Another Interactions International event has officially been and gone! Bringing over 1,500 CX experts and leaders together to share best practice and innovation – at the iconic Twickenham Stadium in London.
Couldn’t make it this year? Here are the highlights – brought to you by our very own Xander Freeman and Megan Jones, who were right there on the turf to hear more about what’s shaping CX in this ever-changing AI landscape.
Interactions International Is Where the Future of CX Is Defined
Game on! And Darren Rushworth, President of NiCE International, kicked off the event with a welcome address, where he invited the audience to “Create a NiCE world” across every interaction – amplifying the human experience, thinking ahead, creating meaningful connection, and better consistency.
The conversation continued with Xander Freeman later that day. Together, they took a closer look at how TalkTalk is leading the way in transformation, the growing importance of sovereign cloud, and more.
Next, the conversation passed to new CEO, Scott Russell, who reflected on where the industry is right now and the journey so far, including how:
- Many organizations are still uncertain about how to leverage AI and innovation to transform CX more effectively, whilst others have made real progress already.
- Customers don’t just want functional experiences, they want memorable experiences, and the industry is heading towards a future of humans and AI interoperating in a way that feels transparent and cohesive to customers – leaning into the power of technology in a way that feels human.
- Brands have collected so much data, but it’s high-time to put it to effective use with AI – to proactively turn knowledge into action, powering up agents to give them the right insight at the right time, and make them more knowledgeable and empathetic.
“What if every experience felt human – even if it was delivered by AI? Technology is redefining the concept of connection, transforming human engagement – not replacing humans – and enriching interactions in ways we could never have imagined before. It’s time to revisit our assumptions and reimagine what’s possible.”
He also invited Suzanne Ellison, Head of Product at Lloyds Banking Group, to join him on stage and share some of their AI journey so far, including how they now have 22,000 colleagues using generative AI to provide instant summaries – which has allowed their agents to have more focused, accurate, and empathetic conversations with customers.
She emphasized to “Always start with the customer and business value. Tech for tech’s sake just doesn’t work” and shared how treating knowledge as a golden source of data has been a real game changer for them – enabling them to reduce their hold time and improve their complaints-handling process by bringing in guidance on how to fix issues in a more consistent way.
Finally, Scott reminded the audience of how NiCE makes all of this possible, including operating in a broader, ever-expanding ecosystem – with their latest partnerships including ServiceNow, AWS, and Snowflake.
Standing Still Is Not an Option
The morning continued with a keynote from Barry Cooper, President CX, who made it clear that standing still is not an option!
“The gap between what customers expect and what most businesses can deliver is growing, and incremental updates aren’t going to close that gap.
You blink and the extraordinary becomes the ordinary. We’ve reached a critical ‘now or never’ point and CX needs fundamentally reimagining.”
He continued to share how the NiCE CXone Mpower platform supports this vision, with 2,500+ organizations already achieving tangible results with AI – including a 30% reduction in customer effort and 15% in repeat contacts.
Quite simply, the time for AI hype is over! “In a world of exponential change, all that really matters is exponential value. What matters today is real tangible outcomes – but AI investment must pay for itself with game-changing results, being measurable, scalable, undeniable.”
We All Need to Make Good Decisions With New Technology to Shape a Better Future for Everyone
The first half wrapped up with a Fireside Chat, where Sir Tim Berners-Lee was interviewed – by Alex Jones – about his experiences of inventing the world wide web and his fears for the future.
What resonated most with the audience about the AI journey we’re all on right now is where he stressed the importance of making good decisions, “What the picture looks like looks in 10–20 years’ time really depends on the decisions we make today, so everyone needs to consider their decisions and how the software they write affects the world. It’s so important for the future.”
Customers at the Forefront of AI Innovation
We also had chance to catch up with NiCE customers SSE Airtricity and Bluecrest, who shared more about their transformational journeys so far and where NiCE AI has been making a huge difference to customers and agents alike.
- SSE Airtricity
Our Digital Content Director Xander Freeman interviewed David Richie, Director of Customer Experience, SSE Airtricity, and Michelle McGrath, Head of Customer Experience, SSE Airtricity, where they talked about the 2025 Global Happiness Index and a rise in customer service happiness – driven largely by the impact of AI.
- Bluecrest
Our Editor Megan Jones then interviewed Russell White, Transformation Lead, Bluecrest and Anne Holmes, SVL, where they chatted about the future of customer service, how Bluecrest have embraced AI and data-driven insights to deliver truly life-changing outcomes for customers, and how vital collaboration is in this exciting new era of AI.
Bring Your People With You and Celebrate the Journey
An afternoon of breakout sessions was followed by a Customer Keynote from TalkTalk – with an emphasis not just on the results they’d achieved, but the importance of bringing everyone on the journey with them.
“We wanted tech to be the enabler, not the driver, so we had lots of activity to bring our people with us on the AI journey – from food and T-shirts and even a rap song, to investing in coaching and people leadership. Reinforcing these messages again and again to make it part of our culture.” – Neil Smith, COO, TalkTalk
Next, the winners of the 2025 International CX Excellence Awards were announced, with massive congratulations to:
- AI Trailblazer of the Year – Lloyd’s Banking Group
- Excellent Customer Service Automation – Halfords
- Excellent CX Platform Use – Carnival UK
- Excellent Interaction Orchestration – IAG
- Excellent Workforce Management and Augmentation – Newcastle Strategic Solutions
- President’s and Judges’ Choice – Openreach and 2degrees
- Overall CX Excellence – TalkTalk
Shift Your Thinking to a More Positive “What If”
The day then came to a close with Celebrity Keynote, Jonny Wilkinson, talking about his successful rugby career and his personal challenges with his self-belief along the way, including his noteworthy advice on maintaining a more positive outlook on life, “Don’t dwell on what might go wrong. When you focus on what’s right and dream about how awesome things can be, you can really shift your thinking to a more positive “what if”.
At full time, everyone headed back outside for a well-deserved “Party on the Pitch” with Kaiser Chiefs! But ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh you had to be there for that one!
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About NiCE
NiCE (NASDAQ: NICE) is transforming the world with AI that puts people first. Our purpose-built AI-powered platforms automate engagements into proactive, safe, intelligent actions, empowering individuals and organizations to innovate and act, from interaction to resolution. Trusted by organizations throughout 150+ countries worldwide, NiCE’s platforms are widely adopted across industries connecting people, systems, and workflows to work smarter at scale, elevating performance across the organization, delivering proven measurable outcomes. Find out more about NiCE
Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Megan Jones
Published On: 8th Jul 2025 - Last modified: 9th Jul 2025
Read more about - Latest News, NiCE, NiCE CXone
