Editorial
The Gist
- Operational reporting is broken. Traditional reports are filtered, distorted, overloaded with data and often ignored by executives.
- Risk and opportunity get missed. Delayed, sanitized reporting leads to poor decisions, hidden risks and disengaged leadership.
- AI changes the equation. AI brings real-time, accurate, and independent insights that highlight business impact, risk, and value directly for the C-suite.
- A fresh start. AI-powered reporting offers automation, scalability, and engaging dashboards that reconnect leaders with operational reality.
For many of us, and definitely when it comes to digital customer experience professionals, reporting operational data on a regular basis is our main and even our only communication and interaction with senior leadership.
The previous month’s highs and lows, towering achievements and significant challenges, all summarized on a single PowerPoint slide. With perhaps an opportunity to present two slides every quarter! Or possibly all wrapped up into the bottom half of a Power BI dashboard, with a chance to expand and drill down into the deep weeds of the operational detail, if senior leaders just happen to be interested. (Usually they won’t be.)
When operational reporting is your main line of communication going up the food chain it becomes critical to get it right, but all too often it is less than ideal, poorly executed and even largely pointless.
Table of Contents
- Classic Fails of Operational Reporting in Digital Experience
- Time to Rethink Operational Reporting
- What Reporting for Executives Should Look Like
- How AI Can Transform Operational Reporting
- What AI Brings to Operational Reporting
- A Fresh Approach to Operational Reporting
- Our Take: AI in Customer Experience and Operational Reporting
- AI Shows Promise in Operational Reporting Despite Overhype Concerns
- The Silver Bullet Trap
- Operational Reporting Shows Real Impact
- Digital Experience Benefits
- Strategic Implementation Key
- Operational Reporting & AI: FAQ
Classic Fails of Operational Reporting in Digital Experience
Let’s explore some of the classic “fails” of operational reporting.
Filtering and Distortion
Most organizations rely on a chain of reporting that turns frontline activity into executive summaries. Every layer of hierarchy filters the information based on its own context and also interpretation, so by the time it reaches the top, the data is decontextualized and even distorted.
Any metrics that require explanation and context tend to be get left out, particularly if they have the potential to show an operational team or stakeholder in a negative light.
And the more layers of reporting and analysis an organization needs and adds, the greater the disconnect between the sanitized boardroom reporting and the messy operational reality.
Reassurance Over Reality
Reporting — usually unintentionally — veers towards convenience and reassurance, focusing on what operational teams want business leaders to hear and to maintain the status quo.
The complexity and nuances of operational data and what it actually means to the business in terms of impact, insight or risk is not adequately covered or emphasized.
The bad but actually really important stuff such as areas of significant risk or where teams are struggling and could do with some help (such as extra budget) gets under-reported and even ignored.
Related Article: Fix the Disconnect: Customer Experience Analytics That Actually Drives Change
Too Much Data Presented
Sometimes operational reporting of website performance has way too much data presented, replicating what is presented in the diagnostic tools. This is likely to be meaningless for everyone but the specialist digital team and ultimately disengaging.
On the dashboard on your car, you wouldn’t want a complex set of numbers that you didn’t understand; that could cause anxiety about what they mean. All you really want to know is if the car is safe to drive, if something needs fixing and if you need to go to the garage.
Lack of Engagement
The data presented has little value in terms of being actionable or meaningful for senior executive or exploring business impact. Slides are quickly glanced at and dashboards never accessed, and the whole process becomes a tick-the-box exercise. Business leaders simply don’t engage.
Some executives may even be semi-complicit in that they don’t have the capacity to engage. They are aware the reporting they receive is more to keep them in the loop and half-designed for them to ignore. It doesn’t present another thing to add to their impossible “to do” list that they have to think or even worry about.
Out of Date
In a world of real-time data and dashboards, a significant proportion of operational reporting remains manual and revolves around PowerPoint. By the time the C-suite glances at the numbers they may be out of date; too late to deal with a growing risk or to seize that opportunity.
Time to Rethink Operational Reporting
This kind of operational reporting simultaneously presents a huge risk and a missed opportunity:
- Decisions are made on assumptions rather than real-time, data-driven insights, which means potentially poor decisions, missed opportunities and losing out to your competitors.
- Significant risks are underplayed, and these build up over time, leading to compliance and related issues.
- Action and intervention are delayed, potentially until it is too late.
- Measurement fails to spot deeper trends over time and important insights get missed.
- Executives disengage and disconnect from operational functions and teams, which can lead to a lack of support or investment, and is also unsatisfying for the teams involved.
What Reporting for Executives Should Look Like
We need to rethink operational reporting, so that it is:
- Focused on what matters, which is on business impact.
- Actionable with insights that will drive better decisions.
- Accurate and independent, presenting what is really happening, including risks and challenges, providing executives with a direct line of sight to operational reality.
- Real-time reporting to support true agility, avoiding delayed decision-making while problems grow and opportunities pass.
- Consistent and aligned at different levels, so even if the data presented is different, the overall story is the same, and everyone is working from the same page.
- Scalable using automation so reporting is no longer an admin overhead for small digital marketing teams.
- Engaging so leaders take an active interest in the data and engage with the team behind it.
- Refreshed mindset and view of operational reporting and the value it brings.
How AI Can Transform Operational Reporting
There can be a tendency to overthink AI as a panacea for every organizational process that’s currently not working. But operational reporting is one area where AI has the potential to make a massive difference, particularly in the world of digital experience.
By continuously monitoring the operational digital performance around “fundamentals” such as user experience, SEO, privacy and accessibility, AI platforms can surface live signals and highlight where attention is needed. Crucially for CFOs, it can highlight where risk is greatest, or value can be unlocked.
