Thanks to AI, there is another seismic shift takes place in customer service. Teams that fully embrace AI—not just as a one-stop solution, but as an engine for transformation and change—are outpacing their peers at breakneck speed. These CX Trendsetters don’t just move forward, they blaze a new trail, achieving higher ROI and customer satisfaction, all while setting new standards for business success.
CX Trendsetters have 49% more cross-sell revenue, 33% higher customer acquisition and 22% higher customer retention than CX Traditionalists.
For such a CX Trendsetter, Siemens financial department, AI agents enable direct and often proactive communication with customers. This means the team can now send copies of invoices to customers without them having to ask or involve a human agent. As a result, the team has seen its customer satisfaction rates increase beyond industry benchmarks, with agents able to spend more time with customers who need a little extra help.
These small efficiency gains are what add up to some of the biggest CX changes we’ve seen from call centers or the Internet. However, while some organizations are leading the charge in adopting AI-driven innovation, others—CX Traditionalists—are hesitating and lagging behind.
This is not the time to sit on the sidelines. AI has accelerated the transformation timeline for companies and clear leaders have emerged, with 70% of customers seeing a widening gap between organizations that are effectively leveraging AI and those that are not.
If you fall into this latter category, maintaining a healthy business outlook can be problematic. According to our research, 73% of CX leaders believe that adopting AI at scale is the only way to survive the competitive pressures of the next five years.
The good news? There is still time to catch up. In fact, 6 out of 10 CX Traditionalists are looking to get more AI in the next year. But success will require bold and decisive steps forward — and perhaps a page or two from the CX Trendsetter playbook.
Here are three key areas where CX Trendsetters have big plans for their AI investments:
1. Enhancing customer loyalty and retention
This lofty goal of personalized interactions for each customer is now easier than ever to achieve. Over 90% of CX Trendsetters believe AI is critical to delivering more personalized services at scale. And they’re going beyond personalization to become truly proactive with customers—using artificial intelligence to recommend products or services that align with each customer’s unique preferences and purchase history.
With AI creating a consistent experience across all channels, CX Trendsetters ensure their customers feel understood and seen, no matter how they choose to engage.
2. Creating more natural, human-like experiences
CX Trendsetters are on a mission to make exchanges like “I’m sorry, I didn’t get it, try again” a thing of the past. And by using more advanced AI tools like Generative AI in text and voice, they’re creating customer experiences that feel more natural, friendly and conversational.
That’s a good thing, as nearly two-thirds of customers say they’re more likely to trust an AI agent that feels genuinely human. To meet these expectations, CX Trendsetters explore the latest and greatest in Voice AI to create more seamless, natural cross-channel interactions. The result? Less jarring phrases and more of the smooth, conversational interactions that keep customers engaged and coming back.
3. Implementation of new tools to empower agents
CX Trendsetters equip their reps with the tools and training needed to perform at their highest level—whether they’re new to the job or seasoned professionals. With AI copilots, these companies ensure that all agents have the real-time support they need to get on board quickly, boosting their efficiency and freeing up time to focus on more complex, higher-value tasks.
These CX Trendsetters also work diligently to upskill their teams by offering hands-on training in agent-to-agent and artificial intelligence workflows. For these efforts, they see higher job satisfaction rates among agents which often leads to higher retention rates and better customer outcomes.
Dive deeper with Zendesk’s CX Trends 2025 Report
The first step is clear: organizations that fully embrace AI today are emerging as the CX leaders of tomorrow. CX Trendsetters don’t just set new standards for customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, they raise the bar on quality by creating experiences that feel more personal, conversational and human.
As the gap widens between those who take innovative steps forward and those who remain firmly in place, CX leaders everywhere face a critical choice: embrace AI boldly or risk being left behind.
Dive deeper into the trends shaping the future of CX and explore winning strategies with Zendesk CX Trends 2025 Report.
