64% use them, normalizing instant, personalized answers that brands must soon match to stay relevant.

This FAQ addresses how AI fits into customer experience strategy in 2026.

AI use outside of content creation still ranks low among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) despite interest, showing a gap between curiosity and capability. While two-thirds of SMBs use AI for marketing and content creation, only 35% are applying it to customer service, per Revenued’s AI Usage Among Small Businesses report. If SMBs want AI to move beyond content creation, they’ll need to invest not just in tools but in training, governance, and measurable pilots. To close the gap between interest and implementation, brands should use upskilling as a differentiator, start with low-risk pilots, and build trust in outputs.

LG Electronics will integrate Xbox into its vehicle infotainment systems, allowing passengers to play games on the road, per Engadget. At the same event, IAA Mobility 2025, LG announced plans to incorporate Zoom, integrating a user experience that will allow drivers to participate in meetings without added distraction. LG’s integrations open up new in-vehicle advertising opportunities within premium ad formats, including in-game inventory. With LG’s data, brands will be able to geotarget the gaming and productivity demographics while they’re on the move—opening opportunities for gas stations, restaurants, and brick-and-mortar stores.

The news: OpenAI will acquire product-testing startup Statsig for $1.1 billion as it expands its applications division. Statsig CEO Vijaye Raji, formerly vice president and head of entertainment at Facebook, will join OpenAI as CTO of applications. OpenAI said the deal, pending regulatory approval, will help it develop “even better, more responsive experiences for the people and businesses we serve,” per a press release. Our take: This deal positions OpenAI to launch entirely new categories of AI-powered experiences—personalized content feeds, collaborative AI tools, or productivity suites.

The strategy: Agentic AI could redefine how banks detect and prevent financial crime, according to a recent McKinsey report. Our take: Banks are just beginning to pilot agentic AI and explore use cases, but they should prioritize using it in financial crime prevention. This technology will become essential as traditional methods struggle to keep up with increasingly sophisticated criminal tactics: Despite allocating significant resources to KYC and AML efforts, the financial industry only detects about 2% of global financial crime, per Interpol data.

Organizations will prioritize governance in 2025 as they ramp up genAI investments in pursuit of business transformation.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss why US workers’ adoption of AI might be slowing, how generative AI has helped companies and workers the most, how businesses can best quantify AI productivity gains, and how we expect the technology to help workers do their jobs better in 2025. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Vice President of Media, Content, and Strategy Henry Powderly and Vice President of Generative AI Dan Van Dyke.

As genAI adoption grows, businesses and consumers face a transforming digital ecosystem marked by broadening applications, enhanced productivity, shifting business practices, and legal and ethical challenges.

Marketers embrace AI with a 7/10 optimism rating: AI's role expands in content creation and strategic marketing growth.

Content marketers are facing pressure to integrate generative AI (genAI) tools to improve productivity and ROI, but diving in haphazardly could backfire. The best approach to adoption is “thoughtful and strategic,” our analyst Kelsey Voss said on a recent Meet the Analyst Webinar. “Brands must carefully navigate the pros and cons of genAI and leverage it judiciously to maximize its benefits and mitigate potential drawbacks,” Voss said. Here are four ways to use generative AI holistically in daily workflows.

Brands can expand their customer bases without starting from scratch by participating in conversations that are already happening on TikTok via “edutainment,” or informational content, Colleen Conkling, CMO of stationary company Papier, said at The Lead Innovation conference in New York City last week.

AI enhances B2B advertising: LinkedIn’s latest feature levers OpenAI models to improve ad creation efficiency.

The sector that spearheaded the pandemic’s remote work shift is struggling with bringing workers back to offices—employees feel happier and more productive working remotely.

The mix of flexible working arrangements banks and fintechs offer could create recruitment advantages for opportunistic firms.

Bots might soon replace professional interactions: ChatGPT is coming to Slack as companies go all in on generative AI. It would be wise to tally the pros and cons of AI adoption.

Activist investor pressures Salesforce to slash staff: A string of tech layoffs last week follows the Fed’s interest rate hike. But tech talent scavengers should keep companies on their toes.

Money no longer fun at Google: Sundar Pichai faces off with employees over budget cuts. As a recession looms and tech’s fun money evaporates, there are other ways to keep employees happy.

Salesforce-owned Slack announced Canvas, an integrated feature that allows users to create and edit documents without leaving the application.

Big Tech gets old-fashioned: Apple summoning its employees back to the office isn’t going over well. As workers threaten to quit, other tech companies could fill the satisfaction gap.