The Customer Journey Changed at Both Ends

Hi there,

Last week, we hosted a private dinner and fireside chat with Hark at BRASS in NY. The room was full of top-tier marketing and digital leaders, and the conversation was genuinely one of the best I've been part of in a while.

I shared a quick recap on LinkedIn, but there were two threads from that night that I haven't stopped thinking about. They both point to a real shift in how we need to build for the customer in 2026.

Let's dig in.

The intent gap in customer service

We were deep in a conversation about AI in CX when Caitlin Berzok, SVP of Digital at Therabody, dropped something that stopped the room: they discovered that customers coming in with a "warranty question" often don't actually have a warranty problem. They need product education.

Think about that for a second. The customer thinks the product is broken. They're frustrated. They open a support ticket. But the product is fine. They just don't know how to use it correctly.

This is what I'd call the intent gap: the distance between what a customer says they need and what they actually need. And it's exactly why automating your CX without guardrails is a dangerous game.

If an AI chatbot takes that "warranty" ticket at face value, it might process a return or send a replacement unit. It solves the stated problem, but completely misses the real one. It costs the brand money, and it burns a critical moment to educate and retain a customer who was actually still recoverable.

This is why the human touch is still non-negotiable in certain moments. A 2026 study from SurveyMonkey found that 79% of Americans strongly prefer interacting with a human over an AI agent, and 84% believe human agents are more accurate than AI.[1] People trust AI for routine, transactional queries. But when things get nuanced (or emotional) they want a person.

The smartest brands aren't using AI to replace their CX teams. They're using it to triage and empower them. One of the best frameworks that came out of our dinner: set up an order value threshold or intent trigger to determine when to bring in a human. High-AOV purchase with a complaint? Human. Simple shipping status question? AI. The goal isn't full automation. The goal is putting the right resource in front of the right problem at the right moment.

Because sometimes a "broken" product is just a customer asking for help.

Writing for the humans and the robots

The second thread that's stayed with me: brand teams need to start "writing for the humans and the robots."

For years, we've optimized content for Google's algorithm and for human readability. But the game has fundamentally changed. We are now living in the era of Agentic Commerce, and your customers are increasingly arriving at purchase decisions before they ever visit your website.

A January 2026 study by IBM and the National Retail Federation found that 45% of consumers now turn to AI for help during their buying journeys, using it to research products, interpret reviews, and hunt for deals.[2]

Shopping-related GenAI use grew 35% between February and November 2025 alone, according to BCG.[3] Generative AI is reshaping the first steps of the shopping experience before a customer ever clicks "buy."

You aren't talking directly to customers anymore. You are talking to their AI shopping assistants. You are talking to LLMs that are summarizing your product pages, synthesizing your reviews, and comparing your specs against your competitors, often without the customer ever visiting your site.

If your data isn't structured, clear, and authoritative, the AI won't recommend you. It's that simple.

But here's the catch: you can't only write for the robots.

If your content reads like a technical spec sheet, you'll lose the human the moment they actually land on your site. Brands must now master what's now being called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), structuring their data so LLMs can parse it, while writing their stories so humans can feel it.

Both of these insights point back to the same fundamental truth: the tools are changing, but the goal hasn't.

It's still about building direct, owned relationships with your customers, understanding what they actually need, not just what they say they need, and showing up for them in the moments that matter.

The brands figuring that out right now are going to have a real edge.

Talk soon,

Kait

A few extras:

Are you in Miami next week? I'm attending Women in Retail Leadership Summit (WIRLS) and POSSIBLE 2026 from April 27th-29th. If you're also going, let me know! I'd love to connect.

Some of my favorite brands are hiring…

Newton Baby is looking for someone to run wholesale, specifically relationships at Target, Walmart, Babylist, Crate, etc.

SKIMS - Senior Director Retail Marketing

Kraft Heinz - Sr Brand Manager, Marketing Capabilities & Creative Effectiveness

Vuori - Influencer Marketing Manager

References:

[1] SurveyMonkey, Customer Service Statistics 2026: Why Consumers Still Trust Humans Over AI

[2] IBM Institute for Business Value & National Retail Federation, Brands and Retailers Navigate a New Reality as AI Shapes Consumer Decisions Before Shopping Begins

[3] BCG, Consumers Trust AI to Buy Better. Brands Must Adapt.