As the Customer Service Institute of Australia (CSIA) prepares to host its upcoming Australian Service Excellence Awards (ASEA) night, the spotlight once again falls on the leaders, teams, and innovations reshaping customer experience across the country. In an increasingly competitive commercial landscape, customer expectations are no longer a static target, they are an ever-evolving benchmark. …
The strategic co-engineering alliance between Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Microsoft marks a watershed moment for enterprise technology, customer experience (CX), and contact centre architecture in Australia. As the nation’s largest financial institution deepens its integration with Microsoft Azure and generative artificial intelligence capabilities, the deal offers a blueprint for how large enterprises intend …
AI agents are reshaping customer service, particularly across chat and messaging. But when something goes wrong, when stakes are high and time is short, Australians still turn to the tried and tested phone call to resolve their issue. Yet itʼs the channel most organisations have been slowest to bring into line with broader customer expectations. …
What was once an industry defined by survey distribution and Net Promoter Score (NPS) dashboards is rapidly transforming into a unified, AI-driven market focused on decision intelligence. At the centre of this transformation is Qualtrics, whose aggressive consolidation strategy is reshaping expectations for CX and market research teams globally. What does the ongoing Qualtrics consolidation …
In an environment marked by persistent inflation, elevated interest rates, and broader economic anxiety, loyalty programs in Australia are proving to be essential financial buffers for consumers and defensive anchors for brands. According to the Australian Loyalty Association (ALA) Annual Loyalty Insights Report 2025, these initiatives have become central to household financial strategy: 80% of …
Lendi Group is transitioning to an AI-native operating model by embedding agentic AI across its architecture, products, and customer experience. Created through the 2021 merger of online platform Lendi and retail mortgage broker Aussie, Lendi is one of Australia’s largest fintech property lending groups. Through its combined retail and digital channels, the platform serves tens …
Australian shoppers are planning to spend more this Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend, but economic pressure is making them more discerning about what they spend their money on, according to Shopify’s 2026 Holiday Retail Report. Australians plan to spend an average of A324 in 2025, bucking the global trend where planned spending has edged …
We all know AI is helping businesses get more done, faster. It can help summarise the customer call, draft the follow-up, pull together the research, analyse the data, find an answer and turn a task that used to take an afternoon into something much, much quicker. Which all sounds great on paper. Except the work …
Multiple AI companies have recently disclosed that their own AI agents broke into real organisations without being directed to, in a worrying trend that suggests AI safety is taking a back seat as companies race to develop leading AI models. The most recent example of this was at OpenAI, when a ChatGPT AI agent gained …
The Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) has appointed experienced education and marketing executive Lauren Hyde as its new Chief Executive Officer, taking the helm as the organisation prepares to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape driven by artificial intelligence and shifting workplace skill demands. Hyde, who officially stepped into the role following an interim period led by …
