2026热潮褪去 回归现实：AI 时代的客户服务研究报告（第二版）

STUDY

Whenthehypefades,realityhits

CustomerserviceintheageofAI

Edition2|2026

MANAGEMENTSUMMARY

Whenthehypefades,realityhits

CustomerserviceintheageofAI

ThehypearoundAIincustomerservicehasfaded

buttherealitymaybeevenmorecompelling.Inlast

year'sstudy,around95%ofrespondentssaidthey

wereusingAIincustomerservice.Thisyear,thatsharehasfallento54%.Thissharpdropdoesnotindicate

areversalofAIadoption;rather,itreflectsamore

realisticassessmentofwhatactuallyconstitutesAIincustomerserviceoperations.

Customerserviceorganizationscontinuetograpplewithpersistentstructuralchallenges.Balancingcostandqualityremainsakeyconcern,whileinternal

organizationalcomplexityandemployeeturnover

haveincreased.Asaresult,AIadoptionhasstabilizedatamorerealisticlevel,withaugmented-human

setupsandconversationalAIdominating,whilefullyautonomousend-to-endapplicationsremainrare.

AIneverthelessremainsasrelevantaseverfor

customerservice.MostorganizationsnotyetusingAIareplanningtoimplementitinthenext12monthsor

areverylikelytodoso.Theirexpectationsfocuson

higherprocessefficiencyandloweroperatingcosts,whilealsoaimingtoimprovecustomersatisfaction,

althoughtheyareslightlylessenthusiasticaboutwhatAIcanreallydeliverthanorganizationsalreadyusingit.

Infact,forcurrentusers,AIincustomerservicehasexceededexpectations,withmorethan50%ofAI-

poweredcustomerserviceoperationsreportinga

significantorverysignificantimpact.Responsetimeshaveimproved,customersatisfactionhasincreasedandoperatingcostshavecomedown.Customer

feedbackonAI-basedinteractionsisalsomore

positivethanmanyexpected,confirmingthatAIisnolongerjustabackendoptimizationtoolbutisrapidlybecomingafocalpointofcustomerinteraction.

Maturityandimplementationreadinessremainlow.

EvenamongorganizationsalreadyusingAI,legacy

systemsandlimiteddataqualitycontinuetoconstrainbroaderscaling,whilegovernanceoftenremains

unclear.Thekeychallengeisthereforenolonger

whetherAIworks,butwhetherorganizationscan

modernizetheiroperatingmodelandstrengthenthefoundationsfordeployment.Theyalsoneedtomovefromisolatedusecasestoanewwayofoperating

customerservice.

Overall,enthusiasmforAIremainshigh,butthehypecycleisclearlyover.Successnowdependslesson

technologyreadinessandmoreonanorganization'sabilitytomodernizeitsoperatingmodel,integrate

legacysystemsandpositioncustomerserviceas

eitheracostcenteroraloyaltyengine.Realityis

here:organizationsalreadyusingAIareseeingclearbenefits,whilethosethatdelayadoptionriskfallingbehindunlesstheyimprovetheirmaturitynow.

2|RolandBerger

Contents

P4

P8

P12

P18

P21

CoverAIgenerated

P22

1/Fromhypetoreality

AIadoptionincustomerservice

2/Impactinpractice

AIinfluenceoncustomerserviceKPIsandexpectations

3/Readinessinfocus

MaturityandbarrierstoscalingAI

4/Thenextphase

Futureoperatingmodelsforcustomerservice

5/Recommendation

AIreadinessevaluationandtransformation

Methodology

CustomerserviceintheageofAI|3

4|RolandBerger

1/Fromhypetoreality

AIadoptionincustomerservice

T

heinitialhypearoundAIincustomerservice-detailedinour2025report"Servicewithasiliconsmile:CustomerserviceintheageofAI"-hasnowgivenwaytoamorerealisticphaseofimplementation.Followinganinitialphaseofrapiduptakeandexperimentation,manyorganizationshavemovedbeyondpilotstowardamoreconsistentunderstandingofwhatactuallyconstitutesAIincustomerserviceoperations.Asaresult,reportedadoptionhasdeclined,reflectinganarrowerdefinitionofAI,whileusecasesareshiftingtowardmorerealistic,value-drivenapplicationssuchasagentassisttoolsandconversationalinterfaces.

