CXFocus Magazine

Zendesk has announced the appointment of David Hall-Johnston as Chief Technology Officer for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). Based in Melbourne, Hall-Johnston leads the company’s regional technology strategy, focusing on enterprise AI adoption and aligning global product developments with local market requirements. Hall-Johnston brings over 20 years of enterprise technology leadership experience to the role.

New research from Twilio’s 2026 Customer Insights Series indicates that consumers are experiencing growing frustration with AI amnesia”, instances where artificial intelligence fails to retain prior context or interaction history, requiring users to repeatedly explain themselves. The research reveals a worrying contradiction.

Zendesk has introduced Specialised AI Agents designed for industry and business-specific tasks. The technology integrates industry knowledge with an organisation’s existing systems, workflows, and data, aiming to automate up to 80% of workflows. The launch features two primary offerings: Industry Agents, pre-configured for common sector-specific tasks, and Custom Agents, which organisations build around internal processes and policies.

At Xperience last week, Genesys® introduced new capabilities to modernise how businesses serve consumers by maintaining context and coordinating their needs from the initial engagement through resolution.

Bunnings remains Australia’s most trusted brand for the 12 months to June 2026, according to Roy Morgan’s Trust & Distrust June 2026 Quarterly Update, marking its eleventh consecutive quarterly win in a streak stretching back nearly three years to late 2023.

For retailers, peak sales periods like EOFY, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are often viewed through a simple lens: more traffic, more transactions and more revenue. But these moments represent something far more valuable. They bring a concentrated wave of high-intent customers, creating a rare opportunity for retailers to strengthen customer relationships and build long-term …

Despite widespread enterprise AI adoption, many organisations are struggling to realise noticeable financial returns due to outdated operating models, fragmented data, and weak governance.

Deepgram, a real-time AI infrastructure company, has announced plans to establish its Asia-Pacific (APAC) headquarters in Singapore. The company has appointed Sriram Ved as Vice President and General Manager for APAC to lead regional strategy and oversee customer, partner, and go-to-market expansion.

Rinnai Australia has adopted Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Enterprise AI and Oracle AI Database to streamline customer service and operational processes. By using agentic AI to build a customer service assistant, the company has automated key service workflows, reporting a reduction in response times of up to 35 per cent. Established over 50 years ago, Rinnai Australia supplies hot water, heating, air conditioning, and renewable energy systems, including its Rinnai Infinity product line.

As organisations gather more customer data to personalise experiences, they face increasing pressure to balance innovation with consumer expectations around privacy and trust. To help address this challenge, RMIT University has launched its cutting-edge Marketing Technology Lab, an immersive learning environment that equips marketers with hands-on experience using the next generation of technologies transforming retail and customer engagement.