In this conversation with MartechAi.com's Brij Pahwa & Anupama Mitra, Anjali Dutta explores how CX is evolving in the age of AI—from empathy intelligence and personality engineering to the challenges of tool overload and agentic AI. She explains why ethics is as important as automation, how employee experience is core to customer experience, and why storytelling still beats pure tech.

Excerpts:

While Martech tools are growing exponentially, how do we find what’s truly relevant?
The world is changing rapidly and tools are emerging overnight. But the real question is—who are we building these tools for? You're not selling to robots; you're selling to people. Humans expect to be understood even in the ways they don’t express. When you focus only on automation, you miss the nuances. That’s why customer experience can’t be a checklist. It has to come from a place of listening deeply—sometimes even to what’s not being said. The goal isn’t just to digitize the experience; it’s to humanize the interaction in a digital world.

What’s your take on empathy intelligence and personality engineering?
Empathy intelligence and personality engineering are emerging as crucial concepts in CX. But they’re not simple. Personality engineering involves combining data with deep behavioral understanding—how someone feels when they’re excited, stressed, or hesitant. It’s not enough to know what a customer clicked; you have to know why they clicked it, what emotion drove that action, and what their intent really was. We often rely too much on structured demographic data, but in reality, it's the unstructured, behavioral cues—tone, body language, eye movement—that give us the real picture. Unless brands learn to read those signals, they’ll miss the opportunity to truly connect.

So how should brands approach the flood of tools in the market?
Most brands either get distracted by shiny new tools or overwhelmed by the volume. Many tools will come and go plus as we are speaking new inventions are happening. We need to employ strategy first what is required after reviewing our complete business model. What’s missing is a foundational understanding of their own customer journey. Start there. Map how your customer enters, explores, exits, returns, and converts. Then evaluate tools that enhance specific stages of that journey. Don’t plug in automation just to scale—plug it in where it simplifies. Also, personalization is not equal to automation. Personalization is built on emotion, timing, and simplicity. Automation supports that, but it doesn't replace it. Tools are only as powerful as the empathy behind their application.

You said we talk a lot about empathy, but you also mentioned ethics. Why?
Empathy without ethics is dangerous. In the race for ROI, TRPs, and efficiency, we’ve ignored fundamental ethical questions—are we over-collecting data? Are we respecting customer intent? Are we tracking people beyond what’s fair? Many organizations are so focused on pleasing the board or CEO with numbers that they forget the customer altogether. That’s why the CEO title is itself evolving—from being purely business-oriented to being more people- and purpose-driven. Until every stakeholder—from marketing to tech to operations—aligns on ethics and long-term trust, CX will remain superficial.

How do you segment customer personas effectively today?
You can’t rely on generic segments anymore. Today, you have the deal hunter, the aspirational browser, the wishlist creator who never buys, the one who buys for others, the premium-only customer, and the one driven by ego or exclusivity. Some engage because of content, others because of urgency. Behavioral traits now define personas more than just income level or age group. For example, someone might not be your direct buyer but could be influencing five others. Ignoring that influence persona is a missed opportunity. Segmentation has to move beyond buckets and into patterns of decision-making.

What are brands getting wrong when it comes to customer data?
They’re interpreting data too literally. Just because a customer searched for a BMW once doesn’t mean they want to buy it now—or ever. But you’ll still see BMW ads alongside budget hatchbacks, all based on scattered signals and outdated trails. The systems aren’t learning context, just tracking activity. Automation, without intelligent interpretation, creates confusion. What’s needed is intent-based targeting that respects recency, relevance, and resonance. We don’t just leave digital footprints—we leave emotional ones too. That’s what should guide marketing.

Is it true that phones are listening to us?
Yes, especially Android devices ;) It’s not a conspiracy—it’s documented. I’ve had personal experiences where conversations have triggered ad content. Once, my brother and I had a fight, and minutes later, he was shown memes about sibling fights. Another time, my mother simply said something aloud and started seeing related ads. Even if they’re not actively recording, these devices are picking up impressions, scanning keywords, and feeding data into ad algorithms. It’s happening, and that’s why we need far stronger data privacy frameworks and ethical guardrails.

Is there any Martech stack you think is genuinely ahead of the curve?
There are good ones, but no one-size-fits-all solution. Some platforms are powerful but rigid. Others are flexible but lack depth. The real issue is not the stack—it’s the strategy. Many companies try to build their own tools thinking it’ll be cheaper or more customized, but they end up spending three times more than if they’d used a scalable, well-supported third-party solution. Choose platforms that are modular, integrable, and future-ready. Don’t chase the biggest name—chase what works best for your use case and team maturity.

What’s the issue with in-house builds and the idea of 'tool garbage'?
Tool garbage is real. Enterprises often accumulate platforms that no one uses, licensed in a rush or inherited over time. They sit unused because teams haven’t been trained, or because the tool doesn’t align with actual workflows. CIOs and CTOs are stuck managing clutter that drains budgets and adds zero value. Before adopting any new tool, ask: Is this solving a real problem? Will it be used every day? Can it scale with us? Also, align your Martech stack with business process reengineering. Don’t just add tech to broken systems—fix the system first.

Are there brands that stand out for how they connect through storytelling?
Absolutely. Cadbury’s Diwali campaigns, Dove’s real beauty stories—these brands understand emotion. But a recent one that really stood out was a night kajal ad featuring Supriya Pathak. There was no voiceover, no text. Just her applying kajal, failing to smudge it, and her facial expressions doing all the talking. I don’t even use kajal, but I remembered the brand. That’s powerful storytelling. Another example is Apple’s Safari ad—the one with birds symbolizing data surveillance. It didn’t need a hard sell; it simply showed that Apple protects your privacy. When a story aligns with a real tension, it works.

With the rise of agentic AI, where smart assistants make decisions, will marketers lose their connection with consumers?
Agentic AI is already here. It can refill your groceries, reorder your coffee, and even recommend insurance. Nowadays, today Agentic AI can complete full workflow. It will be new away of connecting with customers. But that doesn’t mean marketers are out of the picture. The AI still needs inputs. It learns from its user’s behavior, preferences, and context. So as marketers, we now have to think about influencing the agent and the user. It’s not a replacement—it’s a new layer. We need to engineer experiences that the AI respects and the human trusts. The future of marketing will be less about pushing messages and more about shaping environments that both human and AI find valuable. 

Will AI-to-AI marketing replace human-centric engagement entirely?
No, and it never will. Technology may evolve, but human behavior still craves control, choice, and connection. Every format that was supposed to die—radio, print, cinema—found new life. People still want to browse in stores, read physical books, smell a new product. We decide when to go digital and when to go tactile. AI might streamline efficiency, but emotion, ritual, and memory are still human. That’s not going anywhere.

You’ve emphasized CX, but what role does employee experience (EX) play in this journey?
EX is the foundation. If your people don’t believe in the product, the story you take to market is hollow. Marketing starts internally. Your employees are your first users, your first advocates. If they’re empowered, respected, and excited about the product, that energy flows outward to the customer. Many of our best innovations came from internal users pointing out friction. That feedback loop is gold. We need to celebrate internal stories more. That’s where culture meets communication—and that’s what builds brands.

What’s something people often miss when they talk about CX?
People still think of CX as a customer support function or a digital interface challenge. But it’s much broader. It’s how your teams talk to each other. It’s whether your backend and frontend are in sync. It’s whether your systems talk to each other. Real omnichannel experience can only happen when internal silos are broken. Until your tech, data, and people are connected, your customer will always experience the gaps. CX is not just about the product—it’s about delivering truth consistently, across every touchpoint. And that truth has to begin inside the organization.