Contributing Author

Gladly Team

With over a decade of customer experience focus, Gladly is the only customer experience AI that delivers the cost savings you need AND the customer devotion that drives lasting business value. Trusted by the world’s most customer-centric brands, including Crate & Barrel, Ulta Beauty, and Tumi, Gladly delivers radically efficient and radically personal experiences.

Gladly Team
Read More from Gladly Team
Small team of professionals discussing business in an office

Free help desk software for growing teams

Compare the best free and cheap help desk software.

Published: August 13, 2026
Updated: August 14, 2026
Read post
A small business team hard at work in an office

Help Scout alternatives for growing teams

Compare the top Help Scout alternatives by use case.

Published: August 13, 2026
Updated: August 14, 2026
Read post
Customer support agent smiling at computer in office

Best knowledge base software for customer support in 2026

Comparing knowledge base software for customer support? Here's what to look for, the mistake most teams make, and the tools worth evaluating.

Published: June 22, 2026
Updated: August 12, 2026
Read post
man on laptop researching ecommerce customer service software

5 best ecommerce customer service software in 2026

Compare ecommerce customer service software and see why Gladly ranks first for personalized CX and customer lifetime value.

Published: April 13, 2026
Updated: August 12, 2026
Read post
Two coworkers, man and woman, working on laptop

Who Should Own AI in a Customer Experience Team?

Why the most successful CX AI programs have a single, named owner inside the customer experience team — and what that role actually does.

Published: June 2, 2026
Updated: August 12, 2026
Read post
Man in an orange sweater smiling and wearing a phone headset

Call center scripts

Your essential call center script for e-commerce and retail.

Published: March 19, 2020
Updated: August 5, 2026
Read post
A customer experience leader standing to guide a team meeting while colleagues listen

The customer experience roles worth hiring for

The CX and support roles a growing team hires as it scales, what each one does, the skills to look for, and when you actually need one.

Published: July 24, 2026
Updated: July 28, 2026
Read post
A millennial woman shops online at a cafe, holding her phone and credit card with a laptop open in front of her

Millennials hold the biggest wallet, and their loyalty is still up for grabs

Millennials outspend every other generation and shop across every channel, yet only one in five rarely switch brands. What CX leaders need to know to earn and keep them.

Published: July 22, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
Woman sitting on a couch, smiling while looking at her laptop and holding a credit card.

The best Gorgias alternatives for ecommerce customer service in 2026

Compare six Gorgias alternatives for 2026, from Gladly to Zendesk, with honest notes on pricing, AI, reporting, and where each platform fits best.

Published: July 22, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
Customer service agent in a yellow shirt smiling while wearing a headset at her desk, with colleagues working at computers in the background.

The best Kustomer alternatives for customer service in 2026

Compare six Kustomer alternatives for 2026, from Gladly to Zendesk, with honest notes on pricing, setup, AI, and where each platform fits best.

Published: July 22, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
A customer experience leader leads a strategy meeting with her cross-functional team in a modern office

VP and Head of customer experience career guide

What a VP or Head of customer experience actually does, what it pays in 2026, the skills you need, and how to land the role. A candidate's guide.

Published: July 20, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
A smiling woman looks at her phone in a warm, sunlit cafe, reacting with genuine relief and satisfaction

7 signs of bad customer service and how to fix them

The seven patterns behind bad customer service, from the ticket trap to the dead-end bot, and what customer devotion looks like instead.

Published: July 21, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
A support team manager and a team member collaborating over a laptop in a bright office, both smiling

What a help desk manager actually does in 2026

A clear guide to the help desk manager role: responsibilities, skills, salary, how to become one, and how AI is reshaping the job.

Published: July 21, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
A smiling live chat agent wearing a headset types a response to a customer on her keyboard in a bright, modern support office, with a teammate helping customers in the background

Live chat agent job description & hiring guide

Everything CX leaders need to hire a live chat agent: responsibilities, skills, salary, KPIs, and a copy-paste job description template.

Published: July 20, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
Two Gen Z women sit together looking at a smartphone and smiling while shopping online

Gen Z is rewriting the rules of loyalty for CX leaders

Gen Z shops social-first, expects AI that actually works, and walks after one bad experience. What CX leaders need to know to serve them and earn lasting loyalty.

Published: July 21, 2026
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
Woman working on a laptop in an office

Customer service automation best practices

How leading brands automate support without losing the human touch, with real examples and pros and cons.

Published: July 5, 2018
Updated: July 27, 2026
Read post
Small business owner on laptop

7 best customer support platforms for small businesses in 2026

Compare seven top customer support platforms for small businesses, with Gladly ranked #1 for people-centered service.

Published: April 23, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
How AI customer service works for ecommerce brands, what separates resolution-first AI from deflection bots, and what to look for when evaluating options.

AI customer service for ecommerce brands: what it is & what good looks like

How AI customer service works for ecommerce brands, what separates resolution-first AI from deflection bots, and what to look for when evaluating options.

Published: June 15, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
A customer service agent reviewing AI decision data in the Conversation Review Panel

Your AI made a thousand decisions today. See every one.

Gladly's Conversation Review Panel gives CX teams full visibility into every AI decision — trace what happened, understand why, and fix it without filing a ticket.