Comparingthesurveyresultsfrom2024-25withthosefrom2026,itisclearthatthechallengeprofileforcustomerserviceleadersremainsbroadlystable.Someprioritieshaveshifted,however.Thus,balancingcostandqualityhasbecomemoreimportantthanlastyear,with52%ofrespondentscitingitasatopconcern,reflectinggrowingpressureoncustomerserviceoperationstocontrolcostswhilemeetingmanagementexpectationsonresults.Meetingrisingcustomerexpectationsandsatisfaction(44%)remainsacentralchallenge,althoughitisslightlylessprominentthanlastyear.Navigatinglegislationanddataprotectionrequirements(38%)alsoremainshighlyrelevant.Managinginternalorganizationalcomplexity(34%)hasbecomemoreimportant,whilepersonalizingserviceforalargeanddiversecustomerbase(26%)isslightlylessprominentthanlastyear.Other,lower-rankedchallengesincludehandlingomnichannelgrowthandincreasingservicevolume,addressinghighemployeeturnover,overcomingculturalandlanguagebarriersandintegratingAIandautomation.

Wheredoindustryinsidersseethesolutionstothesecustomerservicechallengeslying?Technology,automationandAIarethemostcitedsolutions,asinthelastsurvey,with54%ofrespondentshighlightingthem.Afurther33%supportdifferentiatedcustomerservicebasedonproduct,segmentorchannel.Theretailindustry

isanotableexception:here,50%ofrespondentsseedifferentiatedcustomerserviceasthekeysolution,whiletechnologyandAIarerankedsecondat36%.Atthesametime,13%stillseevalueinoutsourcing,nearshoringorsharedservicecenters,suggestingthatbusinessprocessoutsourcingprovidersandcustomerservicespecialistsmayneedtorethinktheiroperatingmodelstoremaincompetitive.

Lookingmorecloselyattechnology,automationandAIasasolution,theroleofhumanagentsisclearlyevolving.In2026,46%ofrespondentssayhumansshouldbethelastresortformajorcomplaintsorescalations-asharpincreasefrom20%intheprevioussurvey,reflectingtheimpactoffirstexperienceswithAIinoperations.Atthesametime,humanagentsremainessentialforcomplexcases,with28%ofrespondentsbelievingthathumansarealwaysneededforcomplextopics,evenifroutinerequestscanincreasinglybehandledbytechnology.Overall,thispointstoashifttowardamoreselectiveandtargeteduseofhumanintervention.

Atthesametime,thereisamorecautiousviewofthepotentialoftechnologyandAI.Theshareofrespondentswhobelievethattechnologycantakeoverthemajorityofrequestshasdeclinedfrom40%lastyearto22%in2026,whileonlyfourpercentbelievethattechnologycanfullyreplacehumanserviceagents.ThischangeinperspectiveisdrivenbyseveralchallengesidentifiedintheuseofAIincustomerservice,includingdataprivacyandsecurityconcerns,limitationsindataqualityandintegration,theneedtoensuretheaccuracyofAI-generatedoutputsandthehighcostofimplementation.

