When AI can move faster than your team ever could, the real question isn’t “What can we automate?” It’s “What should represent us?” In this CX Pulse Check episode, Jeannie Walters sits down with Deborah Reuben, CEO of Tomorrow Zone and author of Enter the Tomorrow Zone, to unpack how agentic commerce and automation can elevate customer experience only when purpose leads and tools follow.

They dig into the messy middle of AI adoption—from trust gaps and backlash moments to why innovation driven by shiny features often scales the wrong experience. They share a practical blueprint for leaders under pressure to deliver: define a clear CX mission, align success metrics across teams, and identify the high-stakes moments where humans must stay in the loop.

The conversation also explores how organizations can design AI that signals trust through capability, honesty, predictability, and care. As automation expands and bots increasingly interact with bots, they discuss how measurement must evolve beyond traditional engagement metrics to focus on outcomes like resolution confidence, perceived fairness, and clarity of next steps.

If this sparks ideas for your roadmap or raises thorny questions about where humans should stay in the loop, we want to hear from you. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with your team, and leave a review.

About Deborah Reuben, CLFP
Author | Innovation Strategist | CEO & Founder, TomorrowZone®

Deborah Reuben is an innovation strategist, advisor, and the CEO & Founder of TomorrowZone®. She works with senior leaders across finance and technology to help them navigate complexity, gain clarity, and design future-ready systems.

Her work is grounded in firsthand experience leading and advising complex, large-scale transformation efforts. Deborah is known for helping leaders see patterns they’re too close to notice, and for reframing innovation as a human, systemic practice rather than a technology initiative.

She is the author of Enter the TomorrowZone, which examines why capable leaders get trapped in constant reaction, and how stepping back creates clarity to design what’s next.

Follow Deborah on LinkedIn.
Learn more about Enter the TomorrowZone and Deborah’s work at tomorrowzone.io.
To find out more about the book, visit EnterTheTomorrowZone.com.

Articles Mentioned:
- Own the agentic commerce experience (National Retail Federation) -- https://nrf.com/research/own-the-agentic-commerce-experience
- The 2026 Braze Customer Engagement Review: AI Innovation Meets the Trust Plateau (CMSWire) -- https://www.cmswire.com/the-wire/the-2026-braze-customer-engagement-review-ai-innovation-meets-the-trust-plateau/
- AI Backlash and Public Perception: How AI Strategy Shapes Customer Trust (SupportNinja) -- https://www.supportninja.com/articles/ai-backlash-public-perception-ai-strategy-shapes-customer-trust

Resources Mentioned:
Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- experienceiseverythingbook.com
Experience Investigators Website -- experienceinvestigators.com

Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact.

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

You don’t need a big title to drive meaningful customer experience change. This episode shows how real CX leadership starts in the middle by turning customer friction into business outcomes executives can’t ignore. We break down how to connect issues like confusing onboarding or stalled conversions to metrics that matter, including call volume, cost to serve, cancellations, and retention, and how to present that story so leaders say yes.

You’ll learn a practical approach you can use immediately: choose one high-impact friction point, build a simple business case with clear baselines, deliver a focused fix, and share the results. These visible micro wins build momentum, credibility, and influence.

We also cover how to lead across and up by partnering with metric owners, framing ideas around shared goals, and communicating in the language of outcomes. If you’re ready to grow your impact and your career, this conversation gives you the tools to lead without a title.

If you found this valuable, follow the show, leave a quick review, and share it with a teammate ready for their next win.

Resources Mentioned:
Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com
Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact.

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

The most practical CX breakthroughs are happening in day-to-day choices by leaders who meet their organizations where they are. From the Medallia Experience 2026 conference in Las Vegas, we pull together no-fluff lessons on turning insights into impact, leading with intent, and using AI to accelerate change—without overpromising.

Jeannie talks with Experience Transformation Award winner Paloma Paraja, Customer Experience Manager at Santalucía Seguros, about breaking down silos in a 100-year-old insurer by unifying Voice of Customer, empowering internal champions, and turning feedback into stories teams can act on. She also reconnects with Camille Kremer, Senior Director of Customer Experience at Holiday Inn Club Vacations, for a masterclass in prioritization—using driver modeling and smart experiments to separate noise from real impact, and applying AI to speed service and personalization without eroding trust. Plus, we chat about an Experience Is Everything book club with Deborah Bearden, Enterprise Customer Experience Manager at Simmons Bank.

The theme: progress over perfection. Choose high-impact actions. Test, measure, and scale what works. Let AI amplify a strategy you’ve already defined.

Enjoyed the conversation? Follow the show, share it with a CX friend, and leave a quick review to help more leaders find it. Have a question or story to add? Leave me a voicemail at askjeannie.vip.

Follow our guests on LinkedIn:
Paloma Paraja -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/paloma-paraja/
Camille Kremer -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillekremer/
Deborah Bearden -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-bearden/

Resources Mentioned:
Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com
Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact.

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)