ibm -公用事业企业如何借助智能体 AI 重构客户运营体系 How utilities can rewire customer operations with agentic AI

July2026

Mckunsey

&company

ElectricPower&NaturalGasPractice

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI

Facedwithdecliningcustomersatisfaction,NorthAmericanutilitiesareturningtoagenticAItotransformthecustomerexperienceforthebetterwhilereducingcosts.

ThisarticleisacollaborativeeffortbyAlexRodriguez,HumayunTai,ScottPerl,andStephanieTrottier,withAliceInman,JanaTabellion,andKathrynHaderlein,representingviewsfromMcKinsey’sElectricPower&NaturalGasandGrowth,MarketingandSalesPractices.

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI2

Formanyutilities,improvingcustomerserviceisbothapersistentchallengeandastrategic

priority.ButaddinganotherAItoolorpilotwon’tprovidethetransformationthatcustomer

operationsneeds.Instead,leadersareusingagenticAItofundamentallychangehowcustomerserviceisdelivered—improvingcustomerexperiencewhilereducingcosts.

Implementingthistransformationcanbedaunting.RealizingthefullpotentialofagenticAIrequiresrewiringcustomeroperationsendtoendacrossworkflows,customerjourneys,

systems,andteams.Manyleadersaren’tsurewheretostart.

Inthisarticle,wehighlighttheneedforagenticAItransformationsascustomersatisfactionhasfallenwhilecoststoservecustomershaverisen;wedemonstratethepotentialforagenticAItoimprovecustomerexperienceandreducecosts;andwechartapracticalpathforwardfor

utilitiestomaketheleaptoanewagenticoperatingmodel.

Customersatisfactionisdeclining

Utilitiesfacemountingpressure.Accordingtoour2025surveyofmorethan10,000utility

customers,overallcustomersatisfactionhasdeclined—theshareofrespondentssayingtheyare“verysatisfied”fellby11percentagepointssince2018,while29percentofcustomers

(comparedwith18percentin2018)reportdissatisfaction(Exhibit1).

Affordabilityisanotherpressure;70percentofcustomersexpressconcernaboutaffordability(Exhibit2).1

Customersarealsonowengagingwiththeirutilitiesmorethanever,increasingdemandon

alreadystretchedcustomeroperationsteams.Channelusagehasgrownby3to16percent,

dependingonthechannel,since2023.Atthesametime,digitalchannelsnowoutperform

traditionalchannelsonsatisfaction,creatingapathtomeetrisingdemandwhileloweringcosttoserve(Exhibit3).

Themandateisclearandurgent:reducecostswhileimprovingcustomersatisfaction.AgenticAImakesbothpossiblebyrewiringcustomeroperationsendtoend,notviaAIpilotsorisolated

usecases.Thegoodnews?Utilitiesdon’thavetotransformeverythingatonce.Theycanstartwithhigh-valueagenticworkflows,capturenear-termvalue,andbuildtowardfull

transformation.

Thevalueatstakeisrealandmaterial,andleadersarecapturingit

Overthepastdecade,utilitieshaveinvestedheavilyincustomerservicetechnology,includinginteractivevoiceresponse,mobile,chatbots,andagent-assistedtools.Theseinvestments

improvedbutrarelychangedtheunderlyingdriversofcustomerdemand(forexample,outagemanagement,upstreambillingissues,etcetera).AgenticAIisdifferent.Itchangestheunitoftransformationfromincrementaltosystem-wide,shiftingfocusfromindividualchannelsand

12025McKinseyCXUtilitySurvey.

Exhibit1

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI3

utilitycustomersatisfactionhasdeclinedovertime.

utilitysectorcustomersatisfaction,'

%ofrespondents

Note:Figuresmaynotsumto100%,becauseofrounding.

1Question:overall,howwouldyourateyoursatisfactionordissatisfactionwith[utilityprovider?

2customersatisfactionscore.

source:2025Mckinseycxutilitysurvey(n=10,291customersacross108utilities)

Mckinsey&company

taskstoend-to-endjourneysandworkflowstofundamentallyredesignhowworkgetsdone.