Despitetheseconcerns,AIremainsasrelevantaseverforaddressingtoday'scustomerservicechallenges.TheshareofrespondentswhoconsiderAIveryimportanthasgrowncomparedwiththeprevioussurveyandisexpectedtorisefurtherby2029.A

AIadoptionincustomerserviceisfollowingatypicaltechnologyhypecycle.Afteraninitialtrialphasemarked

CustomerserviceintheageofAI|5

AImportanceofAIincustomerservice

[%ofrespondents]

+110%88

57

62

38

42

12

100

Not

important

Very

important

Somewhatimportant

2024Today2029

Source:Potloc,RolandBerger

byrapiduptakeandbroadexperimentation,withmanypilotslaunchedacrosscustomerserviceoperations,AIusehasdeclinedsomewhatascompaniestakeamorerealisticviewofwhereitcreatesvalue.Thattrialphaseisnowlargelycomplete.Manytestsandpilotshaveconcluded,whilesomeapplicationshavebeendiscontinuedbecausetheirfinancialimpactwaslimitedorscalabilityproveddifficult.Atthesametime,thefocusisshiftingawayfromapplicationsthatareclosertotraditionalautomationthantrueAI,andtowardmorerealistic,value-drivenusecasessuchasagentassisttoolsaswellasgreateruseofAIatthecustomerinterfacethroughchatbotsandvoicebots.

In2026,54%ofcompaniesreportAI-poweredcustomerserviceoperations.Withinthat,44%haveintroducedAI-assistedsupportforaugmentedhumanservice,while39%havedeployedAI-drivenself-servicethroughconversationalAI.Moreadvancedapplicationssuchas

fullyautonomousend-to-endserviceremainrare,withonly17%ofcustomerserviceoperationsusingthem,andtheyhaveyettoprovetheirvalueatscale.

ChinaisaclearregionalexceptionandshouldbetreatedseparatelyfromAsiaoverall:unlikeThailand,SingaporeandJapan,whicharebroadlyinlinewiththeaverage,ChinashowsamuchmoreevenspreadacrossAIusecases,withend-to-endapplicationsthemostwidelyimplementedat35%.

Lookingahead,broadimplementationisexpectedacrosscustomerserviceoperations.Some76%ofrespondentsplantoimplementAIwithinthenext12months,17%areunsureandjustninepercentsayimplementationisunlikelyornotplanned.GiventheimportancecustomerserviceleadersassigntoAI,deploymentcloseto100%acrosscustomerserviceoperationsappearslikelywithinthenextthreeyears.Evenso,successwilldependonovercomingchallengesarounddataprivacyanddataquality,whilealsoimprovingoutputaccuracyandbalancingautomationwithahumantouchincomplexorsensitivecases.B

"Thestrategicinflectionpointis

here.OrganizationsthattreatedAIasanexperimentnowfaceahardchoice:buildtheoperatingmodelfoundationstoscale,orriskfallingpermanentlybehindthosethat

alreadyhave.Thehypecycleisover.Whatfollowsisaraceforexecutionmaturity."●●

SteffenThiel

Partner

6|RolandBerger

BTheAIhypecycleincustomerservice1

AdoptionofAIincustomerserviceoperations

Closeto100%

95%

65%

54%

202520262027e2030e

Source:Potloc,RolandBerger

TheleadingAIusecasesincustomerservicetodayareautomatedstatusupdatesandagentassisttools,withbothalreadyestablishedacrossalargeshareofAI-enabledoperations.Thepictureishighlyhomogeneousacrossindustriesandgeographies,withonlyslightdifferencesinranking.PlannedAIimplementationsamongoperationsthatarenotyetAI-poweredbroadlymirrorcurrenttrendsinAIapplication,withcontinuedemphasisonagentassisttools,AIchatbotsforcustomercommunication,

1Theoutlookbeyond2026isderivedbasedontheanticipatedimportanceofAIinthefuture,combinedwithexpertinsights.

andautomatedstatusupdatesfororders,paymentsordelays.Bycontrast,thereisstilllessfocusonend-to-endAIautomationandotheradvancedAIapplicationsuntiltheirvaluehasbeendemonstratedmoreclearly.

