A new research report from Genesys has found that AI is rapidly becoming indispensable for companies aiming to stay competitive in the customer experience (CX) landscape. The report, “Customer experience in the age of AI,” revealed a staggering 70% of CX leaders surveyed identify AI as crucial to their CX operations in the next two to three years. Despite this, the findings also expose a surprising unreadiness and underutilization of AI’s more advanced capabilities, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses looking to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.
“AI is revolutionizing the customer experience by enabling companies to deliver more personalized, efficient and empathetic interactions at scale”
The research underscores the belief that AI is no longer just a buzzword or an optional tool — it’s a strategic necessity. According to the report, 70% of CX leaders already recognize the critical role AI plays in making customer journeys more empathetic and personalized. Moreover, 59% of these leaders believe that integrating AI into their operations will significantly boost customer loyalty and lifetime value in the next five years. This marks AI as not just an enhancement but also as a transformative force that can reshape how businesses interact with and retain customers.
“AI is revolutionizing the customer experience by enabling companies to deliver more personalized, efficient and empathetic interactions at scale,” said Janelle Dieken, SVP of customer advocacy at Genesys. “Our research shows that businesses that fail to integrate AI into their CX strategies risk falling behind in a highly competitive landscape.”
The research underscores that while AI-powered tools such as chatbots are widely adopted, many companies have yet to fully explore AI’s potential in areas like journey management, auto-summarization and sentiment analysis. Currently, only 23% of CX leaders are using AI for customer journey management, and a mere 22% use it for sentiment analysis.
These underutilized areas represent significant opportunities for businesses to deepen their customer relationships and drive greater engagement. According to Gartner, “by 2026, 50% of customer service and support organizations will have implemented GenAI-driven virtual assistants (VAs) for agent assistance and customer-facing tasks.” Genesys believes this highlights the need for companies to expand their AI capabilities beyond chatbots and explore more advanced applications.
The new Genesys report also highlights AI’s dual benefits: improving not only customer interactions but also the employee experience. Sixty-six percent of CX leaders expect that greater AI adoption will lead to increased employee engagement, demonstrating its potential to influence operations across teams and customers.
With the importance of AI growing rapidly, the research reiterates the urgency for businesses to act now. While 70% of CX leaders recognize AI will be crucial to their operations in the next three years, a large percentage are still in the early stages of implementation. Only 34% of CX leaders agreed that their organization has the knowledge and expertise to effectively adopt AI. The remaining 66% reported mixed readiness with responses varying from somewhat agreeing to disagreeing entirely.
The report warns that delaying AI adoption could lead to a significant competitive disadvantage as other companies use AI to create more personalized, efficient and engaging customer experiences. In the US and Canada, 43% of CX leaders expect AI to help them retain market leadership. The gap between early adopters and those who lag could quickly become too large to close.
