Customer service stories - Page 10

Australian online florist LVLY is shortlisted in three customer service and online retail categories at the 2026 Inside Retail awards.

Newo.ai and IONOS have launched a plug-and-play AI receptionist, promising SMEs 24/7 call handling, missed lead recovery and quick setup.

Manhattan rolls out embedded AI agents across its Active suite, promising real-time automation and custom agent creation for retailers.

FourKites has created a manufacturing advisory board of senior supply chain leaders to steer its product roadmap and AI-driven logistics tools.

Five9 and Google Cloud unveil a joint AI-powered CX platform, unifying contact centre workflows and customer data across all channels.

Babeltext debuts MC-ML-AI, a standard to turn multilingual, multichannel customer chats into completed bookings, transactions and cases.

Chargebacks surge after record online holiday sales, with USD $181 billion in returns putting retailers' first-quarter profits at risk.

Google launches a Universal Commerce Protocol and Business Agent tools as it bets on AI agents to drive the next era of online shopping.

Ant backs Google's new Universal Commerce Protocol to standardise how AI agents handle shopping, payments and post-purchase support.

Nintex warns enterprise agentic AI will face a 2026 reality check, with tighter budgets, targeted use cases and tougher governance.

AI will reshape risk, trust and compliance in 2026 as firms swap hype for embedded tools, tighter controls and higher regulatory scrutiny.

SAS predicts agentic AI will run core banking by 2026, reshaping trust, fraud defences, climate risk and quantum-powered decision making.

Klaviyo forecasts 2026 surge in AI voice shopping, automated returns and connected-device purchases reshaping how consumers buy.

Zendesk warns APAC brands that rising CX expectations demand transparent, context-rich AI that resolves issues instantly or risks churn.

AI agents will reshape how shoppers discover brands, forcing retailers to rethink visibility as SaaS vendors and ad budgets come under strain.

Salesforce launches Agentforce 360 retail tools to unify AI across marketing, eCommerce and service, promising smoother shopper journeys.

Talkdesk unveils Commerce Orchestration and Consumer Goods Experience Cloud to coordinate AI-driven retail journeys end to end.

Google Cloud unveils Gemini CX AI platform to link retail and restaurant shopping, service and ordering into one joined-up experience.

Retailers urged to brace for early-year spike in chargebacks as mobile shopping and buy now, pay later fuel record US holiday spend.

Salesforce launches an AI Fluency Playbook to help build 'agentic enterprises', guiding staff to work effectively with AI agents at scale.