New York, January 2026 — At NRF 2026, we at Socialhub.AI hosted the Microsoft × Socialhub.AI NRF Lunch Party: From CDP to CIP (Customer Intelligence Platform) in New York, bringing together enterprise leaders, retail executives, and AI decision-makers to address a critical industry question: why traditional CDPs are no longer enough—and what comes next.
For years, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) have helped enterprises collect and unify customer data. However, as AI adoption accelerates, we see a clear limitation: data alone does not create intelligence. Enterprises are now constrained not by access to data, but by their ability to interpret signals, understand intent, and drive timely decisions at scale.
During the session, we officially introduced Socialhub.AI’s Customer Intelligence Platform (CIP)—an AI-native intelligence layer designed to move beyond data aggregation toward real-time understanding and action. CIP transforms first-party data into intelligence by continuously interpreting customer behavior, predicting outcomes, and supporting decision-making across channels, regions, and business units.
At the event, Socialhub.AI also formally signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Microsoft, marking a key milestone in advancing the CIP vision. By combining Microsoft’s enterprise-grade cloud and AI infrastructure with Socialhub.AI’s Customer Intelligence Platform, the partnership aims to help global enterprises operationalize intelligence securely and at scale—bridging the gap between AI experimentation and production.
“CDP helped enterprises organize customer data. CIP helps enterprises understand and act on customers in real time,” said Bill Huang, CEO and Founder of
Socialhub.AI. “The shift from CDP to CIP is not a feature upgrade—it’s an architectural change. With Microsoft, we’re building the foundation for intelligence-driven customer operations.”
The event featured keynote perspectives from Microsoft on enabling enterprise AI at scale, followed by Socialhub.AI’s framework on how organizations can transition from CDP-centric architectures to intelligence-first systems. An executive roundtable concluded the session, with participants sharing practical challenges around governance, integration, and scaling AI across global operations.
The discussion reinforced a shared conclusion: the future of customer platforms is intelligence, not just data.