Podcast Summary: Insights Unlocked

Episode: 2026 Trends in CX and UX Research with Lija Hogan and Amrit Bhachu
Date: January 5, 2026
Host: Nathan Isaacs (A)
Guests: Lija Hogan (D), Amrit Bhachu (C)
Length: ~46 minutes

Episode Overview

This forward-looking episode examines the top trends, challenges, and opportunities UX and CX leaders are wrestling with as they head into 2026. Host Nathan Isaacs turns the microphone on his co-hosts—Lija Hogan and Amrit Bhachu, UserTesting’s Principals of Experience Research Strategy—to discuss evolving uses of AI, pressures to demonstrate research impact, the shifting skills required for researchers, and the rise of conversational design.

The tone is candid, practical, and full of real-world stories, providing actionable advice for CX, UX, and innovation professionals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Role of Lija and Amrit at UserTesting

• Both serve as strategists and consultants, bringing broad experience in research and design to UserTesting clients.
• Their work focuses on helping internal teams demonstrate the value and impact of customer insights.
• They share learnings from both their own careers and cross-industry experience with Fortune 100 clients.
  Quote:

  “We’re able to share that kind of knowledge with our customers and help them not repeat the bad experiences we’ve had and learn from our mistakes going forward.”
  — Amrit Bhachu, [02:48]

2. AI in UX and CX: Experimentation, Hype, and Caution

● AI’s Entrenchment in UX/CX (04:26, 06:07)

• AI is “here to stay,” but many organizations are still figuring out the most useful applications.
• The current landscape is marked by hype, with fewer well-established practices or “storytelling over years of practice.”
• Companies often lack clear guidance from leadership, leaving mid-level teams to define AI use cases and guardrails independently.

● Experimentation Required (07:47, 09:58)

• Teams must engage in trial and error with AI tools—different organizations will find different approaches valuable.
• The value of prompt engineering and learning from “not being successful,” rather than outright failing.

● Risks and Validation

• Amrit and Lija stress not taking AI outputs at face value, as results may differ with each use—systematic validation is essential.
• Real-world missteps (e.g., a fast food chain’s poorly received AI-generated ad) underscore the need for iterative testing and review.
  Quote:

  "If you do not have a time to validate your approach, then that's probably not the right approach... Whether that's through user testing, analytics, or anything else, you've got to have a way of validating it."
  — Amrit Bhachu, [16:02]

● Personal Rubrics and Real-Life Experience

• Lija shares her personal criteria for leveraging AI based on sustainability and how much value AI actually adds versus doing the work manually.
  Quote:

  "The moment when you know that you would totally write it faster and the AI is just going to quote yourself back to you, that tells you you should just like spend the time writing it yourself."
  — Lija Hogan, [13:23]

3. Research Impact and the Expanding Role of Researchers

● Rising Expectations (19:28)

• Researchers are expected to do more: synthesize across disciplines, communicate impact more broadly, and tell compelling business stories.
• The “unicorn” phase is back—companies want versatile researchers with broader skill sets, not just specialists.

● The Opportunity Side of AI (21:45)

• AI helps researchers access both qualitative and quantitative insights faster, aiding in persuasive internal storytelling.
• Researchers can leverage diverse data sources (analytics, surveys) even without deep technical expertise.

● Implementing Change: It’s Iterative (23:53)

• Change does not happen overnight: moving toward greater impact is a six-to-eight-month journey of small wins, validation, and refining internal communications.
  Quote:

  “Small win, small win, small win, small win. To get to the point of what we really need is to bring this to the front rather than doing it reactively... the door is open for us to go and do that. No one's going to ask us to do it.”
  — Amrit Bhachu, [23:53]

● Tying Insights to Business Language (26:50, 30:23)

• AI can help translate research findings into language relevant to different stakeholders.
• Synthesizing large reports or summarizing findings for engineering vs. executive audiences allows for more actionable insights and influences decision-making.

