Tech as the intuitive extension of life - How Gen Z and Gen Alpha redefine digital CX

In April 2025, a 13-year-old Gen Alpha girl used AI to clone her mother’s voice and call in sick to school, successfully fooling both the school and her dad. It’s a striking example of how effortlessly the youngest generation interacts with technology.

For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, tech isn’t something they had to learn, it’s something they’ve always lived with. These future consumers have never known a world without smartphones, smart assistants, or generative AI. Technology is woven into their everyday routines, shaping how they learn, play, and engage with brands.

AI-native generations: Born with tech, raised by instant answers

Generation Alpha (born from 2010 onward) is the first truly AI-native generation. Many interact with digital assistants before they can write. Amazon’s Alexa fields 25 million questions from Gen Alpha kids each month, from “Why is the sky blue?” to math homework. They grow up believing any curiosity can be answered instantly.

By the time they hit their teens (Gen Z territory), using AI tools like ChatGPT feels as natural as texting a friend. In classrooms, over half of American teachers use ChatGPT, and nearly half of students aged 12–14 have tried it (Walton Family Foundation). For these kids, prompting AI is becoming as fundamental as reading or writing.

This culture of instant answers has a ripple effect on their expectations. When it comes to customer experience (CX), they anticipate the same speed, personalization, and emotional intelligence they get from their tech at home. In fact, 68% of Gen Z believe AI will help companies serve them better (Five9 2025 Customer Experience report).

AI as co-creator: Fueling creativity and play

Generative AI is a sidekick, co-creator & imagination amplifier for Gen Z and Alpha. These generations aren’t just passive users of tech, they actively engage with it.

Take Mattel’s recent partnership with OpenAI. While no AI-powered Barbie has hit the shelves yet, the collaboration signals a clear intent: to bring conversational AI into age-appropriate play experiences. Mattel aims to use tools like ChatGPT Enterprise to enhance product development and reimagine how kids interact with their favorite toys. Gen Alpha may soon be chatting with their dolls; not just imagining their voices.

And this kind of interaction isn’t limited to toys. Young people actively engage with AI to create game characters, animate drawings, or remix content. According to a 2025 AP-NORC poll, nearly three-quarters of Americans under 30 use AI regularly for ideation, entertainment, or search.

What Gen Z and Alpha expect from tech-driven brand experiences

Because the tech-intuitive Gen Z & Alpha see tech as part of themselves, they expect brands to meet them on their terms. That means:

• Always-on service: No hold music, no slow email replies. They want instant answers via chatbots, messaging, and self-service tools. And those bots better be smart.

• Personalization by default: They’re used to TikTok’s “For You” feed and Spotify’s algorithmic playlists. They expect brands to anticipate their needs and preferences.

• Immersive, interactive experiences: Gen Z and Alpha blur the lines between gaming and reality. Brands like Nike (with Nikeland on Roblox) are meeting them in virtual worlds. Static websites won’t cut it.

If a brand’s CX feels outdated or impersonal, these young consumers will wonder: “Why isn’t it as smart as the rest of my life?”

Designing for the tech-intuitive Gen Z & Alpha

To connect with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, brands need to rethink how they use technology, not just as a tool, but as a way to build trust, spark imagination, and deliver seamless experiences. For these generations, technology isn’t separate from life, it is life. So, make your customer experience an intuitive, playful, emotionally intelligent extension of their world.

I explore this topic in depth in my keynote “Can AI help you?”, a session packed with fresh insights, real-world examples, and practical takeaways for CX professionals. Curious to learn more or book me for your next event? You’ll find all the details here!