Airline customer satisfaction increased 3% year over year.

That's one of the strongest gains across the travel sector, according to new research from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Forrest Morgeson, Director of Research Emeritus at ACSI, shares what's driving those gains and how airlines are improving across multiple customer touchpoints—from mobile apps and reservations to in-flight internet and access to information throughout the travel journey.

🎧 Listen to the conversation and explore the latest ACSI Travel Study.

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

Companies are embracing AI faster than ever before, and many leaders are realizing that successful transformation depends just as much on people and culture as it does on technology.

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Dr. Michael Housman, AI builder, founder of AI-ccelerator, and author of Future-Proof: Transform Your Business with AI or Get Left Behind, shares practical ways companies can use AI to accelerate innovation, improve customer experience, and prepare for the future of work.

We also discuss why successful AI adoption depends as much on leadership, employee buy-in, and culture as it does on the technology itself.

🎧 Catch the full episode and check out Michael's book, Future-Proof: Transform Your Business with AI or Get Left Behind.

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

Many organizations are moving faster on AI than they are on strategy, alignment, and operational execution—and customers feel the difference.

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, customer experience expert, author of the USA Today bestselling book Experience Is Everything, and Experience Investigators Founder Jeannie Walters explains why AI alone will not improve customer experience.

Drawing from her book Experience Is Everything, she explains how leaders can align mindset, business goals, employee empowerment, and operational discipline to create stronger customer experiences and measurable business outcomes.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to learn how leading organizations operationalize customer experience in the AI era.

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

American Express is using AI-powered personalization to help frontline teams deliver faster, more relevant support while preserving the human connection behind premium service.

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Anthony Devane, EVP and Head of Global Support Enablement and Control, Global Servicing at American Express, shares how his team is scaling AI and GenAI across servicing, travel, chat, and digital experiences while balancing personalization, trust, compliance, and customer expectations.

A thoughtful conversation on how leading brands are using AI to reduce friction, strengthen customer relationships, and scale premium service across global operations.

🎧 Listen to the full episode!

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

Retail is moving toward more automation, and for customers, the experience is increasingly defined by how those systems perform.

At Trader Joe's, the experience is shaped differently. It builds loyalty through in-store interaction and human connection.

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Mark Gardiner, author of Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's, shares insights from his experience working inside the company and what it reveals about delivering customer experience through people.

🎧 Watch the full episode to see where human interaction still creates value and how it can drive customer loyalty.

Grab a copy of Mark Gardiner's book, Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, David Kinzelman, Chief Customer Officer at United Airlines—the world's largest airline, known for its extensive international network, operational scale, and continued investment in digital innovation and customer experience—shares how the company scales CX through operations.

At United, CX isn't a layer on top of the business—it's built into how the system runs. From putting the customer at the center of operational metrics to continuously eliminating friction across the journey, decisions are made with customer impact in mind.

David shares how United: 👉 Measures performance through a customer lens—not just efficiency 👉 Uses tools like Agent on Demand to scale support during disruptions 👉 Enables real-time access to options and information 👉 Leverages AI and digital tools to improve speed, clarity, and responsiveness 👉 Delivers more personalized experiences through connectivity and data

But even with all the technology, one thing remains constant: 👉 It's the people—how they respond and deliver in the moment—that define the experience.

If you're leading CX, operations, or digital transformation, this episode breaks down what it actually takes to deliver consistent, high-quality experiences at scale.

United Airlines: https://www.united.com/ David Kinzelman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-kinzelman/

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

At CVS Health, AI is helping teams better understand and engage consumers—through stronger data and analytics.

In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, Josh Weiner, Senior Vice President of Consumer Engagement & Analytics at CVS Health, breaks down what it actually takes to make AI work in healthcare. From predicting customer intent in the contact center to enabling more personalized and connected care, this conversation explores how AI is being applied in real-world environments.

The key takeaway: AI creates value when it's applied across the full customer journey—not just as a point solution.

Listen to the full episode to learn how leading organizations are using AI, data, and analytics to improve customer experience in healthcare.

Connect with Josh Weiner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshweiner2/

Learn more about CVS Health: https://www.cvshealth.com

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

AI can handle millions of customer conversations—but only when the right data, workflows, and systems are in place.

Most companies underestimate what it actually takes to make that work.

In this episode, Nalin Gupta, Founder & CEO, Cignara breaks down why AI in customer support isn't plug-and-play—and what's required to make it accurate and reliable at scale.

We get into the foundation behind it: how organizations structure data, define workflows, and use continuous feedback to improve performance over time.

If you're thinking about AI in customer support, this is a more grounded look at what actually works in enterprise environments.

🎧 Listen to the full episode now! Learn more about Cignara at https://cignara.com/

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

AI is often deployed to improve efficiency—but its impact depends on how work is structured and delivered. In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, Dean Kontul, EVP and CIO of Intelligent Automation, Contact Center, and Investment Operations at KeyBank, shares how one of the largest U.S. financial services companies is applying AI to improve customer experience. At KeyBank, AI sits alongside a strong focus on service culture, shaping how customer experience is delivered. The approach starts with integration—bringing together data, product, technology, and operations so customer behavior, product decisions, and service delivery can inform one another. 🎧 Watch the full episode to learn how AI can be applied as an enabler—not just a tool—and what it takes to translate it into real operational impact.

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

Customer experience is shifting from memorable interactions to driving customer outcomes.

That's the shift behind the Transformation Economy, and it's changing how companies create value for customers.

This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Joseph Pine, co-author of The Experience Economy and author of the new book The Transformation Economy, explores the next evolution of customer value—from experiences to transformation.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to explore the shift from experiences to outcomes.

Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn

For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com