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PH1 core capbility
YEARS EXPERIENCE
10+ years
TYPICAL CLIENT
CXO, CMO, VP Customer Experience
NECESSARY TIMELINE
4 to 6 months
BUDGET NECESSARY
Quoted individually
Our POV
The most important CX question of 2026 is not "how do we put AI into our customer experience?" It is "which customer moments deserve to be reinvented by AI, which should be left alone, and how do we design the experience so customers actually trust it?"
Most organizations are getting this wrong. They apply AI to touchpoints based on what is technically possible, not what customers actually want augmented. The result is AI that feels intrusive where it should feel invisible, and invisible where it should be transformative. The organizations that get CX AI right start with research — understanding their specific customers, in their specific journey, under realistic conditions — before writing a single line of strategy.
What We Do
We conduct structured behavioral research across your customer journey to identify which customer needs are genuinely underserved, which touchpoints are candidates for AI augmentation, and which represent risks if AI is introduced without the right trust conditions in place. We then translate that research into a CX strategy your team can execute — with specific recommendations for which moments to augment, how to design the AI experience at each touchpoint, what service design changes are required to support it, and how to measure whether the augmentation is actually creating value.
The order matters: research before strategy. Most CX strategy engagements are built on assumptions, workshops, and industry analogies. PH1's is built on primary research with your specific customers — then translated into a strategy your team can execute. This is why PH1 was the team Hims & Hers, Spotify, and Microsoft trusted with decisions where assumption-based work would have failed.
What We'll Deliver
Primary behavioral research with customers across segments and journey stages
Customer needs prioritization matrix: underserved needs, satisfied needs, and AI augmentation candidates with trust implications
CX AI strategy document with specific augmentation recommendations, sequencing, and clear "do not apply AI here" guidance
Service design specifications for each AI-augmented touchpoint (front-stage + back-stage + trust design)
Phased implementation roadmap with dependencies, measurement infrastructure, and review cadences
Executive alignment deck built on behavioral evidence, structured to survive board-level scrutiny
When This is Essential
When leadership is pushing AI into the customer experience without a research foundation
When your customer experience is slipping against competitors who have already shipped AI features
When you need a board-defensible CX strategy that is grounded in evidence, not analogies
When the organization is committing to multi-year CX investment and cannot afford to get the direction wrong
When different teams in the organization are proposing conflicting AI CX directions
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from a typical CX strategy engagement?
Most CX strategy is built on workshops, assumptions, and industry benchmarks. PH1's is built on primary behavioral research with your specific customers, under realistic conditions — then translated into executable strategy. The research IS the strategy foundation.
Do you always recommend applying AI?
No. PH1 is opinionated about AI in CX: not every touchpoint benefits, and the organizations that apply AI indiscriminately make their customer experience worse. Our job is to tell you where AI creates genuine value and — critically — where it should be left alone.
How do you handle organizational resistance to the recommendations?
Our strategies are built to survive board-level scrutiny because every recommendation is backed by behavioral evidence your leadership cannot dismiss as opinion. We also facilitate executive alignment workshops throughout the engagement so commitment is built in, not bolted on.
Can we use this for board or investor presentation?
Yes. Every PH1 CX AI Research & Strategy engagement includes an executive alignment deck designed for board-level presentation — with the evidence structured to support the investment case.
How long before we see implementation impact?
The engagement itself is 10–15 weeks. Implementation impact depends on your organization's execution capacity; PH1 can continue as a specialist partner on the highest-priority workstreams to accelerate delivery.
Combine With These Services
Customer Journey Mapping — Start with the journey foundation before designing the CX AI strategy on top
Website Modernization for AI Era — Translate CX AI strategy into a modernized digital experience with evidence
AI Product Evaluation & UX Evals — Calibrate the AI features the strategy recommends after launch
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Submissions