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From landlines to smartphones, from PSTN to VoIP – the last two decades have been characterized by non-stop change for telecommunications companies. Now the industry is reaching another pivotal moment as customers’ expectations, service complexity, and AI collide. How brands respond could define their competitive advantage for years to come.

We wanted to discover exactly how telecoms are adopting customer experiences powered and curated by AI – and how their customers feel about it. So for the telecoms edition of our 2026 CX Trends Report, we surveyed 4,000 people in the U.S. and U.K. as well as 100 telecom leaders. 

The results reveal a sector working hard to keep pace with a shifting CX landscape. An impressive 64% of telecoms say they are already using AI to steer customer journeys. That’s more than in any other industry we surveyed, including banking, insurance, healthcare, and travel and hospitality.

You can explore our full findings in our 2026 CX Trends Report, or keep reading as we share some of the headlines. 

Read the telecoms edition of Acxiom’s 2026 CX Trends Report →

What kind of forces are shaping CX strategy for telecoms? 

The answer varies across U.S. and U.K. telecom brands. In the U.S., where the industry serves an estimated 335 million people, brands cite rising churn and price sensitivity in a commoditized market as the biggest external force shaping CX strategy. In the U.K., brands are feeling the pressure to turn 5G, fiber, or smart home investments into profitable customer experiences. And across both regions, telecoms are conscious of digital-native or OTT players that operate using leaner models. 

As you’d expect, there’s a clear link between these external forces and the big CX priorities for telecoms in the next 2-3 years. For instance, digitally native and OTT industry players often set a high bar for seamless UX and instant support. This drives brands to prioritize efforts such as designing adaptive, AI-led experiences across devices and contexts (a top-3 concern for 44%) and using conversational AI for query resolution (26%). 

It’s also easy to see how rising churn and price sensitivity may be driving telecoms to focus on simplifying journeys across bundled products (41%), improving retention and loyalty (32%), and differentiating CX for premium, business, or high-value customers (31%) – all in an attempt to break parity in commoditized markets. 

AI assistants: Do telecom customers want conversational interfaces? 

Conversational interfaces are a relatively new entry point to digital CX, and they’re not quite the go-to choice for telecommunications companies just yet. Our report shows that 59% still prefer to speak to a person or visit a website for everyday support, rather than use an AI-powered voice or chat assistant. 



It’s important to note that how people prefer to interact differs based on what they’re trying to achieve. For example, 27% would choose to use a voice or chat assistant to check a mobile, broadband, or TV plan, while only 23% would opt to dispute their latest bill this way.

But as chatting with machines becomes a more regular feature of everyday life, telecoms are equipped and ready for more people to switch to conversational interfaces. Nearly two-thirds (64%) are working to develop consistent conversational personas, while 97% expect conversational interfaces to be widely used in the next 2-3 years.

Leading the charge on platform unification 

From mobile, broadband, and TV, to smart home and streaming services, people are feeling fragmentation fatigue, particularly when required to jump between platforms to achieve a single task. 

Our research shows that people want telecoms to step up and make their lives easier; 75% expect brands to make experiences seamless even when dealing with their partners. Telecoms are feeling this pressure, with 73% agreeing that fragmentation is already affecting their CX strategy, but they’re also taking the initiative to unify experiences. 

More than two-thirds (69%) of telecom brands are already using AI to orchestrate customer journeys across touchpoints and partners – again, a larger percentage than in any other industry we surveyed. Take a look at the infographic below to see the other steps telecoms are taking to deliver cross-platform CX. 

Telecoms must start with a strong data foundation 

While telecommunications companies are leading the way in some respects, there’s a long way to go in unlocking the full potential of AI in CX. To successfully use AI for customer support, guiding decisions, and reducing friction across complex journeys, brands need an in-depth understanding of where and how people are ready for AI-led experiences. That means building a strong foundation of data and identity. And this is where Acxiom can help.

Get the full report 

This article only covers a portion of the insights you’ll find in the telecoms edition of our 2026 CX Trends Report. Download the full report to learn more about: 

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The travel industry is ripe for AI adoption, with user journeys that span multiple touchpoints, require a high level of personalization, and often have high emotional stakes – making friction feel especially risky. 

Today’s travel brands are already using AI in several ways to reshape CX strategies and  improve efficiency, service levels, and attribution. But how do their customers actually feel about AI curating their experiences? 

