What Customers Really Think About Your AI Experience: Academic Research Reveals the Truth.
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
Release Date: 06/07/2025
I Signed a ‘Gag Order’. Here’s What It Taught Me About Organizations
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
In this episode, Colin Shaw shares a recent personal experience with a major brand that imposed a 'gag order' (NDA) after a poor service experience — and how this reflects a deeper organizational issue: silos. Together with Professor Ryan Hamilton, Colin explores why siloed thinking leads to incoherent customer experiences, how internal motivations can conflict with CX goals, and what leaders must do to ensure learning, trust, and advocacy remain priorities. A must-listen for CX professionals and senior leaders alike. Best Quote: "Who decides? That is the question every leadership team...
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The Thrill of the Chase: Why Anticipation Beats Ownership
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
Episode Overview Ever buy something you couldn’t wait to get—and then let it sit in the box for days (or weeks)? You’re not alone. Guest host Morgan Ward joins Ryan Hamilton to explore why we often love the pursuit of products more than the possession of them. From unopened tools and “someday” sweaters to the viral Stanley Cup craze, they unpack the psychology of anticipation, dopamine, and why the thrill fades once the package arrives. This episode reveals what’s really driving that “add to cart” impulse—and how brands can design experiences that move customers from wanting...
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When Rebrands Go Wrong: Lessons for Customer Experience Leaders
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
In this episode of The Intuitive Customer, Professor Ryan Hamilton is joined by guest host Ben Shaw to explore the high-stakes world of rebranding. From Cracker Barrel’s logo backlash to Jaguar’s radical design overhaul, they unpack what happens when brands chase new audiences at the expense of their loyal customers. The conversation dives into the tension between rebranding vs. repositioning, why heritage brands face special challenges, how politics and culture can hijack brand decisions, and practical lessons for leaders trying to grow without alienating their core base. Key Takeaways ...
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AI That Listens: Why Real-Time Feedback is the Future of Customer Experience
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
Summary Traditional customer feedback is broken. Post-call surveys and quarterly reports are too slow, cumbersome, and overly focused on the company’s needs rather than the customer’s reality. By the time insights land on a dashboard, the customer has already left—or worse, lost trust. In this episode of The Intuitive Customer, I (Colin Shaw) and Professor Ryan Hamilton sit down with Devidas Desai, SVP of Product Leader at ASAPP, to explore how AI that listens is reshaping the way organizations understand and respond to customers in the moment. We delve into why silence doesn’t mean...
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Brand Archetypes: Straightjacket or Springboard for CX?
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
In this episode of The Intuitive Customer, Professor Ryan Hamilton is joined by guest co-host Ben Shaw, Chief Strategy Officer at MullenLowe, to explore the enduring role of brand archetypes in marketing and customer experience. They revisit the origins of archetypes in Jungian psychology and the influential book The Hero and the Outlaw (Pearson & Mark), before debating how useful the framework remains today. Together, they discuss the power of archetypes to create consistency, unlock creativity, and guide internal decision-making while also recognizing their limitations, risks of...
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Your Customers are Lazy... and Bored: How to Use That to Your Advantage
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
Your Customers are Lazy... and Bored: How to Use That to Your Advantage Show Notes: This week on The Intuitive Customer, Colin takes a step back and welcomes guest host Morgan Ward to explore one of psychology’s favourite contradictions: why customers cling to the familiar, yet crave novelty. From music playlists to yogurt purchases, from comfort food to product design, Colin and Morgan unpack why we’re wired for both—and how brands can use that tension to create better customer experiences. Best Quote from the Episode “Familiarity earns trust. Novelty earns attention. Get the...
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Why Customer Satisfaction Hasn’t Budged in 30 Years: Two new guest experts tell us why
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
In this milestone episode, The Intuitive Customer undergoes a transformation. Colin Shaw announces a step back from the regular hosting role, prompting a fresh chapter in the podcast’s evolution. Hosts Colin Shaw and Professor Ryan Hamilton introduce two new expert contributors — Dr. Morgan Ward, a consumer psychologist, and Ben Shaw, a brand strategist — to bring fresh perspectives on customer behavior, brand experience, and the future of CX. Together, the four hosts discuss the state of customer experience today, particularly in light of the stagnant growth in the American Customer...
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From Legacy to Loyalty: The Practical CX Playbook That Drives a 90 NPS
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
You can theorise about Customer Experience all day, but gaining a Net Promoter score of 90 is not a theory. It shows a great focus and implementation of Customer Experience. This week, we are exploring how this was achieved with , VP of Marketing & Customer Experience at . https://www.rjyoung.com/ RJ Young has been in business for over 70 years and boasts a world-class NPS score of 90+ — no small feat in today’s hypercompetitive market. Kamron shares how they’ve transformed their Customer Experience, navigated organisational silos, and are thoughtfully introducing AI into their...
