Artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the biggest buzzwords of the past few years, especially in customer experience (CX). The technology has become ingrained across countless touchpoints throughout customer journeys, whether in scheduling an appointment, making an online purchase, or resolving an issue. These AI-driven interactions have led consumer expectations to rise, reshaping how brands must approach customer engagement. Adopting the technology could be a deciding factor in driving and maintaining success against competitors, especially considering that, according to Gartner® data, “many customer service leaders are not yet articulating this story. Only 23% of surveyed leaders said they will spend more of their time learning skills for a future career move in 2025 (and 33% of leaders said they’d spend less time doing so). Yet 85% of leaders said they will explore or pilot a conversational GenAI solution in 2025.” * This emphasizes that AI adoption is no longer a nice-to-have for brands but a necessity to meet customer expectations or risk being left behind.
The latest Global Customer Engagement Report (GCER) by Vonage revealed the importance of integrating AI with existing communication channels like voice, video, and messaging and demonstrates how meeting customers on their preferred platforms can offer more personalized interactions.
Let’s take a closer look at how AI has transformed customer experience and communication preferences and where brands can leverage this technology to drive impactful customer journeys.
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A Crossroads in Customer Experience
Consumers have become accustomed to fast response rates from the brands they interact with, making speedy response times a critical component of a positive customer experience. According to the same GCER data, three-quarters (75%) of customers are likely to switch businesses after a poor experience, with 48% willing to leave after just one or two negative interactions. These findings highlight that every customer interaction counts, and if brands don’t proactively address potential issues, they not only risk losing customers but also damaging their reputation.
In contrast, a great customer experience drives action. The GCER found that more than half (57%) of customers will provide positive feedback on a brand survey, 52% will deepen their loyalty, and over a third (35%) will make additional purchases. To achieve these kinds of results, brands should leverage AI to help proactively service customers across multiple communication channels. Each touchpoint throughout the journey can be a point of moving forward or lead to taking a step back. For instance, customers might reach out for help through various channels, sometimes with multiple or unrelated inquiries. With AI, brands can deploy automated chatbots to handle routine inquiries and provide instant responses, while agents benefit from real-time updates, call summaries, and contextual guidance, so they can better resolve customer issues quickly and accurately.
Where Customers Lean into AI
Though some customers might be hesitant to interact with AI-powered customer service features, the majority are leaning in. Most consumers have realized that if AI is making their buying journey more seamless, why not embrace it? The GCER found that 83% of customers have used AI-assisted tools recently, notably with chatbots and CX-related AI on the rise. In the next 6-12 months, a third (32%) plan to use chatbots more frequently, an increase from the 9% who currently engage with them daily. This shift stresses the fact that, at the end of the day, customers truly value convenience and speed. They’re increasingly seeking instant, automated responses for a more efficient journey from start to finish. Customers expect proactive issue resolution (47%), seek personalized interactions (45%), seamless, cross-channel experiences (42%), and real-time voice recognition and response (39%).
Consumers are eager for more advanced AI support, especially when it elevates personalization and proactive service.
Seizing the Opportunity
As customers embrace the potential AI brings to the customer journey, businesses have the opportunity to harness this momentum and sentiment. As customers increasingly use AI in their daily lives, they’re seeing how much better it can make brand engagements. To seize this opportunity, brands need to leverage the right tools to meet customer expectations. For example, AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants can handle basic requests like order status or password resets but can also leverage sentiment analysis to know when to route frustrated customers to live agents. AI-generated insights deliver context and insights for better overall service and faster issue resolution, and in turn, reduce frustrations that lead customers to leave for a competitor.
Adopting AI-powered tools also makes it easier on a company’s contact center operations, which often serves as the heart of customer service for businesses large and small. To keep up with the competition, contact centers need to adapt to meet changing communication needs, especially as almost three-quarters (73%) of customers now interact across multiple channels.
As AI continues to solidify itself as the new normal in nearly all aspects of our daily lives, organizations must stay up to date on the latest customer preferences for customer engagement and interaction with the technology. The consequences of failing to meet the evolving expectations of customers can be detrimental, leading to lost loyalty and lost revenue. An effective customer communications strategy goes beyond simply integrating the latest technology and tools, it means understanding how and where customers want to engage. There is transformative potential for AI in customer engagement if done correctly. Organizations must decide how best to lean into the tech for a more proactive approach to CX or risk falling behind.
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