The Death of the Customer Journey: Why AI Demands a New Model for Experience Design

Astawa Alam
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April 21, 2025
The Death of the Customer Journey: Why AI Demands a New Model for Experience Design
"Your customers don’t think in journeys. They think in moments. And AI is finally making it possible to meet them there." – Ryan Serpan, VP & Head of AiEX, Intelligent Experiences Group

Imagine this: Every brand interaction—online or offline—feels effortless. You call support, and the agent already knows you’re in the middle of a mortgage process. You open the app, and it picks up where your last conversation left off. No repeated explanations. No frustrating do-overs. Just seamless, contextual support that feels almost… human.

That’s the customer experience (CX) your business could deliver today. But for most, it’s still a distant dream. Why?

Because we’re still designing experiences around a model that no longer works.

The Myth of the Linear Journey

Marketers have long relied on a predictable progression:

Awareness → Consideration → Conversion → Loyalty.

It made sense when customer interactions happened in a handful of siloed channels, and campaign calendars guided the pace.

But today, customers don’t think in funnels. They scroll, pause, compare, call, abandon, re-engage, and switch channels—often in the span of minutes. 81% of retail shoppers conduct online research before buying. In retail, they might browse online, ask a chatbot about sizing, abandon the cart, then walk into a store two days later. In financial services, they may research loan options, engage with a call center, then switch devices and complete an application on mobile.

“If customer journeys were linear, this wouldn’t be hard to do.”

But they’re not. And building rigid flowcharts or campaign paths to accommodate this chaos? That’s not scaling—it’s straining.

What AI Changes About Experience Design

AI isn’t just the latest tech buzzword. It’s a complete reimagining of how we interact with customers.

Real-time AI decisioning makes it possible to:

Instead of relying on manual rules and "if-this-then-that" workflows, AI continuously learns and adapts. It brings all your disparate data together and uses it to act like a smart, always-on strategist.

And when paired with generative AI, the scale becomes exponential. One message becomes hundreds of intelligent variations—each tailored to someone’s unique context.

In telecom, AI-driven "next-best action" systems have increased revenue by 2–4% (billions in commerical impact), improved customer satisfaction by 20%, and cut call volumes by up to 30%.

Why Traditional CX Models Are Holding You Back

Even the most well-funded brands struggle with disconnected experiences. Why? Because the tech stack was never built to talk to itself.

You’ve got one system for email. Another for mobile push. A CRM for customer support. A CDP that sits somewhere in the middle. Each system stores its own version of the customer profile. None of them share context well.

The result? Fractured interactions, missed opportunities, and customers who feel like strangers instead of VIPs.

That’s what AI fixes.

With machine learning and MLOps environments, you can:

Whether it’s a service call, a product browse, or a billing question—AI decisioning means every moment can be personalized in under 200 milliseconds.

Just look at Bank of America: Their AI assistant, Erica, has handled over 800 million customer inquiries and delivered 1.2 billion personalized insights.

Introducing a New CX Framework: Adaptive, Intelligent, Human

It’s time to move beyond the customer journey. What we need now is an adaptive experience model.

Think of it like a biological system. It doesn’t follow a script. It responds to inputs, adjusts in real time, and grows smarter with each interaction.

Key principles of this new model:

Why This Matters More Than Ever

The brands winning today aren’t just the fastest or cheapest. They’re the ones that understand their customers better and respond faster.

In some Telecomm engagements, we’ve seen over 100% lift in campaign performance by combining decisioning + generative AI.

And the best part? This isn’t just for enterprise giants. AI democratizes sophistication. With the right ecosystem, even lean teams can create personalized, cross-channel experiences that rival the best in the business.

Brands that use advanced personalization see a return of $20 for every $1 spent

AiEX Is Moving On from Funnels—Are You Coming With Us?

The old map is no longer useful.

Customers don’t want to be led through a journey. They want to be recognized, understood, and helped—right now.

84% of global business leaders say their organizations are using or experimenting with AI

So the question is: Are you still mapping journeys, or are you ready to meet your customers in the moments that matter?

