CX Network | February 2026

The Human-Machine Translator: CX's Most Important New Role

Katja Forbes authored this piece for CX Network, introducing the concept of the "human-machine translator" — the CX leader who can simultaneously design for both human executives and autonomous AI procurement agents evaluating the same organisation. Drawing on her book Machine Customers and research from Gartner, the World Economic Forum, and Jeff Gothelf, Katja maps the dual-track customer journey most organisations aren't yet designing for, and makes the case that this translation capability is fast becoming the defining competitive advantage in customer experience.