Best of 2025 | The Future of Customer Experience: AI Agents, Machine Customers and What CEOs Must Know

Dec 23, 2025

As we close out the year, we’re bringing you some of 2025’s standout ThinkCast episodes. Today’s episode, originally released in May, dives into the rapid emergence of machine customers and how AI agents are transforming customer experience looks:

 

In this episode of Gartner ThinkCast, we explore what customer experience looks like today — a world where your most valuable customers might not even be human. Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst Don Scheibenreif joins host Alexis Wierenga to unpack how CEO perceptions, AI agents and machine customers are reshaping CX strategy.

Drawing from Gartner’s latest CEO research, Don shares critical insights on the shift in customer expectations, the rapid emergence of autonomous buyers and the emotional impact of AI adoption. Whether you’re designing for humans, machines or both, this episode offers a roadmap for getting customer experience right in an AI-first future.

 

Tune in to discover:

• Why CEOs may not know their customers as well as they think
• What machine customers are and why they matter now
• The key blind spots in AI-driven CX strategies
• How to balance automation and humanity to create trust
  

 

Dig deeper:

• Attend a Gartner Conference near you
• Watch more insights on When Machines Become Customers
• Watch the full conversation on YouTube