Want to see what this could look like for your business? Let’s talk.

"Your customers don’t think in journeys. They think in moments. And AI is finally making it possible to meet them there." – Ryan Serpan, VP & Head of AiEX, Intelligent Experiences Group

Imagine this: Every brand interaction—online or offline—feels effortless. You call support, and the agent already knows you’re in the middle of a mortgage process. You open the app, and it picks up where your last conversation left off. No repeated explanations. No frustrating do-overs. Just seamless, contextual support that feels almost… human.

That’s the customer experience (CX) your business could deliver today. But for most, it’s still a distant dream. Why?

Because we’re still designing experiences around a model that no longer works.

The Myth of the Linear Journey

Marketers have long relied on a predictable progression:

Awareness → Consideration → Conversion → Loyalty.

It made sense when customer interactions happened in a handful of siloed channels, and campaign calendars guided the pace.

But today, customers don’t think in funnels. They scroll, pause, compare, call, abandon, re-engage, and switch channels—often in the span of minutes. 81% of retail shoppers conduct online research before buying. In retail, they might browse online, ask a chatbot about sizing, abandon the cart, then walk into a store two days later. In financial services, they may research loan options, engage with a call center, then switch devices and complete an application on mobile.

“If customer journeys were linear, this wouldn’t be hard to do.”

But they’re not. And building rigid flowcharts or campaign paths to accommodate this chaos? That’s not scaling—it’s straining.

What AI Changes About Experience Design

AI isn’t just the latest tech buzzword. It’s a complete reimagining of how we interact with customers.

Real-time AI decisioning makes it possible to:

Instead of relying on manual rules and "if-this-then-that" workflows, AI continuously learns and adapts. It brings all your disparate data together and uses it to act like a smart, always-on strategist.

And when paired with generative AI, the scale becomes exponential. One message becomes hundreds of intelligent variations—each tailored to someone’s unique context.

In telecom, AI-driven "next-best action" systems have increased revenue by 2–4% (billions in commerical impact), improved customer satisfaction by 20%, and cut call volumes by up to 30%.

Why Traditional CX Models Are Holding You Back

Even the most well-funded brands struggle with disconnected experiences. Why? Because the tech stack was never built to talk to itself.

You’ve got one system for email. Another for mobile push. A CRM for customer support. A CDP that sits somewhere in the middle. Each system stores its own version of the customer profile. None of them share context well.

The result? Fractured interactions, missed opportunities, and customers who feel like strangers instead of VIPs.

That’s what AI fixes.

With machine learning and MLOps environments, you can:

Whether it’s a service call, a product browse, or a billing question—AI decisioning means every moment can be personalized in under 200 milliseconds.

Just look at Bank of America: Their AI assistant, Erica, has handled over 800 million customer inquiries and delivered 1.2 billion personalized insights.

Introducing a New CX Framework: Adaptive, Intelligent, Human

It’s time to move beyond the customer journey. What we need now is an adaptive experience model.

Think of it like a biological system. It doesn’t follow a script. It responds to inputs, adjusts in real time, and grows smarter with each interaction.

Key principles of this new model:

Why This Matters More Than Ever

The brands winning today aren’t just the fastest or cheapest. They’re the ones that understand their customers better and respond faster.

In some Telecomm engagements, we’ve seen over 100% lift in campaign performance by combining decisioning + generative AI.

And the best part? This isn’t just for enterprise giants. AI democratizes sophistication. With the right ecosystem, even lean teams can create personalized, cross-channel experiences that rival the best in the business.

Brands that use advanced personalization see a return of $20 for every $1 spent

AiEX Is Moving On from Funnels—Are You Coming With Us?

The old map is no longer useful.

Customers don’t want to be led through a journey. They want to be recognized, understood, and helped—right now.

84% of global business leaders say their organizations are using or experimenting with AI

So the question is: Are you still mapping journeys, or are you ready to meet your customers in the moments that matter?

Want to see what this could look like for your business? Let’s talk.