LeadersareincreasinglydeployingAIatscaletodrivecostandcustomeroutcomes.Companiesacrosssectorsarealreadyrealizingcostreductionsof30to50percentwhileimproving

customersatisfactionbyupto20percent.

AnexampleofoneofthesetransformationsisE.ONNext.Thecompanywasreceivingmore

thansevenmillioncustomerservicecallsannually,butreliedonanecdotalinformationand

biasedcalltaggingtounderstandthereasonforcustomercalls.Thecompanyusedanagenticvoiceanalytics(AVA)solutiontounderstandthepurposeofcustomers’callsandestablisha

startingpointforitscustomerservicetransformation.AVAusesAItoanalyzeandcategorizecustomerservicecallsatalargescale(seesidebar,“Usingagenticvoiceanalyticstoprioritizeworkflows”).Withthisinformation,itdevelopedachannelstrategyforcustomerservice,

includingamatrixofthepreferredchannelspercontactreason,andoutlinedanactionplan.

Exhibit2

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI4

customersreportconcernsoverutilitycosts.

customerviewsonaffordabilityandutilitycosts,%ofrespondents

oncernedaboutaffordability'

Thinkthatcostsarehigherthantheyshouldbe2

Thinkthatcostshavebeenrisingtoorapidly3

1percentageofrespondentsscoring7-10oneitheraffordabilitystatement(n=10,291).

2percentageofrespondentsselecting7-10onthestatement"lfeelmyutilitycostsprovidedby[utilityprovider]arehigherthantheyshouldbe."

3percentageofrespondentsselecting7-10onthestatement"lfeelthecostsofmyutilityhavebeenincreasingtoorapidly."source:2025Mckinseycxutilitysurvey(n=10,291customersacross108utilities)

Mckinsey&company

Asitsfirstaction,thecompanyimplementedanAIvoiceassistantthatreplacedthekey-basedinteractivevoiceresponsetoanswerbilling-relatedcalls.Theplatformcanberepurposedto

serveotherchannelsaspartofthecompany’snexttransformationsteps.Asaresultofthis

transformation,thecompanyhasreducedinboundcallsbyapproximately50percentandraisedcustomersatisfactionbysixpoints.

Exhibit3

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI5

Digitalchannelsoutperformtraditionalchannelsoncustomersatisfactionybutbothseemoreusetodaythanin2023.

Distributionofnetcustomersatisfaction(NSAT)basedonchannelsusedin2025,2%ofrespondents

Traditionalchannels

34

calledand

spoketoarep

31

calledandspoketoautomatedresponse

Digital

channels

43

visited

mobileapp

41

visitedwebsiteoncomputer

Dissatisfied(1-6NSAT)

satisfied(7-8

NSAT)

very

satisfied(9-10

NSAT)

38

visitedwebsite

onmobile

device

1NSATisdefinedas%ofsatisfiedcustomers-%ofunsatisfiedcustomers.

2Question:whichofthefollowinghaveyoudoneorexperiencedinthepast12months?(pleaseselectallthatapply).source:2025Mckinseycxutilitysurvey(n=10,291customersacross108utilities)

Mckinsey&company

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI6

Usingagenticvoiceanalyticstoprioritizeworkflows

Agenticvoiceanalytics(AVA)isatoolthatoffersadata-drivenapproachtoprioritizinganagenticAItransformationbyanalyzinglargevolumesofcustomerinteractionsandidentifyingthejourneysthatcreatethemostdemandandfriction.

OurAVAanalysisofmorethan100,000realutilitycustomercallsacrossfiveutilitiesrevealedthatcustomerdemandisoftenconcentratedinasmallnumberofrecurringneeds.Billingandpaymentsandserviceordersaccountedfor70to85percentofcalls,withbillingandpaymentsalonedriving40to50percentofcallvolume(exhibit).TheseinsightshelputilitiesmovefromgenericAI

experimentationtotargetedjourneytransformation.Utilitiescanapplythesetoolstotheirowndatatoidentifytheirhighest-priorityopportunities.

Exhibit

Customercallsareconcentratedinafewcorejourneys.

