Visionary organisations already know that customer experience (CX) is a true competitive advantage.
And as we move into 2026 and the years to come, those same organisations are all facing the paradoxical challenge of how to embrace technologies like AI while strengthening the human connection that customers value most.
We know that 80% of decisions are driven by emotion, and that’s what we design for at Engine. The organisations that succeed are and will be the ones that can connect emotionally with customers, integrate technology with purpose, and measure both feelings and functionality to create truly memorable experiences.
Here are the essential areas that leaders should focus on next year.
Create empathy and build trust
A great deal of our everyday life is being designed to remove friction. We tap, swipe, scroll and biometrically access services with an ease that once felt futuristic. Customers appreciate the low effort; businesses appreciate the operational speed.
However, some moments need the understanding and connection that only time, and not speed, can provide. This is where designing for human connection and empathy are more critical than ever.
Designing for how customers feel is built into the DNA of our practice at Engine. And the data reinforces this: nearly 60% of customers use emotional terms like “love” and “happy” to describe their favourite brands, according to Deloitte. Emotional needs – like feeling seen, valued and heard – are now more predictive of loyalty than functional ones.
This means brands must consider both the functional and emotional dimensions of every interaction. It’s not enough to solve a problem quickly. Customers should feel cared for, supported and understood. The role of technology here (AI included) is not to dilute human connection, but to deepen it.
An emotionally informed design not only boosts customer satisfaction in the moment, but strengthens the customer’s bond with the brand long term.
Trust is an outcome – it’s built on the aggregate feelings customers experience – depending on what you do or don't do across the journey. According to PWC’s 2024 Trust Survey, 93% of business executives agree that building and maintaining trust improves the bottom line.
For leaders, the message is clear: every moment should be designed to intentionally evoke the emotional outcomes you want to earn.
Connected experiences
We don’t experience life in silos. We sense, taste, hear, notice and compare. Customers hold every interaction – no matter the industry – against the best experiences they’ve had anywhere. Booking a holiday, ordering a gift online, going to a concert: the bar is always shifting.
Breaking down operational silos between departments is no longer a ‘nice to have’. It’s essential for delivering consistency, coherence and confidence.
Many organisations still design with a fragmented lens: marketing here, sales there, service somewhere else. But leading organisations are restructuring around the customer journey end-to-end. Some are even building integrated teams that jointly manage the full customer lifecycle.
This approach connects what customers see and feel with what happens behind the scenes – the systems, data, teams and processes that must evolve together. It also ensures promises made in one part of the journey are fulfilled in another.
The principle underpinning this shift is omnichannel coherence. Customers should be able to move from one channel to another without loss of context or having to repeat themselves. Achieving this requires consistent design standards, shared data, integrated platforms and organisational alignment.
There’s no doubt that this requires some heavy lifting for organisations, but it pays off. Companies that deliver truly unified experiences see higher satisfaction, deeper emotional connection, and often lower costs by eliminating redundant processes or touchpoints.
Cross-industry comparison is now the benchmark. Every channel and every department must play in harmony to deliver a cohesive experience from first interaction to lasting relationship.
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AI should enhance, not replace the human touch
AI’s role in customer experience is accelerating at pace. But in every conversation we have with leaders, the conclusion is consistent: AI should enhance the human experience, not replace it.
AI is exceptional at speed, pattern recognition and automating routine tasks. While humans are exceptional at connecting emotionally, creativity and complex problem-solving. So when both work together, the value multiplies.
According to Accenture, brands using AI-powered personalisation have seen 25% higher conversion rates, while customer satisfaction scores have risen 35% since 2024.
AI’s potential is only realised when the collaboration between humans and technology is intentionally designed and rooted in emotional principles that guide how AI engages. It’s about making every interaction feel trustworthy, not transactional.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded into services, policies around data use, integrity and ethics must also mature. Transparency is critical. Customers will only embrace AI if they trust the brand behind it.
The future belongs to organisations that can strike the right balance between technology and human connection, like how to engage and how to respond to preserve trust.
Measure what matters - and act on it
Measurement is essential for improving experience, but only if it leads to action. Many organisations have fallen into the trap of chasing too many metrics, or measuring moments in isolation, leaving teams with high amounts of data but no insight.
NPS, for instance, only tells you so much. Sentiment is categorised under positive, neutral or negative but misses out the true emotions that drive decisions and behaviour.
The most visionary organisations are taking a different approach. They treat measurement as an integrated system, not a scorekeeping exercise. They align touchpoint metrics with end-to-end journey outcomes and link both to the emotional and functional results they want to achieve.
Metrics only matter if they drive improvement. So, measure what matters, and follow through.
Hyper-personalisation that protects trusts
Today’s customers expect personalised, context-aware experiences, and they reward brands that deliver them responsibly. But personalisation at scale only succeeds when trust, transparency and accuracy underpin it.
AI and machine learning can tailor journeys in real time, reduce decision fatigue and make customers feel genuinely understood. But customers want clear value in exchange for data, transparent policies, and assurance that AI systems are accurate and fair. The future of personalisation is high-value, high-integrity and human-supervised.
Designing CX for high-tech and human connection
The future of CX isn’t about choosing between technology and humanity. It’s about designing experiences where each strengthens the other.
AI will keep expanding what’s possible. But trust and emotional resonance will remain the reasons customers choose one brand over another.
Organisations that design with both in mind – measuring what matters, integrating experiences end-to-end, protecting trust and designing for emotions– will set the standard for 2026 and beyond.