Atthesametime,someusecaseshavebeenstoppedmoreoftenthanothersoverthepastyear.Themostaffectedapplicationsarelargelycenteredonpredictingandunderstandingthecustomer:sentimentanalysisat24%,predictivecustomerneedsandoutreachat21%andpersonalizedrecommendationsat20%.Onelikelyreasonisdataqualityandavailability.Theseusecasesrequirelargevolumesofhigh-qualitylabeleddata,yetmanycompanies

CustomerserviceintheageofAI|7

stillstrugglewithfragmented,incompleteorbiaseddata,whichreducesmodelperformance.

Asecondreasonisloweraccuracyandreliability.Sentimentanalysisandpredictivemodelsoftenproduceinconsistentresults,especiallyacrosslanguages,culturesorchannels,whichcanleadtopoorrecommendationsorinappropriateoutreachandunderminecustomertrust.Afurtherchallengeisintegrationcomplexity.Thesesolutionsrequiredeepintegrationwithcustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM),marketingautomation

CAIusecasesincustomerserviceoperations

andcustomerdataplatforms,andmanyorganizationsstilllackthetechnicalreadinessorresourcesforseamlessdeployment.Asaresult,thefocusisshiftingtowardmoreproven,higher-impactusecasessuchasstatusupdatesandagentassisttools.Thisalsoalignswiththematurityprofileofcustomerserviceorganizationsandwiththemainimprovementareastheyidentify-particularlydataaccessibilityandquality,legacysystemsandtheintegrationofAI.C

AIusecases

Currentuse

in2026[%]

Additionalimplementation

innext12months

Automatedstatusupdates

57

Agentassisttools

55

Automatedwrittencustomercommunication

53

Direct-to-customerspokenresponses

35

Personalizedrecommendations

32

Predictivecustomerneeds

29

Sentimentanalysis

25

MultilingualAI

20

<15%

>15-20%

>20%N=296

Source:Potloc,RolandBerger

8|RolandBerger

2/Impactinpractice

AIinfluenceoncustomerserviceKPIsandexpectations

A

Iisalreadydeliveringmeasurableimpactacrossthekeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)ofcustomerservice.AmongoperationsthathaveimplementedAI-some54%oftotalrespondents-improvementsarevisibleacrosscustomerinterfacemetrics,operationalperformanceandworkforceoutcomes.FasterresponsetimesandhighercustomersatisfactionshowthatAIcanstrengthenthecustomerexperience,whilegainsinprocessefficiencyandloweroperatingcostsconfirmitsoperationalvalue.Atthesametime,changesinheadcountandagentrolesindicatethatAIisalsoreshapinghowcustomerserviceworkisorganized.Thestrongestgainsarereflectedinresponsespeed,efficiency,costandevolvingworkforceroles.

Deepdive

WhyAIleadstofewerstaffcutsinChina

ChinastandsoutasaregionalexceptionintheworkforceimpactofAI.WhilemostrespondentsinChinareportheadcountreductionsinthe11-20%range,norespondentsreportreductionsabovethatlevel.OtherAsianmarketsshowevenlowerrealizedreductions.Onereasonisthatmanycustomerissuesarealreadyresolveddigitallywithoutagentinvolvement,sothebaselinevolumerequiringhumansupportislower.Inthiscontext,AIactsmoreasaproductivityleverthanareplacementtool.Itallowsvolumestoincreasefurtherandhelpshuman-centeredactivitiesmovefaster,butdoesnotnecessarilydisplacestaff.Bycontrast,onlyEuropeandtheAmericasshowheadcountreductionsabove20%,pointingtoamoresubstitution-ledpatternofAIadoption.

2FiguresinFastFactsrefertoimprovementsseenincompanies

thatuseAIintheircustomerserviceoperations,i.e.54%ofsurveyrespondents.Source:Potloc,RolandBerger

CUSTOMERINTERFACE

ResponsetimeremainsoneoftheclearestindicatorsofAIimpactincustomerservice,withaveragetimesimprovingby19.0%whereAIisused.Thestrongestgainsarereportedintechnology,mediaandtelecommunications(TMT),whereresponsetimeimprovesby22.7%,followedbyfinancialservicesat20.5%.Retail,wholesaleandconsumerproductsachievea16.7%improvement,transportation16.4%,whileenergyandutilitiesreportthemostmoderategainat14.9%.Acrossindustries,mostorganizationsclusterinthe11-20%range,althoughTMTstandsoutwithahighershareofrespondentsreportingreductionsofmorethan30%.