Analysisof100,000callsacross5utilities,%

Topcallcategories

Billingand

payments

70–85%

ofallcallscomefromjusttwocategories:

billingandpaymentsandserviceorder

management

Serviceorder

management

Poweroutageandsafety

AccountmanagementMetering

Keysubcategories

Nearlyhalfofallcallsaredrivenbybillingandpaymentneeds

Service-relatedcallsspanthecustomerlifecycle

40–50

30–35

10–15

5–7

~5

Safetyandoutageissuesarecriticalbutlowervolume

Accountupdatesandaccess

issuesdrivemeaningfulvolume

Meter-relatedissuesareasmallerbutconsistentdriver

Whatitmeans

25–30Payments

18–20Billinginquiry

~10

Moveservice

~5

Appointment

7–10

Existingservice

~5

Stopservice

5–10

Newservice

~5

Electricalandpublicsafety

5–10

Poweroutage

1–2

Qualityissues

2–3

Updateaccountinfo

1–2

Accountaccessissues

1–2

Consolidationofaccount

2–4

Meterissue

1–2

Routinemetermaintenance

Source:2025McKinseyCXUtilitySurvey(n=2,694)

McKinsey&Company

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI7

Utilitiescanstartwiththehighest-valuecustomerjourneys

Formanyutilities,capturingAI’svalueatscalerequiresfullytransformingboththecustomer

journeyandtheoperationalworkbehindit.Knowingwheretostartcanbechallengingforutilitycustomeroperationsteams.Onestrategyistoprioritizethejourneysorprocessworkflowsthatcausethemostfriction,asevidencedbycustomerdemand,complaints,operationalcomplexity,andworkvolumes.AVAcanhelpidentifythesejourneys.Formostutilities,theseopportunitieslieinbillingandpayments,outagemanagement,fieldandmeterservicerequests,and

collections.

—Billingandpaymentsrepresent40to50percentoftotalcustomercalls,accordingto

McKinseyanalysis,andplayanoutsizeroleincustomersatisfaction.Satisfactiondrops

sharplywhenbillingissuesrequiremultiplecontactsortakemorethanaweektoresolve

(Exhibit4).AgenticAIcanidentifyrootcauses,explaincharges,analyzeusage,and

recommendnext-bestactionstoenablefasterresolution,fewerinteractions,andthe

preventionofrecurringissues.Wehaveseenutilitiesachievereductionsof20to50percentinbillingandpayment-relatedcallsbyimplementingagenticsolutionsfortaskssuchas

exceptionhandling,billinquiries,anddatareconciliation.

—Outagemanagementisoneofthebiggestsourcesofcustomerdissatisfactionforutilities.Whilecustomeroperationsteamscannotcontroloutagedurationorfrequency,

communicationfuels54percentofjourney-relatedsatisfaction—almostasmuchasthe

outageitself,accordingtoouranalysis(Exhibit5).AgenticAIcanhelputilitieskeeptheir

customersinformedwithproactive,real-timeupdates,reducingoutage-relatedcallsbyupto50percent

2

andbuildingtrustinamomentthatmatterstocustomers.

—Fieldandmeterservicerequestsareoftenslowedbyfragmentedprocesses,increasingbothservicecycletimesandcosts.AgenticAIstreamlinestheentirejourney:diagnosingissues,schedulingappointments,coordinatingdocumentation,andproactivelyupdatingcustomers.Leadingutilitieshaveachieved20to25percentgainsinfrontlineproductivitywhileacceleratingserviceconnectionstoachieve15to90dayconnectiontargets,

dependingonjobcomplexity.

3

—Collectionshavebecomeacriticalcustomeroperationscapability,withutilityarrears

increasingfrom$8.05billionin2019to$20.7billionin2025,achangeofmorethan2.5-

fold.

4

Atthesametime,customersandregulatorsareplacinggreaterscrutinyon

affordability.AgenticAIhelpsidentifyat-riskcustomersearly,personalizeoutreach,and

connectcustomerstopaymentplansandassistanceprograms.Leadingutilitieshave

reducedarrearsby15to20percentwhiledecreasingcustomercomplaintsandescalations.

5

Acrossalljourneys,thegoalisnotsimplytodeflectinteractions.Realvaluecomesfrom

resolvingboththecustomerneedandtheoperationalrootcause,coordinatingacrossfunctionswhennecessary.

