A version of this article appeared originally on Customer Experience Magazine. You can read it here.
When it comes to customer experience, Gen Z is no longer the next wave of young consumers. They’re making their mark.
While they may be the second-youngest generation, they’re already hitting major life milestones. According to GWI, 19% of Gen Z are now decision-makers at work, up from 15% in 2024. We’ve also seen a 45% increase in Gen Z who say they’re married and a 23% rise in those with kids.
As they continue to age, their spending power will only grow. Research from Bank of America projects that this generation’s combined income will hit $33 trillion by 2030, surpassing millennials’ income the following year. But with this growing influence comes a new set of brand expectations.
If you want to engage Gen Z, you’ll need to pivot your CX to align with what they value, which includes direct communication, authenticity and relevance. In practice, that means being transparent, trustworthy and, above all, treating them as individuals with unique needs.
The Demand for Personalized Experiences
Personalization isn’t just a trend. For Gen Z, it’s essential.
Typically defined as anyone born between 1996 and 2012, this generation has grown up in a tech-centric world that caters to their tastes. As Ipsos describes it, “gone are the days of a unified media experience.” Gen Z’s world is one of “hyper-personalized feeds, niche online communities and algorithmic bubbles.”
That may be one of the reasons why making generalizations about Gen Z is harder than any other generation. Their spaces are curated and individualized, and as a result, so are their expectations.
They’re used to tailored experiences. They’ve grown up with retailers like Amazon sharing personalized product recommendations, Netflix tailoring their homepage and social media algorithms feeding them only the most relevant content.
For brands that want to connect with this generation, being able to deliver these kinds of seamless personalized experiences throughout the customer journey is critical.
These numbers show just how much Gen Z values it. According to our 2025 State of Video Technology Report:
- 80% of Gen Z are willing to share personal data for a more personalized experience.
- 51% get upset with brands that don’t personalize their communications.
- 93% want to receive Personalized Videos from brands.
Personalization is now a must-have with this generation that typically has less brand loyalty. And it can promote retention long-term. After all, a brand that knows you so well it can anticipate your desires is pretty hard to replace.
Personalization in Practice
At first blush, all of this personalization can sound like a logistical nightmare. What once worked for the masses now needs to be tailored for each individual customer.
This goes beyond simple segmentation. You’re drilling down to the granular level, making each customer interaction special and doing it for thousands or even millions of people.
But an effective personalization strategy doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Thanks to modern technology and a growing volume of customer data, personalizing at scale isn’t just possible — it can actually optimize your operations and support your bottom line.
Here are a few opportunities to craft tailored experiences that wow Gen Z consumers, from marketing to customer service to the ultimate goal: brand advocacy.
1. Personalized Communications
The secret to any great relationship is communication, and the brand-consumer relationship is no different. But we’re way past only adding someone’s first name to an email greeting.
Personalization should happen at multiple touchpoints and function as more than a surface-level gesture. It should be deep and real rather than anecdotal. That means the content as a whole needs to be personalized rather than simply adding names to a generic message.
Key opportunities for personalized communications include:
- Customer acquisition
- Onboarding
- Renewals and retention
- Upselling and cross-selling
Where and what can you personalize? Almost anything: apps, websites, GIFs, videos. Visual culture, particularly video, is especially popular with this generation, so personalization needs to happen across multiple formats, not just text.
Take the time to consider what format makes the most sense for a particular use case. For instance, a personalized offer can be a great sales tool, and you might keep it simple by putting it in a GIF or an image. Have it feature exactly what they care about (based on past customer behavior and demographic data) and include their name for an exclusive feel.
But if you want to get your customer excited about something big — say, the start of their relationship with you — a video says it best. See how the University of South Dakota personalized the acceptance process for future students, transforming the student experience.
Read more: For additional tips and strategies on engaging young adults with video marketing, check out our guide on how to use video to reach Gen Z.
2. Personalized Customer Service
So often, customer service is where user experience breaks down.
The customer onboarding process is well-rehearsed and structured. The marketing messages are polished. But then something goes wrong. The customer needs help, and everything falls apart. Long hold times. Inefficiencies. Human error takes over
Post on
And, no surprise, this kills customer satisfaction and retention: 86% of customers will leave a brand they were once loyal to after only 2 to 3 poor customer service experiences.
