The connected customer | MIT Technology Review

As brands compete for increasingly price conscious consumers, customer experience (CX) has become a decisive differentiator. Yet many struggle to deliver, constrained by outdated systems, fragmented data, and organizational silos that limit both agility and consistency.

The current wave of artificial intelligence, particularly agentic AI that can reason and act across workflows, offers a powerful opportunity to reshape service delivery. Organizations can now provide fast, personalized support at scale while improving workforce productivity and satisfaction. But realizing that potential requires more than isolated tools; it calls for a unified platform that connects people, data, and decisions across the service lifecycle. This report explores how leading organizations are navigating that shift, and what it takes to move from AI potential to CX impact.