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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

Release Date: 07/19/2025

Most People Think They Use AI Well; Many Are Mistaken! Are You?

The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

How are you really using AI — and how does that compare to others? In this episode, Colin Shaw introduces a simple behavioural framework for understanding how people are actually using AI today — not in theory, but in practice — and why this matters enormously for the future of Customer Experience. Rather than treating AI as a technology maturity model, Colin reframes it as a behavioural curve, shaped by confidence, trust, intent, and the consequences of being wrong. Drawing on real usage examples, ChatGPT analytics, and current research, Colin outlines four AI usage patterns that people...

Uncomfortable Truth: The Focus on Customer Experience Hasn’t Paid Off, Why?

The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

Customer satisfaction has barely moved in over 30 years — despite enormous investment in Customer Experience. In this episode of The Intuitive Customer, Professor Ryan Hamilton and Morgan Ward speak with Forrest Morgeson from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). ACSI has tracked customer satisfaction continuously since 1994 using the same questions and methodology across the entire US economy. And the long-term data tells a story that challenges many comfortable CX assumptions. Rather than steadily improving as CX practices mature, customer satisfaction rises and falls in cycles...

The Rise of Synthetic Audiences: Fast, Cheap… but Believable?

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 Ben Shaw, seasoned brand strategist, to unpack the promises and pitfalls of synthetic audiences - AI-driven research used for faster, cheaper market research. Synthetic audiences, powered by large language models (LLMs), can replicate customer segments and respond to creative concepts or product questions at scale cutting the time and cost of traditional surveys. But does it come with trade-offs? Expect lively debate on the AI vs. LLM naming debate, the enduring value of ethnography and nuance, and practical...

Are Your Salespeople Sabotaging Your Customer Experience?

The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

Sales and Customer Experience—two critical functions that should work together, but too often operate at odds. This week, Colin and Ryan explore how traditional sales tactics can undermine long-term loyalty and create organisational silos. They share personal stories (including Colin’s car-buying nightmare) and practical advice for aligning sales with your desired customer experience. If you want to sell AND build trust, this episode is for you. Best Quote of the Episode: "If you can’t proudly stand behind the experience you’re creating, you’ve got a problem." — Colin Shaw Key...

The New Currency of Customer Experience: 'People Like Me'

The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

Trust in traditional institutions is eroding. As customers lose faith in advertising, government and even online reviews, they’re turning to voices that feel most relatable: peers and communities. Edelman’s latest Trust Barometer shows the most credible spokesperson for a company is now “people like me.” Ben Shaw and Professor Ryan Hamilton explore the decline of influencer credibility, the rise of community-driven word-of-mouth, the tension between authenticity and control, and why attention + trust will be the “coins of the realm” for brands in the decade ahead. 🔑 Key...

Good Friction, Bad Friction: Why a Little Effort Makes Customers Care

The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

Episode Overview When everything is one-click easy, do we lose something meaningful? Guest host Dr. Morgan Ward joins Dr. Ryan Hamilton to explore how the right amount of friction in the consumption experience can boost connection, meaning, and long-term use of the product—while the wrong kind just gets in the way. Quote of the Episode “Consumption, in some ways, has just gotten too easy.” — Dr. Morgan Ward 🔑 Key Takeaways Easier isn’t always better. Ultra-frictionless buying can strip away the identity, discovery, and accomplishment that make buying feel meaningful....

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

More Episodes

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 conversation provides clear guidance on where to start, what to avoid, and how to align internal functions toward a shared customer strategy.

Quote of the Episode

“The moment you find success with AI, you’ll want more. That’s why you have to start with a platform — not a point solution — so your entire organization can scale, align, and deliver a truly connected experience.”

— Andy Traba, VP of Product Marketing, NiCE

🔑 Key Topics Covered:

NICE’s Global Happiness Index and the emotional impact of service
Why 37% of customers still get stuck in repeat interactions
The risk of siloed AI and “Frankenstack” technology stacks
Platform strategies for AI orchestration and enterprise-wide memory
Proactive service as the new CX battleground
Segment of one personalization and behavioral science applications
Practical starting points for CX leaders in 2025

📎 Resources Mentioned

NiCE - https://www.nice.com/
NiCE Global Happiness Index Report - https://get.nice.com/2024-intl-happiness-index-report.html
Connect with Andy Traba on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-traba-a75a1b3/

About the Hosts:

Colin Shaw is a LinkedIn 'Top Voice' with a massive 284,000 followers and 87,000 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 called “The Growth Dilemma: Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things” Harvard Business Press 2025

Quote of the Episode

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