Unlike traditional dashboards, signals can be designed for executive decision-making and present more of a “scorecard” view. Rather than overwhelm and disengage with data, they could show, in clear business terms, where risk is rising, where value is being lost, where there is a commercial opportunity, and where intervention can make an immediate difference.
The opportunities that AI provides also mean there is currently a powerful reason to rethink reporting and fundamentally redesign the process. Many C-suites are actively investing in AI so if you’re looking to transform operational reporting, the time really is now.
What AI Brings to Operational Reporting
Let’s dive into the value that AI can potentially add to operational reporting.
| How AI affects digital experience reporting | How it gets done and why it matters |
|---|---|
| Focused on what matters | AI-powered reporting can be set and defined and iterated so it can be focused on what actually matters to the C-suite — true business impact relating to risk and value across different fundamental areas. If you are resetting operational reporting due to AI, involve business leaders in the design and then tweak based on their input. AI-powered dashboards can be changed more or less instantly. |
| Actionable with insights | AI has the potential to deliver far deeper insights and meaningful trends from a wider data set that previously have been hidden, ultimately supporting better decision-making and leading to a more proactive rather than reactive approach to digital management. |
| Accurate and independent | AI-powered reporting removes much of the bias that occurs across organizational layers that can filter and distort data. Of course, AI itself is not without bias, but it is likely to present a more independent view than more manual processes. There will also be fewer errors in terms of crunching numbers at scale and speed, compared to a wholly human effort. |
| Real-time reporting | AI brings real-time reporting and monitoring that is available 24/7 supporting agility and timely decision-making. |
| Consistent and aligned | AI presents different cuts and views of the same data leading to drive a more consistent story around reporting, removing any potential disconnect across the story presented across the hierarchy. This means better alignment between strategic decisions and the actions of digital teams ‘on the ground’. |
| Scalable using automation | Digital teams never have enough hours in the day. Operational reporting can be time-consuming, which limits what can be achieved. AI brings automation to reporting so it is finally achievable and fully scalable. |
| Engaging | The combination of the relevance of a targeted dashboard, valuable insights, independent reporting and attractive formatting and design possibilities that AI can bring, will finally bring executives on board with renewed interest and attention. It’s a potential bridge to the boardroom and also gives operational teams a glimpse of the issues that are going to be of interest to leaders. |
| Refreshed mindset | Don’t underestimate what a new approach and start brings to perceptions of reporting and its value both from senior executives but also operational teams. Forgive the cliché, but it is definitely win-win. |
Related Article: How Can You Build Customer Dashboards That Drive Experience and Growth
A Fresh Approach to Operational Reporting
We’re potentially not fully there with what AI can bring to operational reporting, but what you can already do is very powerful. It’s a great opportunity for a fresh approach and new start that supports better decision-making that helps minimise risk, maximises value and for allows operational teams to reengage with senior executives.
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Our Take: AI in Customer Experience and Operational Reporting
Editor's note: Over the past year and a half at CMSWire, we’ve seen AI move from flashy demos to real executive use cases—especially in operational reporting. The wins come when teams pair strong data foundations with clear outcomes and governance, not hype. Here's what we've learned:
AI Shows Promise in Operational Reporting Despite Overhype Concerns
Organizations face mounting pressure to deploy artificial intelligence across every business function, but experts caution against treating AI as a universal solution for operational challenges.
The Silver Bullet Trap
The temptation to view AI as a cure-all for organizational problems can lead to wasted investments and missed expectations, particularly when leaders approach it as a “silver bullet” rather than a tool requiring careful governance and human-centered implementation. In digital experience management, AI’s effectiveness depends heavily on the underlying strategy, data quality and change management practices.
Operational Reporting Shows Real Impact
Despite broader AI overhype concerns, operational reporting represents one area where the technology is moving from hype to measurable impact. Traditional reporting systems relied on static, backward-looking dashboards that provided limited value for real-time decision-making.
Modern AI-powered platforms can unify fragmented data sources, surface actionable insights and automate follow-up actions. This transforms reporting from a passive record-keeping function into a proactive driver of business outcomes.
Digital Experience Benefits
In digital experience contexts, AI-driven reporting enables faster issue identification, more personalized customer journeys, and real-time adaptation to user behavior patterns.
Strategic Implementation Key
The technology works best when organizations view AI as an enabler rather than a replacement for sound operational processes or human judgment. When companies focus on specific outcomes—such as revenue lift, improved customer experience or operational efficiency—AI-driven reporting becomes a powerful accelerant.
As one expert noted: “AI can help you work smarter, not just harder, but only if you know where and how to apply it.”
Operational Reporting & AI: FAQ
Editor's note: Most executive updates still reward reassurance over reality. These questions cut through noise to help leaders see risk, value, and where to act—fast.
Use AI to generate independent summaries from source signals, enforce a standard scorecard template and cap metric counts. Pair every metric with context and a next step, not just a chart. Reserve drill-downs for specialists, not the board slide.
AI continuously monitors fundamentals (UX, SEO, privacy, accessibility), surfaces live signals and frames them in business terms—where risk is rising, where value is leaking and where intervention will pay off—without burying leaders in raw data.
A concise scorecard focused on impact: clear risk indicators, value opportunities, trend deltas, recommended actions and owner/ETA. It should align narratives across levels so teams and leaders are working from the same story.
It’s filtered through layers, sanitized for reassurance, overloaded with metrics, and often delayed. By the time it reaches the C-suite, the story is distorted, key risks are downplayed, and leaders disengage.
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