Five Must-Know AI Trends Shaping Customer Experience with Michele Carlson

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This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:

1. What does “AI first” mean in customer experience? 
2. How can businesses maintain a human-centric approach while integrating artificial intelligence in customer service? 
3. How does AI help streamline workflows for customer service agents? 
4. Why is it important for companies to keep humans involved in designing AI systems? 
5. How can agentic AI improve customer interactions and resolve issues more efficiently?

Top Takeaways:

• AI has advanced to the point where we can use it to take actions and complete workflows. It not only understands what customers say and provides answers, but it can also complete tasks like sending a package or updating an account.  

• Shep and Michele share five AI trends that shape the future of customer experience and contact centers. 
  • Trend #1: AI first, but it doesn’t mean AI only. Companies use AI to get quick answers or to resolve issues quickly. But this doesn’t mean eliminating human customer support. It means that when things get too complicated or tricky for AI to handle, human agents can step in to make sure the experience is personalized and complete.  
  • Trend #2: Human-Centric AI. 72% of customers say that they’ve experienced AI and automation benefits. Technology must be designed with humans at its center to truly understand and address human needs while empowering both customers and agents.  
  • Trend #3: Agentic AI. Agentic means artificial intelligence that can use language to take action autonomously. To put it simply, the system can take the customer’s data, determine what needs to be done, and complete the task without human intervention, allowing humans (employees) to focus on more important and complex issues. 
  • Trend #4: Experience Memory. AI can help companies not just remember who their customers are, but also their problems, preferences, and relevant details of past interactions.  
  • Trend #5: AI Observability. Don’t invest in something you can’t measure. Success isn’t just about using as much new technology as possible. It is about seeing real results like smoother processes, happy employees, and satisfied customers.  
• LAMs, or Language Action Models, help AI move beyond data analysis. They interpret the language, determine the intent, and act accordingly. They streamline agents’ workflows by automating repetitive tasks and integrating multiple systems, so agents spend less time juggling multiple tabs and focus more on interacting with customers. 

• There is a 40% gap between what companies think their service is like and how customers actually feel about the experience. Companies need to listen to their customers, get real feedback, and invest in people and technologies to close the gap.  

• Plus, Michele discusses more stats on AI-powered experiences that can help you enhance customer satisfaction and streamline business operations. Tune in! 

• If you like this episode of Amazing Business Radio, you will love the NiCE webinar where Michele and Shep share the Top 10 AI-First CX Trends to Lead in 2026. 

Quotes:

“When we say AI first, we don’t mean AI only. It means you start with artificial intelligence to help resolve customer issues, but it’s not the only solution.” 

“When AI is applied in a way that is helpful, meaningful, and helps solve problems, customers are very open to using it.” 

“It’s not about using more technology. It is about driving value. Make sure you are tracking the outcome, not just activity.”  

“Designing artificial intelligence with a human-centric approach means keeping humans in the loop. Your teams should stay involved in designing AI systems to make sure they resolve real customer needs, not just automate for automation’s sake.” 

About:

Michele Carlson, Director of Product Marketing & Head of Content Strategy at NiCE. She is an expert in AI-powered analytics and customer experience, transforming contact centers and delivering customer-centric results. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.