2

Fasterresponsetimesarealsotranslatingintostrongercustomeroutcomes.NetPromoterScores(NPS)improveby10.7%onaverageacrossAI-poweredcustomerserviceoperations.FinancialservicesleadonthisKPIwithan11.8%increase,followedbyTMTat10.7%.Retail,wholesaleandconsumerproductsreach10.6%,energyandutilities10.5%,whiletransportationstandsat9.9%.Beyondtraditionalservicechannels,AIisincreasinglybecomingadirectinterfacetocustomers.For45%ofAI-poweredoperations,AIhasbecomeafocalpointofcustomerinteraction.AdoptionisparticularlystronginChinaat63%,withGermanyandItalyalsoshowingabove-averageuseofAIincustomerinteractions.Customeracceptanceisgenerallypositive:80%ofcustomersreactpositivelyorverypositivelytoAIbots,whileonlythreepercentreportnegativereactions.D

Customerinterface

øimprovementin

responsetimeduetoAI

FASTFACTS

19%10.7%

Customersatisfaction

øimprovementinNPSduetoAI

CustomerserviceintheageofAI|9

CUSTOMERSERVICEOPERATIONS

AIisalsogeneratingmeaningfulgainsininternaloperations.Processefficiencyimprovesby11.5%onaverageacrossAI-poweredcustomerserviceorganizations.Nearlyhalfofrespondents(47%)reportefficiencygainsinthe11-20%range,whileonlysixpercentseeminimalgainsofonetofivepercent.Financialservicesleadwitha13.0%increase,followedbyTMTat12.3%.Retail,wholesaleandconsumerproductsreach12.0%,transportation11.7%,whileenergyandutilitiesstandat8.3%.TheresultsconfirmthatAIisdeliveringdouble-digitefficiencygainsacrossmostindustries,althoughsectorreadinessstillmatters.

Theseefficiencygainsareincreasinglytranslatingintoloweroperatingcosts.AcrossallrespondentsusingAI,averagecostreductionreaches11.7%.Overall,41%reportsavingsinthesixtotenpercentrange,whileafurther31%achievereductionsof11-20%.TMTrecords

11.8%

Headcountreduction

øreduction

29%

Agentrole

%ofjobsthathavechangedsignificantly

thestrongestaveragecostreductionat15.7%,followedbyfinancialservicesat11.7%.Retail,wholesaleandconsumerproductsreach11.1%,transportation10.6%,whileenergyandutilitiesstandat6.3%.Utilitiesareaclearoutlier,with67%ofrespondentsreportingonlylimitedcostreductionsofonetofivepercent,suggestingeitherlessmatureinitiativesorstrongerstructuralconstraints.Veryfewcompaniesreportsavingsabove30%,indicatingthatwhiledouble-digitreductionsareincreasinglycommon,breakthroughresultsremainrare.

CUSTOMERSERVICEAGENTS

AIisnotonlychangingperformanceoutcomesbutalsoreshapingtheworkforcemodelofcustomerservice.AcrossAI-poweredoperations,averageheadcountreductionreaches11.8%.AroundonequarterofrespondentsalreadyreportheadcountreductionslinkedtoAI,mostcommonlyinthesixtotenpercentrange,whiletenpercentreportreductionsbetween21%and50%.TMTrecordsthelargestaveragereductionat17.3%,followedbyenergyandutilitiesat14.5%.Transportationstandsat10.2%,financialservicesat9.0%,whileretail,wholesaleandconsumerproductsreach8.1%.

