AI investments can improve customer experience. Here’s what companies are—and should—be doing to stay ahead.

People trust their gut, but AI doesn’t have one: Executives are guarded about AI adoption for high-level use. There’s a path forward, but given the risks, C-suite caution is wise.

On the back of Babylon’s SPAC merger announcement, we unpack why it makes sense for a digital health company with a murky security track record to use the SPAC route to the public market vs a traditional IPO.

In-store shopping will remain a crucial part of the retail sales funnel in China, even as ecommerce players continue to rack up record gross merchandise value (GMV). Pre-pandemic, ecommerce was already disrupting brick-and-mortar retail, but over the past year, retailers began to innovate more offline, leveraging new and existing technology.

eMarketer principal analysts Jeremy Goldman and Jillian Ryan, along with junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch, discuss the work-from-anywhere future, how this years' Super Bowl will be unique, why some retailers are skipping returns, Spotify's emotion-based recommendations, what customers want from chatbots, the ideal length of time you should dunk your Oreo in milk, and more.

Incumbent insurers have accelerated their use of mature AI deployments in the past year to meet changing customer expectations and better compete with insurtechs. They’ll now need to infuse the tech across their business segments to unlock the full potential—including enhanced personalization, cost cutting, and stronger risk management—of AI-driven digital transformation.

There’s a lot of enthusiasm around retail and tech, particularly visual search. While not mainstream yet, more than half of US internet users said they were most excited about using the technology as part of their shopping experience, according to a survey conducted by ViSenze.

The conversational UI market is seeing massive year-over-year adoption and usage rate increases. Companies believe virtual assistants can and will be able to solve problems across the customer experience, but they just aren’t there yet. Rightpoint shares three planning steps for success.

It’s official: WhatsApp Status ads are coming, likely sometime in 2020. And though paid advertising is just one piece of the puzzle for companies looking to connect with customers on WhatsApp, it’s a major change for the chat app, which has so far remained ad-free.

Consumers are hesitant to engage with the latest automated customer experience offerings. In industries like healthcare and financial services, many prefer to consult with humans through traditional mediums. But in retail, more are willing to use emerging technologies—including chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI).

Marketers are looking to chatbots to help personalize the automated aspects of customer service, but many believe the technology still has some ways to go before catching up with their expectations.

This report highlights five best practices for marketers and advertisers as they evaluate the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in their operations.

Due to the growing number of channels available and younger consumers reaching adulthood, expectations for customer service have been changing.

As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in everyday experiences, it's logical to assume that consumers are growing more comfortable with it. But while consumers may be open to chatbots in theory, many still prefer to interact with a human customer service agent.

For as much as you hear customer service horror stories, according to an August 2018 survey by call center tech provider Genesys, 94% of US internet users considered their last customer service experience to be positive.

Audience segmenting, ad targeting and data analysis are just some of the tasks that marketers are applying artificial intelligence to.

Hossein Rahnama, founder and CEO of fintech AI firm Flybits, explains the benefits and challenges of virtual assistants for brands in Canada.

Alfredo Tan, chief digital and innovation officer at WestJet, explains how the Canadian airline created its new chatbot Juliet and early signals of success.

Though many digital banking users in the US still prefer to talk to a human for their financial needs, a recent study from Humley found that a good number are also turning to chatbots.

According to a recent LogMeIn survey, about one-quarter of North American internet users said customer service wasn’t able to solve their problem, and if they did, it took far too long.