A curated event for senior leaders in customer experience, customer service and contact centre operations

23 June 2026, The Arding Rooms, London SW11

Find out moreApply to attend

Most AI in customer experience is solving the wrong problem

Deflection numbers look good. Tickets are down. Automation is up. But customers are repeating themselves more, loyalty is quietly eroding, and the contact centre is absorbing more complex, emotional and high-stakes interactions than ever. The problem is not the technology. The problem is what we are optimising for. The shift happening now is not from manual to automated. It is from automated to autonomous. Agents that take real actions. Agents that complete journeys, not just answer questions. 

customerLIVE is a morning built for the leaders navigating that shift. No hype. No vendor theatre. Just honest conversation about what is actually working, what is breaking, and what decisions need to be made in the next 90 days.

Five Talking Points for the Morning

The Deflection Trap


Deflection KPIs measure containment, not outcomes. When automated containment becomes the primary success metric, CX leaders lose sight of what customers actually need. What happens when AI optimises for the wrong goal?

Autonomy vs. control

Agents that take real actions — booking, cancelling, refunding — without human intervention. Where is the line between automation that earns trust and automation that breaks it? How do you design oversight for genuinely autonomous systems?

Who owns agentic CX?

Is this a CX initiative? A technology programme? A risk decision? When AI starts completing transactions on behalf of customers, ownership gets complicated. Who sets the guardrails, and who is accountable when something goes wrong?

From cost centre to value centre

Moving from deflection to outcomes changes the economic model of contact centre operations. What does a value-based CX model look like, and how do you make the business case for the investment required to get there?

The human equation

Contact centre roles are not disappearing. They are changing. The question is whether organisations are designing those new roles deliberately, or letting attrition and burnout make the decision for them.

Who should attend

Leadership Series events are free, but attendance is by invitation or application only 

This event is for senior leaders in UK organisations who are under pressure to move from AI intent to deployment in customer experience.

Senior leaders in customer experience, customer service and contact centre operations — CCOs, CX Directors, Customer Service Directors, Heads of Contact Centre.
Leaders responsible for making AI work operationally for customers, not just in pilot.
Teams dealing with real-world constraints around data readiness, governance and consumer trust.
No revenue restriction — we're looking for the right people, not the right company size.
Senior leaders in customer experience and contact centre operations at an AI event

What the data tells us

BCG surveyed 180 customer service leaders in 2025. Only 28% had unlocked measurable business value from GenAI in customer service. Yet 95% believe it will transform their business, and 78% expect to scale within 24 months.

The gap between intent and impact in customer experience AI is the largest of any function we track. This event is built to close it.

UK context: 83% of UK customers still prefer speaking to a human (8x8, Oct 2025). Consumer trust in AI is low. The leaders who get this right will be the ones who earn that trust through design, not assume it.

A morning built around proof, honesty and trust

June 23, 2026
08:00
08:00 - 09:00
Registration & Research Findings
Informal networking, followed by key findings from aibl’s research on AI adoption in the UK mid-market workforce.
09:00
09:00 - 10:00
Customer Case Studies
Deep dives from senior customer leaders on their journey from initial AI pilot to measurable impact. Includes a live demonstration of an AI-powered customer workflow.
10:00
10:00 - 10:20
Coffee and networking
Short break to reset and prepare for roundtables.
10:20 - 11:20
CX Leaders Roundtables
Facilitated, off-the-record table discussions on the real-world challenges of deploying AI across customer experience and contact centre operations, covering ROI, technology selection, agent impact, and the future of the customer relationship. - Autonomy vs. control (governance, risk, brand guardrails) - Personalisation vs. privacy (memory, consent, trust) - Speed-to-value vs. architectural debt (breaking the ticket-based trap) - The human premium (escalation design, burnout, new roles) - Cost-out vs. loyalty economics (what to measure now)
11:20
11:20 - 11:30
Closing remarks
Key patterns and insights from the discussions, outlining the next steps and connection to the wider aibl community.

Apply to attend

customerLIVE is exclusively for senior leaders in customer experience, customer service and contact centre operations (Director level and above). If you fit this profile, fill in the form and a member of the team will confirm your place.
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