Theimpactonagentrolesisbroaderthanpureheadcountchange,however.Whilelarge-scalejobredesignremainstheexception,roleadaptationisbecomingwidespread.Some59%ofrespondentsreportslightchangesinjobprofiles,withfocusareasshiftingwhilecoredutiesremainintact.Afurther29%reportsignificantrolechange,includingnewskillsandshiftedresponsibilities.Only8-15%sayroleshavenotchangedatall,indicatingthatsomelevelofchangeisnownearlyuniversal.

FASTFACTS2

Importantly,96%ofemployeesreportthattheirdailyworkexperienceissomewhatorsignificantlyimproved,likelydrivenbyagentassisttoolsthatsupportcaseresolutionandmakeinformationeasiertoaccess.Bycontrast,organizationalcultureeffectsremainlimited,withjustfourpercentreportingweakerteamspiritorculture.

Processefficiency

øincreaseduetoAI

FASTFACTS2

11.5%11.7%

Operatingcosts

øreductionduetoAI

10|RolandBerger

TheimpactofAIisclearlyrecognizedbycustomerserviceleaderswhohaveimplementedAI.AIisdeliveringorexceedingexpectationsforthevastmajorityoftheirorganizations,with43%reportingabove-expectedimpactandafurther52%sayingresultsmeetexpectations.Thisconfirmsthatthebenefitsrealizedarenotlimitedtoisolatedpilotsbutarebeingachievedatscaleacrossliveoperations.E

WHATNON-USERSOFAIEXPECT

CustomerserviceorganizationsthathavenotyetimplementedAI-around46%ofrespondentsinthisyear'ssurvey-wereaskedabouttheexpectedimpactofAIifadoptedinthefuture.TheiranswersbroadlymirrorthebenefitsalreadyreportedbyAI-poweredoperations:fasterresponsetimes,highercustomersatisfaction,loweroperatingcostsandstrongerprocessefficiency.Expected

DCustomeracceptanceofAIbotsintheirinteractions[in%]

59

21

18

02

PositiveVery

Very

negative

positive

SomewhatNeutralnegative

response-timeimprovementaverages17%,withasmallbutnotableshareexpectinggainsof31-50%ormore.

Expectedheadcountreductionaverages10.5%.Mostresponsesareconcentratedintheonetotenpercentrange,althoughtheaverageisliftedslightlybyasmallergroupexpectingreductionsof31-50%ormore.NetPromoterScores(NPS)areexpectedtoimproveby8.3%.Veryfewnon-usersofAIexpecteithernoimprovementorgainsabove20%,suggestingthatoutliershavelimitedinfluenceontheaverage.

Inmostcategories,non-usersofAIexpectaweakerimpactthanadoptersactuallyexperience,particularlyincustomersatisfactionandheadcountreduction.Onlyinresponsetimedotheexpectationsofnon-adoptersslightlyexceedtheresultsofadopters.ThissuggeststhatthepracticalvalueofAIincustomerserviceisalreadymoretangiblethanmanynon-usersassume.

ETheimpactofAI:expectationsvs.reality[in%]

52

41

2

5

<1

FarbelowBelow

AboveFarabove

Met

expectations

Source:Potloc,RolandBergerSource:Potloc,RolandBerger

CustomerserviceintheageofAI|11

Deepdive

WhysomeindustriescapturemorevaluefromAI

Industry/KPIResponse

time

[decrease

in%]

Customer

satisfactionNPS

[increasein%]

Process

efficiency

[gainin%]

Operatingcosts

[reductionin%]

Headcount

reduction

[changein%]

Agentrole

[significantchange

in%]

UsingAIas

acustomerinterface

[decreasein%]

