The Modern Customer Podcast

Personalization could transform the future of retirement planning.
This week on The Modern Custome Podcast, Jessica Austin Barker, Chief Digital Officer and Client Experience Officer at TIAA, joins Blake Morgan to explore how AI could help people receive guidance that reflects their individual goals, circumstances, and changing paths to retirement.
Jessica shares why personalization remains only half solved, how AI could reduce the effort required to explore financial scenarios, and what an AI companion could offer across a customer relationship that spans decades.
Listen to learn how AI could make retirement planning more personal, accessible, and easier to understand.


Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn
For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

What if getting rid of customers quickly is actually bad for business?
That's the case Pasquale DeMaio, VP of Amazon Connect Customer, makes on this week's episode of The Modern Customer Podcast.
His point: if your AI strategy is built around deflection, you're not saving money—you're handing customers straight to your competitors.
We also dig into how deterministic and agentic AI work together, and why AI should make people's jobs better, not just shorter conversations.
This episode is sponsored by Amazon Web Services.
Click the link to learn more: https://fandf.co/4fu6tAd
#sponsored #AWS #AmazonConnect #amazonconnectcustomer #CCWVegas


Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn
For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

Watching AI automate work that once required thousands of designers, marketers, and copywriters forced Sharon Gai to rethink one fundamental question:
What creates value when AI can do more of the work?
That's one of the biggest ideas from my latest conversation with Sharon Gai, former Alibaba executive and author of How to Do More With Less.
This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Sharon explains why the companies that succeed with AI won't simply adopt better technology—they'll rethink how work gets done by focusing on people, processes, and the work only humans can do.
If you're leading customer experience, digital transformation, or AI initiatives, I think you'll find this conversation both practical and thought-provoking.
Listen to the full episode now! Get a copy of Sharon Gai's new book, How to Do More With Less: Future-Proofing Yourself in an AI-Driven Economy, for practical strategies on leading through AI-driven change.


Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn
For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

Why do some companies create products customers can't wait to buy while others struggle to gain traction—even with better technology and bigger budgets?
According to entrepreneur, author, and Harvard Fellow Rob Snyder, the answer isn't a better product. It's customer demand.
In this episode of The Modern Customer Podcast, Blake Morgan sits down with Rob to discuss the ideas behind his new book, The Power of Pull, and why understanding what customers are trying to accomplish is the foundation of business growth.
Rob shares the lessons that led him to develop the PULL Framework, a practical approach to identifying when customers are ready to buy and building products that solve problems customers can't solve with their existing options.

📘 Rob Snyder's new book, The Power of Pull, launches July 7. Pre-order your copy today: robsnyder.org/book
 


Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn
For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com

This episode is sponsored by Salesforce.
One of the most interesting conversations I had at Salesforce Connections was about digital workers.
This week on The Modern Customer Podcast, Lauren Esposito, CMO of Asymbl, shares how organizations are beginning to approach AI agents as digital workers—with defined roles, KPIs, managers, and accountability to drive meaningful business outcomes.
We explore agent-to-agent orchestration, where leaders should start with AI, the importance of trust and governance, and how Salesforce provides the foundation for secure and scalable AI adoption.
If digital workers are becoming part of the workforce, organizations will need new ways to manage, measure, and support them.
🎧 Listen to the full episode.
#SalesforcePartner #Salesforce #DigitalWorkers #AI #AgenticAI #FutureOfWork #Leadership


Blake Morgan was called "The Queen of CX" by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Follow Blake Morgan on LinkedIn
For regular updates on customer experience, sign up for her weekly newsletter here. Learn more at www.blakemichellemorgan.com