2Anonymizedclientimpactexamples.

3Anonymizedclientimpactexamples.

4Energyhardshipreport,NationalEnergyAssistanceDirectors’Association(NEADA),November2022;Energyhardshipreport,NEADA,February2026.

5Anonymizedclientimpactexamples.

Exhibit4

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI8

Billingsatisfactiondropsaftereachcontactandwhenresolutiontakeslonger.

Journeysatisfactionacrossbillingresolutionjourneys

customersatisfaction,bytimerequiredtospeakwithanagenttoresolvebillingproblem,'score

customersatisfaction,bytimebetweenfirstcontactandresolutionofbillingproblem,2score

1Question:Howmanytimesdidyouneedtospeakwithaliverepresentative(eitherin-personorbyphone)toresolveyourbillingproblemorquestion?

2Question:Abouthowlongdidittakefor[utility]toresolveyourbillingissue?Pleaseselecttheoptionthatbestrepresentsthetimebetweenwhenyoufirstcontacted[utility]andwhentheissuewasresolved.

source:2025Mckinseycxutilitysurvey(n=1,386)

Mckinsey&company

Aphasedapproachoffersapracticalpathforward

Toaddressthegreatestchallenges—legacysystems,fragmenteddata,andregulatory

complexity—utilitieswilllikelyneedtoundergoa

rewiringtransformation

.LeadingutilitiesaretakingaphasedapproachtodelivervaluetodaywithagenticAIwhilemodernizinglegacy

systemsinparallel.

Step1:Buildthevalue-backedroadmap,startingwherevalueisgreatestandredesigningbeforeautomation.

Exhibit5

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI9

Derivedimportance1ofsatisfactiondriversforcustomerwithanunplannedoutagey2

%ofrespondents

Thedurationofoutages

Thefrequencyofoutages

Theclarityofinformation

Theeaseofinformationgathering

Thetimeneededtofindorreceiveinformation

TheknowledgeofrepresentativesThecourteousness/professionalismofrepresentatives

customersatisfactionduringanoutagedependsoncommunicationalmostasmuchastheoutageitself.

15

54%

ofsatisfaction

driversarerelated

toinformationandcommunication

15

14

'DerivedimportancedenotestheweightingofeachdriveragainstoverallcustomerjourneysatisfactionbasedontheJohnsonRelativeweightsmethodology.

2Questions:Howwouldyourateyoursatisfactioninthefollowingareas?"(listofdrivers)"Inthepast12months,haveyoucontactedutilityaboutanyofthefollow-ingmatters?fHowmanyunplannedoutageshaveyouexperiencedovertheprevious12months?ffHowwouldyourateyoursatisfaction?"

source:2025Mckinseycxutilitysurvey(n=2,694)

Mckinsey&company

—Identifyhighvolume,cost,andfrictionpointsthroughAVAdiagnostics.Formostutilities,thesearebilling,payments,outagemanagement,collections,andmeterservices.

—Mapend-to-endjourneysandworkflows(includingcustomer-facinginteractions,employeeandback-officeprocesses,systemhand-offs,datadependencies,fieldactivitywhere

relevant,andfollow-upcommunication).

—Buildanopportunitysetfocusedonrootcauseresolution,notjustfasterprocessing.

—Prioritizeopportunitiesbasedonvalue,feasibility,risk,andcustomerimpact.

HowutilitiescanrewirecustomeroperationswithagenticAI10

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Step2:Simultaneouslycapturequickwinswhilebuildingfoundations,deployingno-regretagentsandbuildingdataandorchestrationcapabilitiesinparallel.

—Startwithagentsthatcancreatevaluewithoutwaitingforfullsystemtransformationsbybeginningwithlower-risk,ready-heavy,orhuman-in-the-loopcases.

—Buildaunifieddatafoundationofcustomerbilling,metering,payment,outage,andservicedata.

—LeverageAPIsandotherplatformorchestrationtoolsthatallowagentictoworkwithexistingsystems.

—Redesigntheoperatingmodelsohumansandagentsworktogetherwithappropriatemonitoringmechanismstodetecterrorsandbias.

Step3:Scaleacrossdomainsthroughiterative,journey-by-journeytransformations.