Industry

average

19

11

12

12

12

29

45

Transportation

16

10

12

12

10

38

48

Technology,

media&tele-communications

23

11

12

16

17

29

35

Energy&utilities

15

11

8

6

29

22

35

Retail,wholesale&consumer

products

17

11

12

11

29

18

49

Financial

servicesandinsurance

21

12

13

12

29

38

52

TheimpactofAIdiffersmarkedlybyindustry.TMTandfinancialservicesshowthestrongestoverallgains,combiningfasterresponsetimes,higherefficiency,lowercostsandmoresignificantshiftsinagentroles.ThissuggeststhatsectorswithstrongerdigitalcapabilitiesandhigherprocessstandardizationarebetterpositionedtoscaleAIeffectively.Retail,wholesaleandconsumerproductsshowmorebalancedimprovements,

withthehighestshareofoperationsusingAIasacustomerinterface.Bycontrast,energyandutilitieslagbehindonseveralKPIs,recordingthelowestgainsincostreductionandprocessefficiencyaswellasmorelimitedworkforcetransformation.ThefindingsunderlinethatAIadoptionalonedoesnotdetermineoutcomes.Datareadiness,operatingmodelmaturityandexecutioncapabilityremaincriticaldifferentiators.

Source:Potloc,RolandBerger

12|RolandBerger

3/Readinessinfocus

MaturityandbarrierstoscalingAI

R

eadinessisnowacentralissueincustomerservice.AsAIadoptionexpandsandearlyusecasesdeliverresults,thenextchallengeisnolongerwhetherAIcancreatevalue,butwhetherorganizationshavethematurityrequiredtodeployitmorebroadly.Inthischapter,wethereforeexaminethecurrentlevelofreadiness,themainbarrierstoscalingAIandtheimplicationsforfuturecustomerserviceoperations.

Overall,thematurityofcustomerserviceorganizationsremainsmoderateratherthanadvanced.AcrossmostAIanddata-drivencapabilities,respondentsdescribethemselvesasonly"somewhatready".Highreadinessislimitedtoasmallnumberofareas,whileclearweaknessesremaininpartsoftheoperatingmodelandinsomeenablingcapabilities.Thecurrentmaturitypicturesuggeststhatprogresshasbeenmade,butmanyorganizationsstilllackthefoundationsrequiredforbroaderdeployment.F

ComparingfirmswithAI-poweredcustomerserviceoperationswiththosenotusingAIrevealsaclearreadinessgapinfavorofadopters.AIusersconsistentlyreporthigherlevelsofreadinessacrossalldigitalanddata-drivencapabilitiescoveredbythesurvey.Theyreportslightlyhigherreadinessinaccesstohigh-quality,diverse,up-to-datedata,althoughthemajorityinbothgroupsstilldescribethemselvesasonly"somewhatready",indicating

roomforimprovement.AIusersarealsomoreadvancedinpersonalizationandcontextawareness,whilemostorganizationsarestillnotfullymatureintheseareas.Inuserexperienceandintelligentrouting,adoptersagainleadthefield.Theyarealsomorelikelytoleveragebigdataanalyticsforcustomerinsightsandareaheadinprocessautomationandintelligentworkflows.Inaddition,AIusersreportstrongerreadinessindataavailabilityandqualitycontrolandaremoreconfidentintheirdataprotectionandsecuritycapabilities.

Overall,AIadoptioniscorrelatedwithgreaterdigitalmaturity,particularlyinpersonalization,automationanddataanalytics.Atthesametime,evenamongAIusers,onlyaboutaquarterofrespondentsfeel"fullyready"inanygivenarea,highlightingongoingchallengesinscalingandoptimizingAI-drivencustomerservice.

Thematuritypicturealsodiffersbyindustry.TMTistheclearfirstmover,withthehighestmaturityacrossnearlyallAIanddata-drivencriteria.FinancialservicesandCPG,retailandwholesaleareadopters:theyhavemadestrongprogressinimplementingAIanddigitalcapabilities,butstillhavegapsindataquality,agilewaysofworkingandadvancedanalyticscomparedwithTMT.Transportation,energyandutilitiesarethelaggards,withthelowest"fullyready"scoresandfoundationalgapsacrossmostcriteria.

bG

CustomerserviceintheageofAI|13

F