Squarespace vs SurveyMonkey

Introducing SMS Campaigns: The Marketing Channel Your Customers Won’t Ignore

Squarespace announces the launch of SMS Campaigns, a new marketing channel integrated into its platform, allowing users to reach customers via text messaging.

August 2026 Product Updates

August 2026 Product Updates by Squarespace

Websites Are Boring — Embrace a Bifurcated Web

The author argues that widespread use of templates (Shopify, Squarespace, Webflow) and optimisation-for-conversion has homogenised websites, eroding brand distinctiveness. With the rise of AI, agents, and agentic commerce, discovery is shifting toward machine-driven flows that risk reducing websites to backend databases. The piece proposes a bifurcated web: a ‘Silent Web’ of machine-readable feeds for agents and a separate ‘Experiential Web’ focused on rich, human-first brand experiences powered by creative use of AI. The article cites industry projections for large economic impact from agentic commerce and multiple survey statistics showing consumer trust and adoption of AI shopping tools.

• The article states the rise of Shopify, Squarespace, and Webflow templates has produced mass homogenisation of websites.
• A McKinsey projection cited in the piece estimates agentic commerce could generate $1 trillion in the US B2C retail market by 2030 and $3–5 trillion globally.
• The article cites that 58% of Gen Z and millennials trust an AI agent to compare prices and recommend options.

Brands revive human-staffed phone lines amid AI fatigue

Amid growing consumer frustration with AI customer service, several direct-to-consumer brands like Sproos, Made In, and Trade Coffee are reintroducing human-staffed phone lines as a differentiator. A SurveyMonkey study found that 79% of Americans prefer human interaction over AI agents. These brands report increased customer loyalty and deeper insights into customer journeys through phone conversations. The trend highlights a backlash against over-automation and a strategic move to blend human touch with digital efficiency, with some brands even training staff to provide expert advice and sharing call insights with marketing teams.

• 79% of Americans strongly prefer interacting with a human over an AI agent (SurveyMonkey study).
• Sproos, a DTC showerhead brand, launched a human-staffed phone line on Sundays through Fridays, receiving about 30 calls per day.
• Made In cookware operates an AI chatbot but also maintains a phone line, with staff using FaceTime and Zoom for customer assistance.

EU AI Act Disclosure Rules Shape Customer Service Bot Decisions

This CMSWire article examines how brands should determine when to use AI versus human agents in customer service, citing MIT research showing human-AI combinations often underperform the best human-only or AI-only systems. Consumer studies indicate a strong preference for humans in high-stakes interactions, but acceptance of AI for transactional tasks. The EU AI Act Article 50 transparency obligations, effective August 2, 2026, require clear disclosure when interacting with AI. The article argues that transparency, when done well, builds trust and can expand AI's role over time. It offers a framework based on friction, conditional preference, transparency, and frontline knowledge to guide where AI should handle interactions, emphasizing process redesign over simple task reassignment.

• EU AI Act Article 50 transparency obligations require clear disclosure when interacting with AI, effective August 2, 2026.
• MIT Center for Collective Intelligence reviewed 106 experiments and found human-AI combinations underperformed the best human-only or AI-only systems on average.
• Metrigy's 2025-26 consumer study found 84.7% prefer human agents, but 46% will use AI for specific transactional tasks.

SurveyMonkey announces 40 #1 rankings in G2’s Fall 2026 reports

SurveyMonkey announces 40 #1 rankings in G2’s Fall 2026 reports August 27, 2026