EY launches Studio+ to drive customer-centric AI transformation

EY has introduced EY Studio+, an offering that brings together specialist design, sales, marketing, and customer experience capabilities to assist organisations in addressing transformation and growth requirements in the context of artificial intelligence.

EY Studio+ brings together expertise from 37 specialist agencies acquired by EY, including Blackdot, Digital Detox, Doberman, etVenture, Fabernovel, Freshworks, Future Friendly, Italia Brand Group, Seren, Team Collective, VODW, and Zilker. These have been integrated with EY's organically grown businesses.

The offering is designed to deliver a combination of services ranging from design and customer experience to sales and marketing, supported by sector insights and technologies such as EY.ai. According to EY, the aim is to help businesses pursue growth by reimagining customer engagement at scale.

Jad Shimaly, EY Global Managing Partner – Client Service, stated: "Business leaders are grappling with tremendous uncertainty driven by geopolitical tensions, hyper-inflation of customer expectations, digital disruption and more. Organizations that anchor in the rapidly changing needs of their customers can continue to deliver distinctive experiences while helping to ensure high-stakes investments in transformation drive critical outcomes."

EY Studio+ seeks to respond to shifts in customer expectations, which the organisation says have been shaped by AI and 24/7 digital connectivity. The offering targets businesses that are looking to provide more responsive and emotionally resonant experiences, at a time when economic conditions remain challenging for many industries.

The core elements of EY Studio+ include customer experience, by assisting businesses in designing and scaling differentiated engagement strategies; product and service innovation, through efforts to launch or iterate new offerings in collaboration with broader business ecosystems; and marketing, sales, and service transformation, which are aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of core commercial functions.

Examples of EY Studio+ client engagements already undertaken include leveraging technology and people to overhaul customer service for a global retailer; supporting marketing and sales transformation for a communications network business; creating differentiated experiences for a major global bank; adopting a customer-first strategy to support the energy transition at a utilities company; and reimagining the experience offered by a cruise provider.

Laurence Buchanan, EY Global Leader EY Studio+, said: "Agentic AI has thrust us into a new era of digital transformation with unprecedented opportunity to redefine what it means to be distinctive, capture market share and increase customer loyalty. But to do so, customer-centric transformation must be rapid, continuous and multi-disciplinary, embracing the combination of creative design, technology and commercial insights."

John Rudaizky, EY Global Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, commented on the offering's relevance for business leaders across functions: "EY Studio+ will partner across the C-suite, with particular emphasis on today's CMOs, who are playing an increasingly pivotal role around the customer experience and an organization's growth agenda. One of the most powerful drivers of brand is how customers experience an organization's product or service – and that experience is an increasingly fundamental driver of growth. In accelerating this offering, EY is responding to the needs of clients to create new value on a global scale."

The creation of EY Studio+ forms part of EY's broader 'All in' strategy, which focuses on generating value for clients, employees, and stakeholders. It follows the recent expansion of EY-Parthenon, the organisation's strategy and transactions service line.