Merlin Entertainments turns to NiCE CXone to scale AI-powered guest experiences globally

Merlin Entertainments, the operator behind attractions including LEGOLAND Resorts, Madame Tussauds and SEA LIFE, is using NiCE CXone to power AI-driven guest experiences across its global portfolio.

Merlin operates more than 140 attractions across 24 countries and welcomed 60.5 million guests in 2025. The company selected NiCE CXone to connect customer interactions across trip planning, ticketing, reservations, in-park support and post-visit engagement.

The deployment has produced measurable changes across several customer experience metrics, with Merlin reporting improvements in issue resolution, call answer rates, helpfulness CSAT and its "Likely to Recommend" score.

Measurable Improvements Across Guest Service

According to Merlin, issue resolution rates increased from 75% to 95%, while call answer rates rose from 78% to 93%.

The organisation also reported an increase in its helpfulness CSAT score from 8.3 to 9.4, while its "Likely to Recommend" score increased from 8.3 to 9.3.

The results reflect the role Merlin is giving AI within its customer service operation, where the objective is not simply to automate interactions but to reduce guest effort and help employees resolve requests more efficiently.

AI Across the Guest Journey

NiCE CXone is being used across multiple stages of the guest journey, from planning and purchasing through to support during and after a visit.

The platform can automate routine enquiries while providing employees with real-time guidance when human intervention is required.

More complex enquiries can be routed to the appropriate team, allowing customer service resources to be directed towards interactions that require greater expertise or judgement.

For an operator managing attractions across multiple markets and brands, this approach provides a way to standardise elements of the guest experience while supporting local and attraction-specific requirements.

Connecting More Than 140 Attractions

Merlin's scale makes consistency an important consideration for its customer experience strategy.

The company operates a portfolio spanning theme parks, city attractions and LEGOLAND Resorts across markets including the UK, US, Western Europe, China and Asia Pacific.

NiCE says CXone enables Merlin to orchestrate interactions across its global portfolio, bringing together customer journeys that can otherwise involve different channels, systems and service teams.

The aim is to create a more connected experience while giving employees access to the information and guidance required to respond to guests.

From Automation to Employee Support

The implementation also illustrates how AI is being applied alongside employees rather than solely as a replacement for human interactions.

Routine requests can be automated, while employees receive real-time guidance during conversations and more complex enquiries can be directed to the appropriate experts.

Naomi Sale Hancock, Director of Guest Service and Standards at Merlin Entertainments, said the technology is helping connect customer journeys across the company's resorts and attractions while giving teams tools to respond faster and resolve issues sooner.

The approach places employee productivity alongside guest experience as a key part of the technology deployment.

Building Guest Loyalty Through CX AI

Merlin's reported improvement in its "Likely to Recommend" score, from 8.3 to 9.3, provides another indication of the relationship the company is seeking to build between service performance and guest loyalty.

Similarly, the increase in helpfulness CSAT from 8.3 to 9.4 points to the importance of resolving customer needs effectively rather than simply increasing automation.

Darren Rushworth, President, NiCE International, said Merlin is adopting an AI-first customer service model designed to connect guest journeys from visit planning through post-visit engagement.

For Merlin, the broader objective is to use AI to make interactions faster and more proactive while maintaining a focus on the experience delivered to guests.

AI Moves Deeper Into Customer Experience

The Merlin deployment highlights how AI is moving beyond experimental customer service use cases into large-scale operational environments.

For businesses managing high volumes of customer interactions across multiple locations, AI can provide a way to automate repetitive work, support frontline employees and connect information across different stages of a customer journey.

Merlin's reported results provide a concrete example of how those capabilities can translate into changes across service performance and customer experience metrics.

As AI becomes more deeply integrated into customer operations, the focus is increasingly shifting from whether organisations can deploy AI to how effectively they can connect it with people, workflows and measurable customer outcomes.

About Merlin Entertainments

Merlin Entertainments is a global operator of branded entertainment destinations, including theme parks, city attractions and LEGOLAND Resorts. Its portfolio includes brands such as LEGOLAND, Madame Tussauds and SEA LIFE, with attractions across markets in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and other regions.

About NiCE

NiCE is an AI-powered customer experience technology company providing platforms designed to automate customer engagements, support employees and connect interactions, systems and workflows. Its CXone platform provides AI capabilities across customer service and contact centre operations.

Source & Credits

NiCE / Merlin Entertainments

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Hotwire AU