Feature
The Gist
- Customer experience trends. 2024's CX evolution will be powered by AI-driven personalization and omnichannel interactions, essential for deep customer engagement.
- Seamless interactions essential. Omnichannel experiences in 2024 will focus on integrating and streamlining customer touchpoints across all platforms, including social media.
- Voice interfaces rising. In 2024, voice and conversational user interfaces will become crucial, requiring investments in voice-enabled technologies for enhanced customer interactions.
Customer experience (CX) continues to evolve at a rapid pace, driven by cutting-edge technology and the continual evolution of consumer expectations. As businesses struggle to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of their customers, they are adopting innovative strategies that blend artificial intelligence (AI), personalization and seamless omnichannel interactions. With 2024 almost upon us, it's time to look forward to the key customer experience trends that are influencing how businesses engage with their audience.
Personalization at Scale
Hyper-personalization is an emergent CX trend that is projected to accelerate in 2024 driven by advances in artificial intelligence. Machine learning (ML) algorithms can now rapidly analyze vast amounts of data — from purchase activity to web behaviors and support requests — across millions of customers to uncover granular insights and predict needs.
Leading platforms, including customer relationship management (CRM) systems, marketing automation tools, and other AI-driven analytics software, build detailed psychographic and emotional maps of motivations, friction points, and preferences unique to every individual in a brand ecosystem. Combining these rich customer insights with real-time data including location, weather, or localized events enables the use of situationally relevant content. AI then assembles customized product bundles, marketing messages and offers that are tailored to resonate with customers on a personal, intimate level.
Manually crafting such personalized experiences is extremely resource-intensive, but AI-driven personalization at scale enables brands to automate the process. When done right, each customer feels understood and is seen as a market of one throughout consistently impactful customer journeys designed for their dynamically changing needs.
“On-going advancements in the ability to connect the totality of the customer experience, from first touch to last, together with algorithms that have the ability to learn and understand context will position those that do it well to elevate the level of engagement and ability to influence decision making in a significantly way,” says Tiffany Miller, senior vice president of digital experience technology with Fidelity Investments.
With customers regularly experiencing an increasing number of choices, yet diminishing attention, one-to-one personalization at scale will determine which brands are able to sustain deep engagement in the experience economy ahead.
Related Article: Taking Hyper-Personalization to the Next Level
Seamless Omnichannel Experiences
The trend of creating seamless omnichannel experiences in 2024 is being shaped by various evolving factors in ecommerce and retail. Omnichannel commerce is not just about providing a unified shopping experience across different channels but also about integrating them seamlessly. This means that whether a customer shops on an online marketplace such as Amazon, a standalone website, social media platform, mobile app or even in a brick-and-mortar store, the experience should be consistent and interconnected.
Sean Albertson, Founder & CXO of CX4ROCKS, former head of client experience measurement & analytics with Charles Schwab and author of “4ROCKS,” offers this example for how AI will make omnichannel more smooth and effortless, “Generative AI could look back at the recent activity and identify the likelihood of the customer contacting the company about a follow up to that activity, or a new interaction. This summary could be leveraged in the IVR to ask them "Is this a follow-up to prior issue of X?", and then route them to the best department.
Omnichannel support is no longer just about connecting various channels but more about ensuring consistent and seamless communication without repetition across these touchpoints. In this context, social media is emerging as a dynamic and indispensable customer service channel, offering real-time engagement opportunities.
The demand for seamless experiences across digital, social and physical channels is expected to rise. This trend acknowledges that a customer's journey might begin on one platform and move across several others before culminating in a purchase. For instance, a fashion item might be discovered on social media, researched on a company's website, and purchased in a physical store or via a mobile app.
With the increasing use of mobile devices and social media for online shopping, retailers must ensure a consistent and user-friendly experience across all these touchpoints. This includes not only the shopping experience but also customer service and post-purchase support.
Related Article: How Omnichannel Marketing Feeds Into Stronger Customer Experiences
Voice and Conversational User Interfaces
Voice assistants and other conversational interfaces usage will be on the rise in 2024. With Amazon’s announcement that it will be integrating generative AI functionality into its Alexa product line, the industry is beginning to prepare for a new channel where customers can interact using voice commands.
The expansion of voice-based interfaces, such as Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, is expected to move beyond personal use into the corporate domain. This transition signifies that customers will increasingly engage with businesses via voice commands for various purposes such as placing orders, seeking assistance or accessing information. This trend necessitates substantial investments by businesses in voice-enabled technologies and may include a rethinking of customer interactions to prioritize voice-based experiences over traditional text-based interactions.