The travel and hospitality edition of our 2026 CX Trends Report digs into this question, exploring both brand and consumer perspectives on the AI-powered trends set to define CX in the industry next year. In this article, we unpack a few of the biggest takeaways to give you a flavor of our research – but to benefit from our full findings, be sure to download the report below.

Read the report: AI-curated experience in travel and hospitality →

The headwinds shaping CX strategy for travel and hospitality brands 

It’s a challenging climate for travel brands, as people’s expectations continue to rise and products and services become increasingly complex. (Think more platforms, more partners, and all that associated data). With all that in mind, customer experience has never been more critical to competitive success.

We asked 100 leaders in travel and hospitality about the biggest external factors affecting their CX strategy. Here’s what they identified, in order of impact: 

  1. Growth of digital-first competitors and AI-powered travel platforms
  2. Rising demand for real-time‚ personalized booking and service
  3. Difficulty driving loyalty in a convenience-led‚ choice-rich market
  4. Operational challenges
  5. Customer frustration with disconnected platforms and inconsistent experiences

Travel brands are flexing CX strategies in response to these external forces, and this is reflected in their priorities for the next 2-3 years. For instance, when the market is saturated with almost infinite choices, it’s easy for people to go elsewhere. This makes sensitively handling pivotal moments, like complaints and issues, so crucial. So it’s no wonder 53% of U.S. travel brands say delivering more empathetic support during disruption is their number one CX priority. Meanwhile, both U.S. and U.K. brands are focusing on enhancing loyalty programs and reducing friction across booking and checking in. 

Similarly, with people coming to expect customized products and services as standard, 34% of U.S. and 32% of U.K. travel brands surveyed say they’re already using AI to offer real-time personalization. 

Is effort the enemy of the modern traveler? 

Despite the improvements AI enables, 58% of people say it still takes too much work to get things done with brands – and that frustration is evident in their behavior. Last year, more than 40% of people switched providers, stopped using a brand, or abandoned a transaction due to friction in the experience.

Customer journeys are inevitably high-effort in the travel industry; the moving parts for a single trip can include flights, hotels, transfers, activities, and numerous other bookings. And even when these components can be booked through a single website or provider, each step poses the risk of friction. 

Travel and hospitality brands are all too aware of the stakes, with 83% agreeing that effortless experiences will define the next generation of customer loyalty. But they’re also under no illusions about the risks of going all-in with AI in CX. Of the brands we surveyed, 30% say they fear losing the emotional connection or human touch in the race to deliver frictionless customer experiences, while 29% worry about compromising quality by moving too fast. 

Fragmented journeys put customers on a different path 

Another form of friction negatively impacting the customer journey is fragmentation: 73% of travel and hospitality customers say it’s frustrating to jump between apps or platforms just to achieve one thing. People also place the onus on brands to bridge the gap; three-quarters believe it’s a brand’s responsibility to make cross-platform journeys seamless, even when partners are involved. Despite this pressure, travel and hospitality is the industry least likely to use AI to orchestrate journeys across touchpoints or partners.  

AI could fuel the development of a “universal interface” that unifies platforms and minimizes disruption, creating a continuous customer journey that moves seamlessly from one provider to the next. The question is, will this come at the cost of memorable experiences? A whopping 91% of brands believe AI has the power to unify customer journeys, but only brands can create memorable moments.  

CX from the data foundation and up 

Travel and hospitality brands are moving quickly to embrace AI in CX, but they don’t always have the strong data and identity foundation they need to properly put those solutions to work.  

Whether they’re leveraging AI to enable better customer support, enhance loyalty, or reduce friction – travel brands need a deeper understanding of audience behaviors, expectations, and characteristics, so they can build customer experiences that anticipate (and exceed) their needs. That’s where Acxiom comes in – as a trusted partner for travel brands, we can help build the foundational data infrastructure needed to support AI-powered CX strategies. 

Download the full report for a deeper dive 

In this article, we’ve only scratched the surface of our findings. Download the full report, and you’ll learn:
 

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Every healthcare journey is made up of multiple steps. And those steps don’t need to take place in a hospital, clinic, or consultation room to be critical to patient outcomes.

Whether someone’s searching for the right provider, making an appointment, or seeking more information about their medication, the experience can impact everything from their ability to access care to the success of their treatment plan.

This is one reason the rapid evolution of AI is so exciting for healthcare organizations. Yes, the technology is unlocking headline-grabbing advances in fields like drug discovery and medical imaging analysis. But it’s also helping to transform the patient experience in ways that are no less important.