4. Connecting Silos and Scaling Operations

● Breaking Down Barriers (30:23)

• Bringing together insights from JIRA tickets, analytics, call center feedback, and more creates a more collaborative and connected organization.
• Silos are broken by sharing and customizing insights for varied teams quickly with AI assistance.

● ResearchOps and Knowledge Management (31:33)

• Inspired by experts like Kate Towsey and Jake Burghardt, research needs robust operational processes to ensure institutional knowledge is leveraged and not wasted.
• Scaling feedback processes and validating research quality organization-wide is now a top concern (and challenge) for leaders.

5. Emerging Voice Paradigm and Cross-Channel Experiences

● Conversational AI is Rising (36:08)

• Increasingly, users interact via voice, gestures, and multi-modal interfaces—not just screens.
• This shift requires new design patterns and strategies for seamless experiences. Quote:

  “Conversational experiences and especially conversational AI is something that is popping up in everyday people's experiences much more frequently.”
  — Lija Hogan, [36:08]

● Real-World Silos and Missed Omnichannel Opportunities (38:37)

• Teams still face challenges when physical and digital-department priorities conflict.
• An anecdote from a retailer highlights how incentives and team silos can undermine omnichannel and voice opportunities.

● Technical Challenges Remain (42:26)

• Amrit humorously recounted failure of voice-recognition technology (Alexa struggled with Scottish accents), illustrating both the promise and present limitations of conversational interfaces.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions." — Mark Twain, quoted by Amrit Bhachu ([02:48])
• "As you said at the top, AI is here to stay. So how do we do experimentation on our research process to find ways that uniquely within our organizations, benefit us?" — Amrit Bhachu ([09:58])
• "The moment when you know that you would totally write it faster and the AI is just going to quote yourself back to you, that tells you you should just like spend the time writing it yourself." — Lija Hogan ([13:23])
• "If you do not have a time to validate your approach, then that's probably not the right approach... Whether that's through user testing, analytics, or anything else, you've got to have a way of validating it." — Amrit Bhachu ([16:02])
• "With the benefit of AI, [we can] really own that internal communication, that internal impact communication within an organization." — Amrit Bhachu ([21:45])
• "Conversational experiences and especially conversational AI is something that is popping up in everyday people's experiences much more frequently." — Lija Hogan ([36:08])
• (On Alexa mishap) "Alexa did not quite nail that Christmas list. So we had to resort to pen and paper to make sure nothing is missed off it." — Amrit Bhachu ([42:26])

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:36] – Lija & Amrit’s backgrounds and daily work at UserTesting
• [04:26] – AI as top trend; experimentation and building new use cases
• [09:58] – “Garbage in, garbage out”: the need for AI validation and experimentation
• [13:23] – Lija’s personal rubric for using vs. skipping AI
• [16:02] – Importance of user testing and validating AI deliverables
• [19:28] – Research impact, skill set “scope creep,” researchers as business storytellers
• [21:45] – Opportunities in leveraging AI to access data and drive insights
• [23:53] – How organizations and leaders can shift toward impact and integration
• [30:23] – Connecting insights across JIRA, analytics, marketing, silos
• [31:33] – Operations, scaling knowledge, and ensuring research is leveraged
• [36:08] – Rise of conversational interfaces and the new voice paradigm
• [38:37] – Cross-channel & omnichannel challenges and siloed teams
• [42:26] – Real-life voice tech limitations and fallback to old methods

Final Thoughts & Resources

• Lija and Amrit encourage listeners to connect via UserTesting’s blog, back-catalog podcasts, or direct outreach for continued learning.
• Both recommend embracing incremental change, experimentation, and keeping the customer voice central—even as tools and touchpoints evolve rapidly.

For more info and additional resources:
Visit usertesting.com/podcast

This summary provides a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate snapshot of the episode's insights and discussion flow—ideal for professionals seeking to stay current on CX/UX trends as 2026 approaches.