Agentic AI is emerging as the next evolution of artificial intelligence in customer experience (CX), moving beyond chatbots to systems that can take real action on behalf of customers. In this episode of AI with Maribel Lopez, Maribel Lopez speaks with Jarrod Johnson, Chief Customer Officer at TaskUs, about how enterprises are actually deploying AI in customer experience today. The conversation covers real-world CX use cases, where AI delivers measurable ROI, why data and process design remain the biggest bottlenecks, and how organizations should manage risk, governance, and human handoffs as agentic AI scales. This episode is designed for enterprise leaders evaluating AI strategies for customer experience transformation.

Bio: Jarrod Johnson, Chief Customer Officer, TaskUs
Jarrod Johnson is the Chief Customer Officer of TaskUs. He is responsible for TaskUs' go-to-market strategy and execution across all client-facing and market-facing functions. Jarrod leads the "Client Organization" at TaskUs, including client success, sales, product and service management, and TaskUs’ consulting function, which includes the Agentic AI Consulting Practice. Jarrod is responsible for all aspects of revenue management and growth for TaskUs. He brings over 20 years of experience in enterprise technology-enabled services and business management.

Show notes
00:00 – AI in Customer Experience (CX): What This Episode Covers

01:31 – What a Chief Customer Officer Does in AI-Driven Customer Experience

03:46 – Top Customer Experience (CX) Bottlenecks Blocking AI Adoption

05:56 – Chatbots vs. Agentic AI: What’s the Difference in Customer Experience?

09:31 – How to Start with Agentic AI in Customer Experience (Real ROI Use Cases)

12:46 – When AI Should Hand Off to Humans in Customer Experience

15:41 – AI in Customer Experience: Cost Reduction vs. Revenue Growth

18:21 – Voice AI in Customer Service: Why It Finally Works

22:01 – AI Guardrails, Safety, and Brand Risk in Customer Experience

26:31 – Measuring AI-Driven Customer Experience (CX Metrics That Matter)

29:46 – AI for Customer Experience: Market Fragmentation and Vendor Landscape

33:46 – Agentic AI Pitfalls to Avoid in Customer Experience Transformation

CES 2026 Quick Take: Physical AI, Ambient AI, and the Reality of Adoption

In this episode, Maribel Lopez, founder and principal analyst at Lopez Research, is joined by Julie Ask, founder of Ask Advisory, for a candid, unscripted conversation on what CES 2026 actually revealed about the state of AI.

Rather than focusing on flashy demos or speculative promises, Maribel and Julie examine where AI is delivering real value today—and where expectations are running ahead of reality.

Julie's bio

Julie is a prominent customer experience analyst, technology futurist, and digital product strategist who has advised hundreds of global brands on the impact emerging technologies (e.g., mobile, sensors, extended reality, networks, AI) can and will have on customer experiences. She actively works with enterprises and vendors to understand how technology and consumer trends will impact their business with a deep focus on customer engagement strategies.

For more than 25 years, her work has defined the evolution of consumer digital experiences and inspired brands to take action. Her combined background in engineering and business gives her a unique ability to help business leaders understand what is possible and leverage technology to drive business outcomes. She has appeared frequently on Bloomberg while her research has been cited by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, and a breadth of marketing publications. She co-authored The Mobile Mind Shift book in 2014. She founded Julie Ask Advisory in 2024 to pursue her passion for helping business leaders understand the impact of AI on experiences.

Maribel Lopez reports live from AWS re:Invent 2025 in Las Vegas, unpacking why the AI experimentation phase is officially over. With statistics that say 95% of AI projects are failing and enterprise budgets tightening, 2026 demands production-quality AI—not more proof-of-concepts. This episode explores the critical shift from building agents to deploying them safely at scale.

Key Themes

The Reality Check (2025 Recap)

• MIT study reveals 95% AI project failure rate
• McKinsey and BCG document widespread implementation struggles
• Board-level AI initiatives now demand real ROI, not just innovation theater
• The POC gold rush is over—experimentation budgets are drying up

Agentic AI Grows Up The conversation has evolved from "can we build agents?" to "can we trust them in production?" Three critical roadblocks:

• Security & Orchestration: How agents interact without creating vulnerabilities
• Policy & Governance: Preventing rogue agents and establishing guardrails
• Observability: Real-time monitoring to ensure agents perform as intended

AWS re:Invent 2025 Highlights

Agent Core Improvements

• Enhanced policy frameworks defining agent boundaries and permissions
• Human-in-the-loop controls for high-stakes decisions
• Better cross-stack orchestration for multi-agent workflows

The Discoverability Problem

• AWS Marketplace now features natural language search
• Upload requirements documents instead of filling rigid forms
• AI-suggested prompts help non-technical users navigate complex decisions
• Smarter filtering for nuanced needs (performance vs. cost vs. compliance)

The Full-Stack Maturity

• Recognition that AI "takes a village"—no single vendor owns the entire stack
• Growing emphasis on open standards (A2A, MCP) for SaaS integration
• Tools designed for all skill levels, not just data scientists

Key Takeaway

Enterprise AI in 2026 isn't about doing more—it's about doing it right. The winners will be organizations that prioritize governance, observability, and practical deployment over flashy demos.

Host: Maribel Lopez
Recorded: AWS re:Invent, Las Vegas, December 2025
Follow-up: Stay tuned for next week's deep-dive episode with demos and vendor interviews