Designing for Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) in 2024 will require a comprehensive approach. Key considerations include crafting customer-centric conversations that mirror natural human dialogues, integrating VUIs into multi-modal experiences (combining voice with visual elements), and developing contextual understanding to maintain the conversation's flow. Additionally, personalizing interactions based on customer profiles and preferences, providing clear voice feedback and prompts, and implementing robust error handling and recovery strategies will be crucial.
Conversational AI will elevate the work done by typical voice agents, allowing agents to focus more on the customer and their emotional needs, while AI is taking care of the bulk of the work. "We will start to see an agent sitting at a desk not having to type anything. AI will integrate with the tools and the call, and by doing so, will provide the agent with relevant FAQs, while also capturing orders and entering them in real time," says Albertson. An agent will still be required to validate the work done by the AI, but this will allow the agents to be much more focused on the conversation, on the customer needs and even the relevant products that the customer will get value from. "This will turn the voice channel into a value center vs just cost center," says Albertson.
As voice technology continues to evolve, leveraging NLP to improve speech recognition and interpretability will be essential. Additionally, ensuring voice-first accessibility, iterative user feedback, multi-lingual support, data privacy and security, as well as multi-platform integration along with real-world testing, will be integral to the effective design of VUIs in 2024.
Related Article: A Growing Call for Brand-Owned Voice Assistants
Data Privacy and Trust
Data privacy in 2024 is set to undergo significant transformations, marking a departure from previous years' trends. A key development is the expected regulatory coverage, with Gartner predicting that 75% of the world’s population will have personal data protected under modern privacy laws. This surge in regulatory coverage will compel businesses globally to adapt to new and diverse privacy regulations. This is good news, considering that a recent report from TheMoneyMongers revealed that Meta’s apps (Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Messenger) collect and share 86% of personal user data with third parties.
To stand out from competitors organizations need to be transparent in the data they are collecting and how it's being used. The data usage needs to make sense to your customers or they won’t opt-in. “Companies that are fully transparent about what data they use and why will continue to instill trust in their customers,” says Miller.
And at this point it should go without saying that your customers’ data needs to be protected like the “crown jewels.” ”Companies will need to effectively show customers how they are protecting their data. Any recent or upcoming hacks will undermine the company's ability to build these programs and ensure customers are opting in to the sharing of such data,” says Albertson.
Add to all of this, an increased focus on scrutinizing third-party tracking technologies such as pixels and cookies, especially in the fintech sector. Regulatory bodies will closely monitor the use of these technologies for tracking user activity or serving targeted advertising, emphasizing the need for transparent consumer consent and compliance with privacy laws.
The governance of AI technologies will also come under greater regulatory scrutiny in 2024. President Biden’s October 2023 Executive Order on AI, along with CISA’s November AI Roadmap, are the first bricks in the wall of AI regulations to come. The newly released AI guidelines put together by CISA, the UK’s NCSC for secure AI system development, and 21 other governmental agencies including Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan and others, along with 23 domestic and international cybersecurity organizations, are even more indicative that AI regulatory containment is fast approaching and will be a huge consideration when it comes to data privacy going forward.
Financial institutions using AI, particularly in chatbots, will need to address the associated privacy and security risks to remain compliant with consumer financial laws. This trend highlights the growing concern over potential consumer harm due to AI application design flaws or governance failures.
Webinar
Sep
25
CMS Briefing: A Live Look at What’s Next in AI-Driven Platforms
Learn how leading organizations are using AI‑driven tools to publish faster, personalize smarter and stay secure.
Register
Webinar
On demand
Ready or Not: How Data-First Organizations Are Unlocking Agentforce Potential
Learn how to cut through the noise, activate Agentforce and build a Salesforce AI strategy that actually delivers.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
AI in Customer Service: Faster Resolutions, Happier Customers
Don’t let rising demand burn out your team. See how to build a smarter, more resilient support org.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
From Hype to High-Impact CX Strategies That Actually Scale
Turn buzzworthy AI and outsourcing trends into measurable CX wins with fresh 2025 data.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
Insights to Action Rethinking the Contact Center for Real Business Impact
Join our exclusive webinar to hear CX executives share their innovative strategies for transforming service delivery.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
Accelerating Healthcare Ops with AI
Sign up to see how your peers are putting AI to work — and making it stick.
