Reflections from the Henley Business School Regatta Conference
4 July 2025
On the banks of the Thames at Henley, in the midst of regatta season, a gathering of Customer Engagement experts and practioners considered one of the most pressing questions of our time: What will customer experience look like in the age of AI—and who will benefit from it?
From McKinsey’s Tey Bannerman to OCX Cognition’s Richard Owen, from expert panelists at AWS and Elephants Don’t Forget to practitioners and leaders in the room, the conference delivered a sobering yet hopeful outlook. The message was clear: AI is a force for transformation—but the direction it takes is still in our hands.
Why “Better CX” Hasn’t Happened
…Yet
Tey Bannerman struck the opening chord with a challenge: why, after decades of strategic focus and billions invested, has customer satisfaction barely budged? Studies in both the UK and US show stagnation or decline. Why? Because, he argued, we’ve mistaken cost-cutting for customer-centricity.
Too many so-called CX programmes, driven by automation and operational metrics, have optimised process efficiency at the expense of authentic customer value. In his words: “We say ‘customer experience,’ but what we often mean is cost reduction.”
Richard Owen echoed this, showing how the Net Promoter Score (NPS)—a tool he helped pioneer—was originally about growth and loyalty, not surveys and surface-level metrics. But over time, CX has drifted toward internal measurement and away from genuine outcomes.
Prediction Is the New Measurement
Owen’s insight was powerful: just as the Industrial Revolution used the clock to transform productivity, our age will use prediction. AI’s ability to anticipate needs, identify high-value customers, and recommend actions in real-time is our next leap forward.
But this predictive power cuts both ways. If AI is used merely to optimise the next chatbot script or trim call centre headcount, we risk not only poor CX—but mass job displacement.
Instead, the opportunity lies in giving humans superpowers: AI can enhance the decisions and capabilities of customer-facing staff, not replace them. When used right, it lifts performance across the board—not least for those who need it most.
Hype or Help? The Panel Weighs In
During the panel, Sean Keane (Service Economics), Dwayne Browne (AWS), and Chris from Elephants Don’t Forget offered different—but aligned—perspectives.
- Sean reminded us to start with the job to be done. CX fails when we fixate on internal processes instead of understanding customer intent.
- Dwayne stressed that AI needs experimentation and inclusion—especially in design. Real change starts with those closest to the work.
- Chris was candid: AI’s most successful use cases today are limited. True transformation will only happen when the fundamentals—good data, shared customer view, sound processes—are in place.
All agreed: while we are still in the hype phase, it’s a necessary precondition for real innovation. But we must act with purpose.
Choosing the Future We Want
Perhaps the most profound thread across the day was the choice we face. Richard Owen laid it bare: AI can be used to eliminate jobs—or to create new value. It can consolidate wealth—or expand opportunity.
We’ve seen how other waves of automation reshaped industries, from coal mining to steel. But this time, it’s different. This time, it’s white-collar jobs. Your job. My job.
There is, as Owen put it, a moral imperative to steer AI not just toward shareholder value, but toward societal good. To build organisations where machines enhance human performance—and human empathy guides machine action.
A Final Thought
AI will not transform customer experience on its own. We will. As leaders, designers, technologists, and citizens, we must decide what kind of future we want.
Do we want AI that mimics empathy—or systems that empower real humans to connect better, faster, more meaningfully?
The tools are ready. The choice is ours.
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