As part of our annual CX Trends Report, we interviewed 100 healthcare leaders in the U.S. and the U.K. to better understand how they’re building AI into their patients’ experiences. We’ll share some of our key findings here, but if you have time to read the full report, it’s free to download and is packed with additional insights.

Read the report: AI-curated experience in healthcare →

How healthcare brands are reinventing the patient experience

In the next 10 years, the customer experience healthcare organizations provide will either be mostly AI-led or hybrid by design. That’s according to 73% of healthcare leaders.

Here are just three ways they’re already laying the groundwork for an AI-assisted future.

Using AI to guide the patient experience

Would you be happy for AI to monitor your health, make recommendations, and even book appointments on your behalf? To support our research with healthcare leaders, we also surveyed 4,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers, and almost half (49%) told us they would be comfortable with AI steering their healthcare experience in this way.

Healthcare leaders believe, in time, such AI-guided experiences will become the norm. The vast majority (78%) say AI will handle most customer decisions within the next decade, turning brands into silent, invisible advisors. More than 80% are planning to use AI to steer every stage of the customer journey, from awareness to ongoing support.

But healthcare leaders are sensitive to the risks involved and cautious of implementing AI before it’s up to the task. They’re likely to see low confidence in AI decisions as a barrier to the technology playing a more active role in shaping the customer experience, more so than business leaders in any other industry we surveyed.

Our study also reveals a disconnect between what healthcare leaders and healthcare consumers believe matters most when AI is used to guide journeys and decisions.

Healthcare brands are focused on providing transparency – making sure people understand how the technology is steering their experiences, and why. This is actually a relatively low priority for consumers. They place much more importance on being able to retain control and easily adjust or override an AI’s choices.

Building empathic AI-powered interactions

Empathic AI – the kind that reads and responds to your emotions – is a divisive issue. Someone younger than 35, or who actively uses AI, is likely to be accepting of the technology interpreting their emotional state. Someone who’s older than 55, or who has little experience with AI, is likely to bristle at the idea.

But when you present people with a clear, practical scenario, a clearer consensus emerges. A strong majority (67%) of all the people we surveyed agree: when they’re stressed, they want digital services to act more like a human, not more like a robot.

Healthcare leaders understand this very well; 78% say brands that automate without empathy won’t survive the decade. What’s more, building more empathic and emotionally aware interactions is the highest CX priority among healthcare leaders for the next two to three years.

But the road to empathic AI isn’t straightforward. Almost all healthcare leaders (94%) say building emotionally intelligent AI into customer interactions presents a challenge for their organization. Customer acceptance is the most commonly cited obstacle, followed by the risk of the technology providing problematic responses or simply failing to perform.

Unifying the platforms that support patient journeys

From reviewing your blood test results in one app, to joining a telehealth call in another, and filing a health insurance claim in a third, modern patient journeys can involve hopping from platform to platform.

Many healthcare leaders are now looking to AI to help bridge the gaps by orchestrating journeys across touchpoints and partners. They’re taking a host of other steps, too – even if they’re being a little more cautious in their efforts than brands in other industries.

In this era of large language models (LLMs) and agentic AI, healthcare leaders also have strong opinions on AI’s potential to offer patients a single, universal interface. Eight of 10 (79%) believe agentic AI is set to streamline customer journeys, for example, but at the cost of customer choice.

From smarter CX to stronger patient outcomes

Our study’s findings underline the link between successful CX transformation and progress toward the broader objectives of modern healthcare organizations, as enshrined in frameworks such as The Quintuple Aim. 

Indeed, the majority of U.K. healthcare leaders say their CX strategy is being driven by the need to deliver better patient outcomes at a lower cost. Almost half (44%) of our U.S.-based respondents say pressure to improve care equity and better serve diverse populations is shaping their CX strategy.

Wherever a healthcare organization’s strategic priorities lie, they’ll need to build their AI implementations on a solid data and identity foundation. As they strive to create guided, personalized, and secure experiences that patients quickly come to trust, they’ll find that the support of an expert data and marketing technology partner is invaluable.

Read the full report

Our full report explores even more ways healthcare leaders are using AI to rethink the customer experience. Download it now to discover:

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The rise of AI is shaking up every stage of the customer journey. And insurance companies, like all other commercial enterprises, are feeling the shockwaves.

AI is changing the way many people shop for their perfect policy. It’s also raising their expectations regarding product personalization and customer support.

We wanted to understand how insurers are responding – how they’re rethinking customer experience (CX) in a world that’s being transformed by AI in all its forms, from conversational to generative to agentic. So, we asked them.

