With 2026 quickly approaching, we at the Customer Strategist Journal are reflecting on the past year.
Every month, we showed up in CX leaders’ inboxes with insights, real-world stories, and expert perspectives. Throughout the year, that added up to 17 thought leadership articles and a lot of great conversations. Thanks for reading, sharing, and engaging.
We asked AI to help surface the trends and strategies we kept coming back to this year. These are the trends and strategies that showed up most in our CX conversations in 2025.
The CX topics that defined our year
- CX in the Age of AI. We dove into how AI is shaping traditional CX, including empathy, frontline augmentation, and adoption at scale; as well as practical insights into where AI does (and doesn’t) work.
- Strategy over technology alone. We discussed how tech alone doesn’t facilitate or fix transformation; leadership, strategy, and people matter. And in times of economic uncertainty, strategic investments are critical.
- Human elements of CX. We examined empathy’s evolving role in the contact center and how what matters isn’t just warmth, it’s effective service. Even as technology evolves, human experiences are still what differentiates brands.
- Trust and security as CX imperatives. The importance of a strong anti-fraud strategy leapt to the forefront of conversations – because fraud prevention isn’t just tech; it enables trust and protects value.
- Market trends and seasonal peaks. Our “CX Trends 2026: Fast Forward” report outlined what brands should focus on to succeed in 2026 and beyond. We also looked at AI’s role during times like retail’s peak demand period.
Our top real-world advice for brands
- Balance AI with human judgement
- Treat CX strategy as a core business strategy
- Fix transformation pitfalls
- Innovate operational practices
- Build trust through security
- Embrace human-centric CX
- Reframe friction points as opportunities
- Embrace trends and seasonality
We can’t wait to keep the conversations going in 2026. If you’re not already subscribed to our monthly Customer Strategist Journal newsletter, what are you waiting for? Subscribe here.