deliver, this conversation is absolutely worth your time.

What happens when a seven-year partnership between a fintech staple and a fast-scaling tech innovator collides with the rise of AI?

Scalzi and Roberts break down the real impact of Cobrowse’s visual intelligence – on customers, on agents, and on CX strategy as a whole.

Hear how Quicken cut average handle time by over six minutes, boosted TNPS, and prepared to launch one of the most practical, grounded AI deployments in the market.

Then dive deeper into why visual context is becoming the missing link between reference-based chatbots and truly agentic AI.

Key Highlights

• How Cobrowse evolved from a two-person startup to powering Fortune 100 enterprises
• Quicken’s measurable gains: faster support, happier customers, and reduced agent burden
• Why AI must evolve from “information lookup” to true contextual understanding
• Lessons for enterprises tiptoeing into AI without breaking trust or customer experience

Explore how visual intelligence can accelerate your digital transformation

Map one customer journey and identify where contextual AI could immediately unblock friction

Subscribe to CX Today for more vendor + customer deep dives

Learn more about Cobrowse AI’s capabilities via their website or demo resources

What if the secret to CX success in 2026 isn’t more automation — but better orchestration between AI and people?

In this exclusive interview hosted by Rob Scott, Publisher at CX Today, we unpack the latest Consumer Insights Report from Transcom and explore why CX is now a core revenue driver, not just a support function. Joining the conversation are two powerhouse leaders:
🔴 Jeff Blair, Chief Growth Officer, Transcom
🔴 Cortney Jonas Burnos, VP of Digital & AI Solutions, Transcom

Together, they reveal where brands are falling short, how to close the "experience gap," and why advisory-led partnerships are helping the best companies turn contact centers into engines of growth.

👉 What stood out in this year’s CX data — and why it’s a warning sign for brands relying too much on tech.
👉 How the smartest organizations connect CX performance to revenue, loyalty, and business strategy.
👉 The three dimensions every brand should use to evaluate their BPO partner in 2026.
👉 Where AI is driving measurable results — and where companies are still getting it wrong.

Key Takeaways:
🔴 The Experience Gap is growing — and consumers are losing patience.
🔴 AI + Human orchestration beats automation alone, every time.
🔴 Strategic BPO partners should be driving innovation, not just hitting SLAs.
🔴 Trust, efficiency, and insight will be the competitive currencies of 2026.

📈 Next Steps:
Download Transcom’s CX Leaders Consumer Edition Report and discover how AI, human expertise, and smarter partnerships can transform your customer experience strategy.

Inside the AI revolution reshaping citizen service – ComputerTalk’s Kyle Birker reveals what’s driving the shift and what comes next. 

In this CX Today video interview, Deputy Editor Rhys Fisher speaks with Kyle Birker, Head of Sales Operations at ComputerTalk, about the rapidly growing adoption of AI in government contact centers. 

As citizens demand more convenience and availability from public services, AI is stepping in to transform how agencies respond – often under tight budgets and strict compliance needs.  

Governments around the world are finally catching up to the private sector in their use of AI – but not without major hurdles. 

In this insightful conversation, ComputerTalk’s Kyle Birker joins CX Today’s Rhys Fisher to explore why public agencies are under pressure to modernize and how AI is reshaping service delivery. 

Key takeaways from the video:
🔴 Why surging citizen expectations are pushing government departments to adopt AI. 
🔴 The real-world use cases of AI in government contact centers, from chatbots to agent assist tools. 
🔴 How agencies can unlock 24/7 services while freeing staff to focus on high-impact tasks. 
🔴 The triple challenge of data readiness, trust building, and regulatory compliance – and how to overcome it. 

Kyle also discusses ComputerTalk’s flexible ICE platform, which allows agencies to "bring their own framework" and deploy AI at their own pace, solving critical integration and security concerns. 

📢 Explore how ICE can fit your agency’s AI strategy – visit ComputerTalk's website for platform details: https://www.computer-talk.com/ 
🔑 Get in touch with ComputerTalk’s public sector specialists to assess your data and readiness. 
🔗 Subscribe to CX Today for more expert insights on AI, contact centers, and digital government evolution.

CX Today's Charlie Mitchell sits down with Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research, to explore the CCaaS providers that are leading the pack, and those that are starting to fall behind.

However, the conversation goes deeper, with the pair also discussing:

⚖️ How to Choose the Right CCaaS Vendor for Your Business ⚖️
 The pair dive into the criteria organizations should use when selecting a CCaaS provider, from ecosystem fit to referenceability. Spoiler: there’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer.

🏆 Top Performers in the CCaaS Space 🏆
From Cisco’s hybrid strengths to AWS’s pay-as-you-go model, Kerravala highlights the vendors excelling across different customer segments.

🔻 Who's Falling Behind? 🔻
Despite their size and potential, Google and Microsoft haven't yet gone all in CCaaS. Kerravala shares why these tech giants may be missing their market opportunity.

For more on the Gartner Peer Insights Voice of the Customer for CCaaS report: https://www.cxtoday.com/contact-center/gartner-peer-insights-voice-of-the-customer-for-ccaas-2025/

Dive deeper into the Cisco Webex Contact Center - the Gartner Customers' Choice platform - here: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/contact-center/index.html

Hosted by Charlie Mitchell, Head of Publication at CX Today – Customer Experience Technology News #ccaas #contactcenters #cloudcommunications

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For more CX technology news, visit: https://www.cxtoday.com