Don’t let it happen to you. Digital personalization lets you offer 1:1 customer support at scale, right where your Gen Z consumer needs it: on their smartphone. After all, this is the generation that spends 6.6 hours per day consuming media, and their phone is their top source (31.6%).
To keep retention high, brands need digital self-service options that are seamless and accessible. Younger consumers are used to 24/7 and on-demand options that anticipate their needs. By incorporating personalization, you can make even automated support feel human and relevant.
Here are a few ways to personalize your customer service experience:
- Use a personalized chatbot. If the customer can give their name or an ID number to identify their account, the chatbot can provide personalized tips to solve common pain points — a lot easier than scrolling through online FAQs.
- Have a personalized message to follow up call center calls. When the customer calls about a common issue (like claims processing in insurance), send a personalized follow-up. Video works well here, summarizing coverage, options and next steps in a digestible format they can replay at will.
- Let them choose their own adventure. Use Interactive Video or a customer portal where they can select what they need help with and then see the next scene that shows them what to do.
One tip to keep in mind is minimizing text. When the customer is reaching out for help, they’re often unhappy or stressed. This isn’t the time to blast them with fine print. Instead, keep it visual, interactive and simple. Add a human touch when empathy is needed most.
Here’s an example of what that might look like. This Interactive Video walks viewers through their options as their forbearance period ends. Not only can they click the options they want to learn more about, but the explanations are visual and easy to follow — a much smoother experience than sifting through a dense FAQ page.
This format is great as an on-demand resource, but you can even go further by being proactive. Instead of waiting for the customer to ask, anticipate their questions and deliver personalized content upfront. That way, the experience is hyper-relevant, with clear answers that include user-specific details.
3. User-Generated Personalization
You’ve probably heard about the rise of UGC. A video trend that was already accelerated by millennials is only growing as the digital natives of Gen Z take the reins.
User-generated content is primed for customer engagement and is much more effective at influencing potential customers than the average ad spot. The challenge, though, is getting customers to create content on your behalf. The solution? Make it easy and fun.
Give users a web form or even an Interactive Video that lets them select what they want to include in their customized content.
One practical example that brands often leverage is personalized recaps, where customers choose top achievements or experiences to showcase in a highlight reel. That’s exactly what CCP Games did with their campaign for EVE Online.
Another common application for personalized user-generated content is loyalty programs.
According to Deloitte, while 73% of consumers believe personalized experiences are important in a loyalty program, only about 60% believe programs offer sufficient personalization.
Loyal customers want to feel recognized and appreciated. They want to know that they’re part of your program for good reason. So why not give them a personalized recap to remind them why they love you?
Let them upload their own media or choose from preset options. Either way, this kind of content is incredibly shareable, boosting brand advocacy and reaching new audiences.
Gen Z is especially open to this kind of hands-on content creation. In fact, 78% would be interested in making their own AI video from a text prompt, opening the door to even more engaging UGC.
The AI Advantage
Speaking of artificial intelligence, did you know that 76% of Gen Z are interested or open to getting AI videos from brands? It makes sense — video has become their go-to format for digesting information. In one study, consumers shown both a PDF document and an AI video made from that document were 2x as likely to prefer the AI video.
That preference is a win for brands, too. Traditional video production is time-consuming and expensive, often requiring teams of creative experts. But AI can streamline the entire process.
Take Lucas AI Video Creator. Built for enterprise teams, he can generate a complete, high-quality video from start to finish in minutes. And because he only draws from your approved content, you can trust that the video will always be accurate and on-brand.
Check out one of the videos he created from a brand’s website below.
Powered by our Next Generation Video Platform, each video is rendered and can be edited in real time. You can even add interactivity or personalization before publishing.
With innovative tools like these, brands can keep up with Gen Z’s demand for dynamic and relevant video content, without exhausting their resources.
CX for Gen Z
In a nutshell, personalized customer experiences for Gen Z should be highly visual, omnichannel and, when possible, interactive. Done right, your personalization efforts show that you care about them and give them a reason to stay.
But personalization doesn’t have to be daunting. Start small. Begin with the data you have — or even without data, let them add their own for UGC. The important thing is when you get started, and that time is now.
We’re here to help, whether you need full-service support or just access to a platform that lets you enrich your videos (millions at a time) with data-driven personalization.