We interviewed 100 leaders at U.S. and UK insurance companies, exploring their CX challenges, priorities, and strategies. You can find the full picture in our 2026 CX Trends Report, or read on for a snapshot of our findings.

Read the report: AI-curated experience in insurance →

Insurers are connecting CX across fragmented platforms

How do you deliver a seamless customer experience when your customer journeys are often broken across multiple platforms, partners, and ecosystems?

It’s a huge question for insurers, given the industry’s complex landscape of brokers, price comparison sites, and third-party providers, from retail banks to travel and mobile phone companies. It’s also a question AI is helping solve.

The majority of insurers (63%) say they’re implementing AI to orchestrate people’s journeys across touchpoints or partners, as they work to create a cross-platform customer experience.

Insurers are embracing conversational interfaces

Most insurance brands (61%) are already testing AI-powered assistants in real customer journeys. And it’s easy to understand why – conversational interfaces, whether voice or text-based, could be the key to providing policyholders with quick, highly personalized service and support, 24/7.

What’s more, a significant proportion of people say they  are as happy to interact with a bot as they are to ask their questions to a human. We canvassed the opinions of 4,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers in our study. Nearly one in three (30%) would prefer to use a voice or chat assistant when they have a question about what their policy covers. That’s more than would choose to consult the insurer’s website or app (27%), and the same proportion that would turn to a call center (30%).

But conversational interfaces are creating new risks for insurers, too. As voice and chat searches replace many traditional web-based inquiries, insurers know they need to adapt their strategy. Almost nine of 10 (88%) insurance leaders say brands that don’t adapt risk vanishing from the conversation. Almost half (49%) say they’re already rethinking search, discovery, and advertising for a world without screens.

Insurers are using AI to steer the customer experience

Insurers’ plans for AI-curated CX extend far beyond building bots to field questions. Increasingly, they’re also using the technology to steer people’s actions – in real time, at every stage of the customer lifecycle.

Weaving AI into every key moment, from awareness to retention, is no simple task. Most insurers are running into multiple logistical and strategic challenges, the most common being:

Interestingly, customer comfort with AI calling the CX shots could be less of a cause for concern than many insurance leaders might think.

Yes, a small proportion of people (17%) bridle at the idea of brands using AI to influence their decisions in any way. But many are ready for the technology to offer a helping hand in the right context. The majority (52%), for example, say they’re comfortable with AI suggesting the right insurance policy for their individual requirements.

The primary forces driving CX reinvention

What’s the single greatest force pushing insurance leaders to reshape CX strategy and make the most of AI? That depends on whether they spread jam or jelly on their toast.

More than any other external factor, U.K. insurers are responding to growing competition from insurtechs and direct-to-consumer models. Insurers in the U.S., meanwhile, are most likely to be responding to rising customer expectations around personalized, proactive risk management.

Whatever their primary motivation for rethinking CX, insurers are largely united in their vision of the industry’s future. More than eight of 10 (83%) say insurance CX will be AI-led within 10 years, with humans only stepping in where circumstances or regulations demand.

Minimizing the risks; seizing the opportunities

Insurance companies know they can’t sleep on CX transformation. As people’s search habits change, these companies feel the urgency to make product discovery effortless – more so than brands in any other industry we surveyed.

But they’re also awake to the positive, business-changing potential of AI-curated experiences. They understand how AI can support many of their most critical CX objectives, from providing next-level personalization to simplifying customer journeys and touchpoints.

For many, selecting the right data partner will be a vital step. After all, AI is only as good as the information it’s working with. Before any insurance provider attempts to elevate its policyholder experience to new, AI-curated heights, it should make sure it’s building atop a robust data and identity foundation.

Read the full report

This article only covers a selection of the findings from our study. Read the full report, and you’ll discover:

Download the report →

With every passing day, AI is evolving from a behind-the-scenes enabler to the architect of modern customer experience. Brands are no longer turning to AI solely to boost efficiency but are using it to transform the very fabric of how they communicate with – and care for – their customers, and how they pursue prospects.

We’re entering the age of AI-curated experiences, marking a shift from decision support to decision making. Direct AI-to-AI communications enable algorithms to do the thinking on both sides of the customer experience for the first time, so they can deliver more effective customer journeys as they interpret context, anticipate intent, and orchestrate interactions across every touchpoint. 