Watch Now
Related Article: The Role of Data Privacy in Customer Trust and Brand Loyalty
Predictive Analytics and Proactive Engagement
Predictive analytics and proactive engagement are expected to be big trends in 2024, driven by advancements in AI and ML. According to a 2023 research report by Reports Insights, the global predictive analytics market is projected to exceed $44.3 billion by 2030, driven by the widespread implementation of advanced analytics and an increasing demand for predictive insights and data-driven decision-making. Sean Albertson agrees, noting that this will be the year that predictive analytics goes mainstream, “2024 will be the first year that predictive analytics are used at a greater scale. Even the best companies using this today have more limited use cases. The advancements will enable all departments to consider use of predictive analytics and I believe that this will drive well beyond current analytics departments into the mainstream business groups like marketing and contact centers.”
In the realm of customer experience and engagement, predictive analytics enables brands to live up to the lofty expectations of customers, as various facets of AI facilitate deep insights that were previously unattainable. NLP now plays a key role in analyzing unstructured data, such as customer reviews and social media posts, allowing businesses to gain insights and make data-driven decisions. Sentiment analysis — a subfield of NLP — is able to help businesses understand customer sentiments about their products or services, improving customer satisfaction and enhancing brand reputation.
Keeping up with customer expectations is an uphill battle, but Miller thinks predictive analytics will have, “significant potential to improve customer engagement by enabling companies to improve the accuracy in their ability to anticipate customer needs, allowing for timely and contextual content that will drive informed decision making and customer interactions with highly personalized recommendations.”
Different types of ML, including supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning, are now contributing to various predictive analytics applications including:
- Customer churn prediction
- Sales forecasting
- Fraud classification
- Customer segmentation
- Anomaly detection
- Market basket analysis
- Pricing strategy optimization
- Personalized recommendations
In 2024, predictive analytics will play a large role in changing the way businesses approach customer experience by enabling proactive rather than reactive engagement models. By analyzing historical data, customer behavior patterns, and a host of other relevant metrics, these analytics tools forecast future customer needs and preferences, and facilitate proactive customer experiences. By anticipating common queries and potential issues, businesses can preemptively address customer concerns, often before the customer is even aware of a problem.
This proactive stance will also be pivotal in reducing customer churn. By identifying customers who are at risk of leaving, businesses can engage them with tailored retention strategies, effectively nipping potential dissatisfaction in the bud.
Related Article: What Is Predictive Analytics? And How It Works
Customer Empowerment and Co-Creation
Customer empowerment and co-creation are also poised to be significant trends in 2024, reflecting a paradigm shift in the relationship between businesses and their customers. These concepts are grounded in the recognition that today's consumers are not just passive recipients of products and services but active participants in the brand experience.
Leaders recognize that customer affiliation must evolve beyond one-time sales to nurture lifetime value. In Deloitte’s Global Marketing Trends report, it is suggested that engagement is no longer enough, and that having customers actively participate with a brand provides value to both the customer and the brand. Fostering participation, rather than just purchasing, cultivates loyalty.
This trend is about giving customers more control and a stronger voice in their interactions with brands. Empowerment involves providing customers with the tools, resources, and information required to make informed decisions. It’s about moving beyond the traditional seller-buyer dynamic to a more collaborative relationship where customers feel valued and heard.
This approach includes transparent communication, personalized experiences, and giving customers a sense of ownership in the services or products they use. Empowered customers are more likely to feel a deeper connection with a brand, leading to increased loyalty and advocacy.
Co-creation takes customer involvement to the next level, and refers to the process of collaborating with customers to generate ideas, develop products or enhance services. In this model, customers are not just end-users but active contributors to the product development process. This can manifest in various ways, from crowdsourcing ideas and feedback through social media platforms to involving customers in innovation workshops or beta-testing new products. The premise of co-creation is that it harnesses the collective creativity and insights of customers, leading to more innovative, relevant, and personalized offerings. This not only enhances the customer experience but also gives businesses a competitive edge by aligning their offerings more closely with customer needs and preferences.
2024 Will Be a CX Rollercoaster Ride
As we look to the future of customer experience in 2024, personalization, seamless omnichannel interactions, conversational interfaces, data privacy, predictive analytics and customer empowerment will be pivotal focus areas for brands. Success will rely on leveraging AI and advanced technologies not just for efficiency but, more importantly, to nurture human connections. The customer experience leaders of tomorrow will be the ones who can strike the optimal balance between high-tech and high-touch — using data-driven insights to craft targeted experiences while also building relationships, trust and brand affinity through transparent communication and co-creative collaboration. The future is one defined by responsible innovation that keeps customers’ evolving needs at the core.