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How To Make AI Work in the Real World of CX
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
In this episode of The Intuitive Customer, Colin Shaw speaks with Andy Traba, VP of Product Marketing at NICE, about the company’s new mission: Creating a NiCE World. This isn’t just a rebranding message — it’s a strategic shift toward unified, proactive, and AI-enabled customer experiences. Andy and Colin explore why AI alone isn’t enough, the dangers of siloed implementations, and why leading organizations are turning to platforms — not point solutions — to orchestrate connected, emotionally resonant journeys. If your organization is serious about CX transformation, this...
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AI vs. Human: Are You Making The Right Choice or a BIG Mistake!
The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth
AI is taking over—well, at least some parts of customer service. But how do you know when to automate and when to stick with the good old-fashioned human touch? In this episode, we dive into one of the most crucial decisions organizations are making today: When should you use AI, and when do customers actually need a human? Spoiler alert: If you let AI handle everything, you might save money—but you could also drive your customers straight to your competitors. Best Quote from the Episode: "You don’t want AI handling a $300 million defense contract. ‘Hello! I see you're interested in...
info_outlineHave you ever said “thank you” to a chatbot or Chat GPT? Well, you’re not alone—and you might just be weirder than you think. It turns out AI can be more empathic than people. But what do Customers think of AI experiences? Academic research reveals the answers we discuss in this show.
In this special live-recorded episode from the SOCAP Conference, Colin Shaw and Professor Ryan Hamilton explore the psychology behind how customers actually feel about AI—and what that means for your customer experience.
Ryan dives into the latest academic research on AI trust, customer behaviour, and why people treat AI like it’s part of the cast of Friends. Meanwhile, Colin keeps things grounded with real-life examples with his usual “so what?” test.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
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Why 50% of customers trust companies less when they know AI is involved
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How AI literacy backfires (the more people understand it, the less they use it!)
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The subtle “outgroup” bias customers apply to AI systems
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Why hedonic recommendations (like chocolate) must come from humans
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How one bad AI interaction can poison the well for all future ones
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What the hell “personification” means—and why it matters for your brand
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The surprising emotional tension behind AI adoption (it’s empowering and scary)
Best Quote from the Episode:
“AI isn’t human, but customers treat it like it is—and that means it’s being judged by human standards. If it screws up once, they’ll remember. And they’ll blame all AI for it.” – Professor Ryan Hamilton
Resources Mentioned
This podcast is sponsored by SOCAP International and IA Solutions, who are both as passionate about improving customer experience as we are.
SOCAP: https://socap.org/
IA Solutions: https://iacallcenter.com/
Research References:
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Castelo, Noah, Maarten W. Bos, and Donald R. Lehmann (2019), “Task-Dependent Algorithm Aversion,” Journal of Marketing Research, 56 (5), 809-825.
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Dietvorst, Berkeley J., Joseph P. Simmons, and Cade Massey (2015), “Algorithm aversion: people erroneously avoid algorithms after seeing them err,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144, 1, 114.
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Hermann, Erik, and Stefano Puntoni, (2024), “Artificial intelligence and consumer behavior: From predictive to generative AI,” Journal of Business Research, 180, 114720.
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Ipsos (2022), “Global opinions about AI – January 2022, https://t.ly/qyyEI
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Longoni, Chiara, and Luca Cian (2022), “Artificial Intelligence in Utilitarian vs. Hedonic Contexts: The “Word-of-Machine” Effect,” Journal of Marketing, 86 (1), 91-108.
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Puntoni, Stefano, Rebecca W. Reczek, Markus Giesler, and Simona Botti (2021), “Consumers and Artificial Intelligence: An Experiential Perspective,” Journal of Marketing, 85 (1), 131-151.
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Santoro, Erik, and Benoît Monin (2023), “The AI Effect: People rate distinctively human attributes as more essential to being human after learning about artificial intelligence advances,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 107, 104464.
About the Hosts:
Colin Shaw is a LinkedIn 'Top Voice' with a massive 284,000 followers and 86,000 subscribers to his 'Why Customers Buy' newsletter. Shaw is named one of the world's 'Top 150 Business Influencers' by LinkedIn. His company, Beyond Philosophy LLC, has been selected four times by the Financial Times as a top management consultancy. Shaw is co-host of the top 1.5% podcast 'The Intuitive Customer'—with over 600,000 downloads—and author of eight best-sellers on customer experience, Shaw is a sought-after keynote speaker. Follow Colin on LinkedIn.
Ryan Hamilton is a Professor of Marketing at Emory University's Goizueta Business School and co-author of 'The Intuitive Customer' book. An award-winning teacher and researcher in consumer psychology, he has been named one of Poets & Quants' "World’s Best 40 B-School Profs Under 40." His research focuses on how brands, prices, and choice architecture influence shopper decision-making, and his findings have been published in top academic journals and covered by major media outlets like The New York Times and CNN. His work highlights how psychology can help firms better understand and serve their customers. Ryan has a new book launch in June 2025 called “The Growth Dilemma: Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things” Harvard Business Press Follow Ryan on LinkedIn.
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