Yet our 2026 CX Trends Report reveals progress comes with a paradox. People are open to being guided by AI, but they rank control as a top priority during those interactions, so they can change or reject the AI’s suggestions. Two-thirds (67%) of consumers want digital services to act more human when they’re stressed, but only 27% are comfortable with AI using signals to understand how they’re feeling. These examples illustrate the push and pull of CX transformation playing out in real time, and it’s up to brands to find the right balance.

The sheer speed at which AI is changing the landscape is also remarkable.  50% of brands say AI-curated experiences are already transforming their sector, and 79% say they will in the next 12 months. Here’s a snapshot of each of the five trends we explore in the report and their findings:

  1. Conversational interfaces – AI-powered voice and text interfaces are slowly but surely replacing traditional web and mobile experiences, enabling conversational interactions between consumers and brands. People’s willingness to use voice or chat interfaces varies by age, but 97% of brands expect them to be used widely in the next 2-3 years. So how can brands ensure they strike the right balance between conversational AI and other channels, and use this technology in a way that actually meets their customers’ unique needs?
  2. An instructional world – People’s lives are constantly being guided by AI recommendations: think comparison sites, personalized “watch next” suggestions, and even predictive text. The report reveals people’s comfort level with brands using AI to influence their decisions varies considerably by age and their immediate situation – something brands have to be aware of when they’re using AI in this way.
  3. Effortless access – Hyperconvenience is the new normal, but brands are failing to deliver: 58% of consumers say that, despite AI, it still takes too much effort to engage. The younger the age group, the lower their tolerance for inconvenience and the greater the likelihood they’ll walk away if the experience isn’t friction-free. Yet most brands worry that using AI to deliver effortless experiences risks sacrificing quality or becoming less distinctive.
  4. Platform unification – Whether it’s booking a hotel room, managing finances, or streaming content, 73% of consumers find jumping between multiple platforms for one task frustrating. Could AI act as a “universal interface,” allowing it to navigate fragmented systems and apps with ease? A huge 92% of brands agree that AI can unify journeys, but they also believe only brands can create memorable moments.
  5. Empathetic interactions – Emotionally intelligent AI is on the rise, but for some people, AI that senses and responds to how they’re feeling seems like a step too far. While 38% of them say they don’t want AI reading their emotions, 81% of brands believe those brands that automate without empathy won’t survive the decade.

As AI continues to evolve from enabler to orchestrator, the challenge for brands is knowing where to focus their next CX transformation efforts. The report takes a deep dive into each of these trends, delivering a clear view of how AI is reshaping the CX landscape and data-driven insights into customer sentiment for the shift toward AI-curated experiences.

The message is clear: the key to powerful AI-curated experiences lies in combining the power of artificial and human intelligence. As long as robust data foundations and strong ethical principles underpin their use of AI, brands can then anticipate change, make smarter decisions, and deploy AI in ways that actually align with people’s priorities.

To read our evidence-based findings in full and discover validated approaches to building AI-curated experiences that will resonate with your customers, download the 2026 CX Trends Report.

2025 was a year of accolades for Acxiom’s strategic cloud partnerships. Just before the holidays, Snowflake awarded Acxiom the PREMIER partner badge for AI Data Cloud Products – confirming proven integrations and measurable business impact.

What Earned the Recognition

Acxiom, now part of Omnicom, continues to accelerate AI applications for its industry-leading identity resolution and data enrichment solutions for global and local marketers. Recent deployments include Acxiom’s Real ID First Party Graph and Acxiom Data Enrichment as native apps in the Snowflake Marketplace, enabling faster, more precise decisioning.

A Year of Affirmation

At the Cannes Lions Festival in June, Acxiom and Snowflake announced a strategic initiative to build AI-powered marketing environments that help brands modernize, moving from fragmented data to integrated customer views and real-time personalization, with demonstrable accountability to global privacy requirements.

What Matters Most

We will deliver even more value to our clients in 2026. Now part of Omnicom, Acxiom’s identity resolution capabilities (2.6 billion addressable global audience), combined with Omnicom’s Omni platform, will enable more personalized, cross-channel marketing that delivers measurably improved media performance and outcomes for our clients.

Recognition is nice. Results are what counts. And 2025 delivered both.

From standing in line at a bank branch to tapping an app — the way we manage our finances has transformed dramatically. Today, as organizations across many industries strive to deliver AI-enhanced customer experiences (CX), banks and other financial institutions aren’t just participating; they’re leading the charge.

