Purpose The holistic and contingent construct of customer experience is widely researched in marketing. While we know that technology may impact customer experience, little is known about how technology may create motivations, or conversely barriers for customers in interacting with complex businesses. The aim of this paper is to identify the motivations and barriers for technology adoption in the experience of complex service settings. Design/methodology/approach This research is based a literature review on customer experience and technology adoption. The insurance industry is also taken as an industry focus, because it epitomizes the uniqueness of complex service settings. Findings The exhaustive review of the literature allows developing a conceptual model whereby technology has the potential to positively or negatively influence customer experience, due to the motivation and barriers it generates for customers. The impact of these motivations and barriers is shown to be further enhanced by industry-specific and contextual factors present in complex service settings. Originality/value A conceptual model is proposed, evidencing technology-related motivations and barriers, and context-specific industry factors, that are at play in customer experiences. This model helps businesses directing their resources toward customer experience optimization, and opens a new agenda to research interactions between different constructs and antecedents.