Published: April 1, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
CX and retail professionals in conversation at a modern conference setting

What Shoptalk Spring 2026 revealed about retail's AI moment

Gladly was at Shoptalk Spring 2026. Here's what the AI conversation in retail looks like — and what's next at Gladly Connect Live.

Published: April 15, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
customer service worker using templates for conversations

Customer service response templates that actually work

The highest-value response templates in 2026 are for the moments AI hands to a human: escalations, bad news, de-escalation. Lead with what you know.

Published: July 5, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
customer service agent explaining something over headset

Customer service phrases that build loyalty in 2026

Customer service phrases that build loyalty, by scenario, plus the lines to avoid and what to say instead.

Published: June 18, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
a woman conversing with ai agents on her computer

5 ways AI shopping agents raise the stakes for customer loyalty

AI shopping agents are transforming customer loyalty. Here are five ways the stakes are rising for CX leaders and what you can do to prepare.

Published: March 25, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Seated woman holding a cellphone next to a shopping bag

Does your business need Whatsapp customer service?

Many customer service teams around the world are asking themselves the same question

Published: January 17, 2021
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
CX leader working on her laptop

Best enterprise help desk software in 2026

Most enterprise help desks win RFPs but miss on outcomes. Here's how to evaluate for customer loyalty, not just deflection rate.

Published: June 18, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Woman and man smiling at computer in office

Do more AI integrations lead to better performance?

In Gladly's 2026 data, companies with more integrations often achieved lower AI coverage than those with fewer. The metric that actually matters isn't count — it's coverage.

Published: June 2, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Woman on her phone and ipad

How to use WhatsApp for customer service without losing the personal touch

WhatsApp is where your customers already are. Here's how to add it to your support mix without turning it into another disconnected inbox.

Published: June 22, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
CX leader working on his computer

The answers are in your data — now you can just ask

Insights Agent lets you ask plain-English questions about your Gladly data and get answers — summaries, charts, and tables — in seconds. Now in free preview.

Published: June 4, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Two colleagues on the computer, one pointing at screen explaining something

Best Zendesk alternatives for enterprise CX teams

Compare Zendesk alternatives for enterprise CX teams on architecture, AI, and predictable pricing. See how Gladly and others stack up.

Published: June 18, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Technical leader planning agentic AI roadmap on a whiteboard

Agentic AI in customer service for CTOs

A deep-dive interview for CTOs on the architecture, ROI, and rollout strategy required to make agentic AI work across voice and digital channels.

Published: February 6, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
customer service agent working

Customer service AI agent vs. chatbot: the question nobody asks

Chatbots resolve 30–40% of conversations; true AI agents 65–85%. But the handoff to a human is where loyalty is won or lost. Here's how to evaluate both.

Published: July 5, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Man sitting in an office. Natural language processing image.

NLP in customer service — what it is and how to win with it

Natural language processing helps customer service AI understand what customers really mean. See how NLP works, where it's used, and how to choose a tool.

Published: August 27, 2025
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
customer service agent researching freshdesk

What Freshdesk actually costs, a 2026 pricing breakdown

Freshdesk's $19 headline is real, but AI and omnichannel push the true cost to $55–$119 per agent before add-ons. Full math at 50, 100, and 200 agents.

Published: July 5, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Two men talking while looking at a tablet

How AI is revolutionizing customer experience analytics

Learn how AI is transforming CX reporting from a rearview mirror into a predictive engine for customer satisfaction and business growth.

Published: August 7, 2025
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Woman working contentedly on her laptop

Best Freshdesk alternatives for teams ready to scale

Compare Freshdesk alternatives for growing teams on AI pricing, unified customer context, and reporting depth. See the cost-at-scale math.

Published: June 18, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Woman using the best customer support software for small shopify stores

Best customer support software for small Shopify stores: Top 5 for 2026

Compare the top 5 customer support platforms for small Shopify stores and see why Gladly ranks first for personalized, multi-channel service.

Published: April 13, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Man in glasses smiling to the right in front of a bookshelf

CSAT, NPS & CES for small businesses

Unpack the CSAT vs. NPS debate for small businesses. See how to combine these customer satisfaction metrics to prevent churn and boost loyalty.

Published: September 30, 2025
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
woman looking thoughtfully at laptop

How to tell if your AI is actually working

Why reopen rate, addressable resolution rate, topic coverage, and workflow update frequency tell you more than deflection rate when measuring AI performance in customer experience.

Published: June 2, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
woman working on her laptop

AI benchmarks in ecommerce — why conversational assistants are becoming essential

Discover ecommerce benchmarks that prove why AI shopping assistants boost conversions, increase order value, reduce cart abandonment, and build loyalty.

Published: September 24, 2025
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
Customer service agent helping a shopper with their AI-assisted purchase

3 critical moments for customer loyalty in the age of AI shopping agents

When AI does the shopping, customers judge brands on three moments AI can't control. Here's what earns loyalty and keeps them coming back.

Published: April 13, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post
team celebrating Gladly win

Gladly wins VIP Award for Best Unified Customer Experience

Gladly won the 2026 VIP Award for Best Unified Customer Experience. Learn how customer experience AI built for engagement drives devotion and value.

Published: January 14, 2026
Updated: July 24, 2026
Read post