They’re already using AI to guide customer decisions and orchestrate journeys. They’re crafting effortless experiences while safeguarding trust and personalization. And they’re moving quickly to harness conversational interfaces. The urgency is clear: 94% of banks and financial institutions believe AI-curated experiences will reshape CX faster than most brands are prepared for.

We interviewed 100 banking and financial service leaders based in the U.S. and U.K. for our 2026 CX Trends Report. They shared the significant pressures they face, their priorities for the coming year, and their innovative approaches to five AI-powered CX trends.

Read the report: AI-curated experience in banking →

What’s shaping CX strategy for financial services?

Customer experience has become a critical differentiator for banks and financial services companies. A diversified marketplace — disrupted by digital entrants, big tech players, and embedded finance solutions — has significantly raised customer expectations. Regulators are intensifying their focus on customer journeys and outcomes.  And analysts are even warning that banking CX, globally, is in decline.

When asked about the external forces most profoundly shaping their CX strategy, financial leaders identified:

Interestingly, business leaders in the U.S. and U.K. are responding with distinct priorities.

U.S. banks are more likely to prioritize enhancing personalization across channels and products and integrating with fintechs, super apps, and embedded finance ecosystems. U.K. banks are often focused on simplifying their digital and mobile banking interfaces.

However, financial institutions on both sides of the Atlantic share a common top CX priority: using AI to guide customers through complex financial decisions. This highlights a broad industry consensus on AI’s pivotal role in the future of banking experiences.

In fact, 83% of banking leaders believe CX will be predominantly AI-driven in the next 10 years, with human intervention reserved for complexity or regulatory needs. They aren’t just talking about it; they’re actively building this AI-curated future.

Beyond the hype: Banks are implementing conversational interfaces

Financial services companies are leading other industries in implementing conversational interfaces. A substantial 77% are actively investing in this technology.

Most banks are diligently working on establishing a consistent brand persona for conversational channels and rigorously testing AI-powered assistants within real customer journeys. Nearly half (46%) are already embedding conversational interfaces directly into their customer journeys and technical platforms.

People are increasingly turning to voice and chat tools for product research and evaluation. This trend is so significant that 92% of banks acknowledge the imperative to adapt or risk being left out of the conversation entirely.

However, our research also indicates that banks will need to thoughtfully introduce  conversational interfaces to customers to get them comfortable using them for everyday financial management. Our survey of 4,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers revealed that only 18% would choose a voice or chat assistant over a more established channel for tasks like transferring money between accounts. This underscores the need for a strategic, human-centric approach to AI adoption.

Financial institutions are stepping up AI guidance

The potential for AI to guide and support the banking customer experience is immense — from helping customers identify the best savings accounts to offering personal finance tips or flagging suspicious transactions.

Some financial services companies are already using AI to intelligently steer customer actions at every stage of the journey, and more than 90% say they plan to do so. This will be a welcome development for many customers, directly addressing the demand for 24/7 personalized service. The vast majority of people (83%) are open to AI influencing their decisions, though their comfort levels vary:

As banks build these trusted, AI-guided experiences, they are equally focused on delivering optimal outcomes and ensuring customers understand AI’s role. Consumers, above all, want the assurance that they can override AI’s choices when they want to, highlighting the importance of transparency and control in human-AI collaboration.

The delicate balance: speed and trust in CX

Almost every financial services company (90% of our sample) believes the next generation of customer loyalty will be defined by effortless experiences.

Yet, the path to effortless CX is fraught with challenges, from outdated systems and slow processes to fragmented data. The most prevalent obstacle, cited by 48% of banks, is the critical need to balance speed with the imperative to build trusted, personalized experiences.

With 82% of banking leaders believing the trend toward AI-curated, effortless CX will transform their industry in the next 12 months, the pressure is on. Financial institutions must square this circle, delivering banking experiences that are simultaneously tailored, reassuring, fast, and friction-free. This is where a robust, connected data foundation becomes indispensable.

Bringing every customer along for the ride

In the race toward AI-curated customer experiences, financial services companies are largely outpacing their peers in other industries. As they push to maximize technology and use AI to support, guide, and simplify experiences, the smartest banks will meticulously analyze how customer acceptance varies across demographics and different CX scenarios. As we’ve seen, consumer comfort with AI remains lower when their money is actively in motion.

To gain this deep understanding of customer needs, and to provide AI with the precise information it requires to curate exceptional, human-centric experiences, banks must start with a solid foundation of connected data and identity. This is precisely where Acxiom excels. We put data to work, solving these complex challenges for the world’s leading financial brands, ensuring they realize the full power and potential of their data and technology investments.

