The problem was never whether AI can do the work. It's that the work it does best is the same work that used to turn beginners into experts. For a while now the story has been that digitisation would hollow out service. The bots would take the contacts, the systems would swallow the back office, self-serve would empty the stores, and the teams would thin out. Here is something that might surprise you, coming from a CX consultancy: we are big believers in that first part. We

"If you say 'fold in the cheese' one more time..." If you've watched Schitt's Creek, you'll remember the scene. David is following a recipe. It tells him to "fold in the cheese." His response? "What does that mean? How do you fold it?" Moira assumes(?) everyone already knows. This classic scene from Schitt’s Creek perfectly captures what I see happening with AI in organisations today. AI can write you procedures. It can produce training guides, project plans and implementatio

Artificial Intelligence has quickly become the boardroom topic of the decade.​ Executives are under pressure to identify AI opportunities, improve productivity, reduce costs and modernise operations. Software vendors are promising transformational outcomes. Internal teams are racing to identify use cases. Competitors are announcing AI initiatives.​ In the rush to embrace AI, many organisations are making a familiar mistake.​ They are going shopping while they're hungry.​ Most

In many organisations, I have noticed that process mapping has developed an image problem. Executives often associate it with lengthy workshops, walls covered in sticky notes, large documents that are rarely revisited once the project is complete or a cottage industry using up valuable time and talent to tell you want you think you already know. Teams can sometimes view it as an administrative exercise rather than a valuable business tool. As a result, organisations frequentl

Australia and New Zealand have a serious productivity problem. After two decades and billions of dollars sunk into digital platforms and enterprise technology, many organisations are still not seeing the operational gains, service improvements or workforce productivity they were promised. SYDNEY, 11 June 2026. This issue isn’t new! In Australia productivity for the last decade was the lowest for the last 60 years. New Zealand is a clear example of the same problem, often more

What a way to close out the 2026 SMAART Recruitment Contact Centre Best Practice Roadshow. The energy in Melbourne was something else: nearly 500 people in the room, and the conversations matched it. 🙌 The roadshow reinforced what we heard right across Australia: the opportunity in customer experience is enormous. In productivity, in growth, in retention – and in the people delivering it every single day. Customer experience is one of the most powerful commercial levers a le

Bucking the downward trend, The Bridge International continues to build trust and grow, looking to the future, and announcing new board and executive team appointments SYDNEY, 17 March 2026. The Bridge International looks to the future, building on a its reputation and impressive growth as an independent, trusted advisor, bucking the trend in a consultancy sector that has had reputational challenges. The Bridge and CXO2 have partnered with 60 brands across Australia and New Z

Sara Elmstrom Chief Executive Officer Sara is a Partner at The Bridge International and CEO of CXO2, The Bridge’s customer experience specialist practice. An experienced executive, Sara spent two decades, working for iconic international brands leading multi-disciplinary teams across strategy, customer experience design, contact centres, and digital transformation. Now, she helps organisations achieve sustainable transformation by combining design thinking, system insight and

When we asked CX leaders to name their biggest CX challenge in a single word, the answers came quickly: Conversion. Change. Time. Technology… Different leaders. Different industries. But the challenges were consistent. The same pressures surfacing repeatedly. It’s a reminder that CX challenges are shared, and that solutions must start with clarity - clarity of culture, of customer need, and of commercial focus. Because real solutions must start with the root cause - not th

If trust is the currency of CX, transparency is the mint. When you’re using AI in customer journeys - whether it’s a voice agent, chat, or recommendations - customers want to know what’s happening and why. Trust isn’t something you bolt on at the end. It’s a design choice you make from the first workshop. What transparency means in AI CX: Declare when customers are talking to AI Explain how data is used and protected Make escalation to a human easy Why it matters? Increases

The rise of AI voice agents is undeniable - and Australia and New Zealand aren’t just watching from the sidelines. Globally, 67% of organisations now consider voice AI core to their business strategy, while 84% plan to increase their budgets over the next 12 months. In Aotearoa, 82% of businesses are already using AI in some form, with most reporting major productivity gains. But alongside this momentum comes the responsibility to get it right: how do we balance innovation w

If you’re not measuring trust, you’re guessing. AI in CX can boost efficiency - but if it chips away at trust, you’ll feel it in churn, complaints, and lost advocacy. The smart move? Track trust as seriously as you track conversion. Signals to watch: NPS or CSAT changes after AI rollout Escalation rates to human agents Drop-off or abandonment rates Going deeper: Be transparent - tell customers whether they're interacting with a human or AI assistant. Gather agent sentiment o

We are delighted to welcome Helen Whitehead to the Advisory Board of CXO2. Helen is a strategic and innovation leader with more than 25 years’ experience designing and delivering transformative programs across financial services, education, social services, and community sectors. Her career has been dedicated to creating scalable, inclusive solutions that improve access and outcomes for underserved communities, always grounded in equity, evidence, and impact. Helen has work

Last week, we asked a simple question: “If you were CEO for a day, what would you do?” The responses were about the everyday fundamentals that shape customer and employee experience. At our roundtable discussion on ‘Falling in ❤️ with the problem', we heard from almost 80 CX leaders from frontline to C-suite about what matters most. Leaders spoke about walking alongside the frontline, cutting through silos and red tape, and shifting focus from sales-driven KPIs to customer

During our Interactive Discussion Group (IDG) session, “Falling in ❤ with the problem, before you start solving for it”, at Customer Contact Week Australia and New Zealand last week, we asked around 80 CX leaders: “What are the three challenges your team is currently facing from the CXO2 Flywheel?” The answers were clear: Manual processes (1 in 4 leaders cited this as one of their top 3!) Limited time to coach Access to funding Handoffs & transfers Complaints and more

Great first day at CCWinter with the CXO2 team, Sara Elmstrom , Dale Clifford and David Vincent meeting lots of great humans and unpacking what CX leaders are dealing with right now. This morning, we heard from attendees that the most overhyped technology right now is AI. It’s an interesting contrast to our interactive discussion group with leaders from a a broad cross section of industries and sectors - energy, not for profit, banking, mutuals, education, insurance and

We are thrilled to welcome Karyn Baylis AM to the CXO2 Advisory Board. Karyn is an accomplished leader with an impressive background that boasts leadership roles at Optus, Insurance Australia Group, Qantas, and a remarkable twelve-year tenure as CEO of Jawun, where she advanced Indigenous entrepreneurship and community partnerships. Karyn’s expertise extends to her current board positions in both financial and not-for-profit sectors. In 2015, Karyn was awarded The Austra

As Customer Experience Practitioners, we spend a lot of time reviewing - you guessed it - customer reviews. Benchmarking and understand...

I recently read a quote that truly resonated: “ If you look after your staff, they will look after your customers. It's that simple.”...

An effective loyalty strategy is a critical component in any brand’s customer experience (CX) and retention strategy. However, a loyalty...