Read the full report

This article covers only a selection of the findings from our study. Read the full report and you’ll discover:

Download the report →

Why transitioning from Salesforce CPQ to RCA is the most strategic revenue decision sales ops will make this decade

If your Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) rollout took 12 months and cost seven figures, deciding whether – and when – to move to Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA) requires the same level of strategic consideration.  

This isn’t just another upgrade. It’s a strategic inflection point that will define the future of how your company manages revenue.

Salesforce’s investment in RCA signals a shift toward a unified revenue lifecycle – quoting, orders, billing, and revenue recognition operating in one connected data model.

That’s a compelling proposition, but it also introduces important considerations:

Those questions deserve measured analysis, because the outcome will impact every revenue motion in your organization.

What’s new and why it matters

RCA isn’t simply “CPQ 2.0.” It’s a fundamentally different architecture that connects revenue from lead to ledger.

1. One Lifecycle, One Record: You can stop piecing subscriptions together. RCA unifies quoting, order, billing, and asset data into a single lifecycle record, eliminating reconciliation headaches and streamlining renewals.

2. Real-Time Forecasting & Churn Recognition: RCA enables finance teams to forecast with greater precision and identify churn or renewal risks earlier, replacing manual spreadsheets with lifecycle-native analytics.

3. Customers as Relationships, Not Transactions: The shared data model powers omnichannel consistency, ensuring sales rules follow the customer, not the channel.

4. Attribute-Based Templates for Faster Deployment: Model complex offers once and deploy globally. RCA’s attribute-driven catalog simplifies rules, accelerates launches, and cuts catalog sprawl.

5. Scalability & Performance: Quote 1,000 lines today – and 15,000 in future releases. RCA scales with enterprise complexity, a huge need for complex configurations, bundles, and pricing with ecommerce.

6. Composable by Design: Whether you’re adding a partner portal or launching a marketplace, RCA’s composable architecture lets you extend without re-platforming.

7. Seller & Operational Efficiency: Guided selling and policy automation reduce approvals, accelerate quotes, and improve seller productivity, while operations teams reclaim time lost to reconciliation.

The unknowns (and how to address them)

Migrating from CPQ to RCA isn’t just a system change; it’s an operating model transformation.

Here’s how projects go sideways if not addressed early:

  1. Readiness Gaps: Are your data, pricing model, and catalog ready for RCA’s unified approach?
  2. Technical Debt: How much custom Apex or rules logic is masking true complexity?
  3. Timing Conflicts: How does this align with your ERP, Data Cloud, or Commerce initiatives?

Each one of these can make or break ROI. That’s why a structured, evidence-based assessment provides the foundation for sound decision-making. 

The smarter way to decide

Reduce the risk of your RCA decision with Acxiom’s 3-week data-driven assessment. We’ll provide a clear, evidence-based roadmap, ensuring your migration is strategic, not just technical.

What you’ll get

✅ Comprehensive evaluation of your CPQ architecture and catalog
✅ RCA fit/gap analysis aligned to your current and future revenue motions
✅ ROI and payback modeling for executive alignment
✅ Migration blueprint with cost, timeline, and dependency mapping

The outcome? A data-driven decision framework to determine when RCA aligns with your business requirements – and how to do it right.

What success looks like

Organizations that have implemented RCA report:

These are the outcomes that define modern revenue operations.

Why Now

Salesforce’s roadmap is clear – RCA is the future of Revenue Cloud. Innovation is moving there fast: unified lifecycle data, attribute-based pricing, and composable architecture.

Waiting too long risks technical drift and opportunity cost. Moving too soon without readiness can overextend your teams.

The key is knowing when you’re ready and what to prioritize first.

Ready to Find Out?

RCA transforms your revenue operations by unifying quoting, billing, and lifecycle management.

Don’t guess. Know where you stand and what RCA can unlock for your organization. Take Acxiom’s free, 3-week CPQ to RCA assessment and discover when you should look to upgrade to RCA.

Oh, how time flies! As the 2025 holiday selling season approaches, it’s time to start gearing up to ensure your business is fully prepared. With a shorter-than-usual holiday shopping season this year, there’s no room for missed steps. Whether you’re in B2C, B2B, B2B2C, or D2C Commerce, careful planning is key to making the most of this critical time.

To help you prepare, we’ve compiled some essential resources from Salesforce:

Key Considerations for a Successful Holiday Selling Season

At Acxiom, we’ve supported brands through every type of holiday environment—from supply-chain volatility to explosive digital growth. Heading into the 2025 season, several new market dynamics will shape planning: more price-sensitive consumers, aggressive competition for first-party data, and rapid adoption of AI to personalize experiences and protect margins.

Here are the most important updates to consider for 2025:

1. Review Last Year’s Performance

Go deeper than last year’s wins/losses—evaluate how shifting consumer behavior will impact strategy this year.

2. Campaign and Promotion Cadence

Your holiday calendar is still critical, but in 2025, AI-driven content variation and dynamic audience segmentation matter even more.

3. New Integrations and Load Testing

If you added any new components, load test end-to-end, not just individual systems.

4. Shipping and Delivery Windows

Remember to clearly communicate your shipping windows to customers, including regular, expedited, and rush shipping options to ensure delivery before the holidays.

5. Product and Site Optimization

6. Limited Lifespan Products

For gift buys with limited lifespans, ensure your inventory allocations and merchandising plans are tested and ready.

7. Sorting Rules

New items may end up at the bottom if you use sales velocity or product views as sorting rules. Adjust your sorting rules if necessary.

8. Site Search

Holiday shoppers enter broader, less-specific terms — and in 2025, an increasing share use natural language or voice search. Remember that holiday shoppers are often less patient and use different search terms, so test last year’s holiday phrases to ensure relevant results from this year’s assortment.

Prepare for Pent-Up Demand

This year, based on data from last year’s holiday season and this year’s Prime Day sales volume, there is industry understanding indicating constrained consumer spending, with shoppers waiting for the best deals. This pent-up demand could drive higher-than-expected inventory turnover during the early days of Cyber 5, leading to more aggressive discounting.

By optimizing your operations now, you can capitalize on this demand surge and ensure a smooth, successful season.

Acxiom is Here to Support Your 2025 Holiday Readiness

Whether you need help with load testing, marketing optimization, personalization, search tuning, system readiness, or operational planning, our team can support every stage of your holiday strategy.

Here’s to a highly-optimized—and smooth—2025 Holiday Season!

As browser-based privacy solutions fall short, owned data relationships become your edge—backed by validated identity, proven governance, and measurable performance.

The landscape shift

Google’s decision to retire Privacy Sandbox confirms what Acxiom has consistently advised: sustainable marketing effectiveness requires robust first-party data strategies, not browser-dependent solutions.

Key developments:

The takeaway: Addressable marketing’s future won’t be delivered by any single browser or API — it must be built by brands on their own data foundations.

Market implications

The center of gravity is shifting from borrowed data to earned relationships. Organizations that invest in direct consumer connections — where individuals willingly share information in exchange for clear value—will outperform those dependent on third-party signals.

Key consequences:

The first-party framework for success

Acxiom’s approach to durable marketing effectiveness builds on five essential pillars:

  1. Direct, value-driven consumer relationships
    • Trust-based data exchanges with people willingly engaging
    • Authenticated interactions that deepen understanding, not just data capture
  2. Transparent consent and governance
    • Embedded preference management at every touchpoint
    • Clear value exchange that respects consumer choice
  3. Unified data infrastructure
    • Connected data sources forming cohesive first-party environments
    • Integrated activation, analytics, and compliance capabilities
  4. Advanced identity resolution
    • Acxiom Real ID unifies consented consumer data into persistent identity graphs
    • Native integration with Google Cloud Platform keeps data secure and under your control
    • Identity resolution transforms fragmented identifiers into durable, trusted assets
  5. Adaptive measurement and activation
    • Hybrid attribution models that remain operational regardless of browser changes
    • Flexible data pipelines that adapt to evolving privacy requirements

The next frontier: AI + contextual activation

As traditional tracking recedes, AI-driven contextual advertising creates new opportunities. The Ad Context Protocol (AdCP) introduces an open standard that allows AI to evaluate content, context, and intent for more relevant, privacy-conscious advertising.

For brands with strong first-party data and Real ID identity resolution, this emerging ecosystem enables:

Recommended actions

Conclusion

Google’s Privacy Sandbox retreat isn’t the end of privacy innovation – it confirms that lasting value comes from transparency, accountability, and ownership.

With Acxiom’s data expertise, technology, and governance frameworks, brands can continue to reach people effectively while maintaining the trust that drives loyalty. The path forward is clear: Own your data, earn the ability to use it through direct consumer relationships, and activate it intelligently through privacy-conscious, AI-powered contexts. 

Contact us to learn more about Google Privacy Sandbox.