Introductions to CX Trends 1

Trend 1

Driven by AI copilot success, companies are racing to adopt autonomous service for next- level interactions

AI copilots? They’re a win-win. Agents love them—and the time they free up to focus on more complex, meaningful work. Plus, they’re a boon to the bottom line. Companies leveraging AI copilot technology are reaping the benefits of streamlined processes and strong returns.
No one is realizing these returns like CX Trendsetters, who are implementing AI copilot tools at a rate nearly three times higher than CX Traditionalists. They also nearly unanimously report positive ROI on AI tools for agents.

Outcome Trend 1

93% of CX Trendsetters believe copiloting is a great way to get customers and agents comfortable with AI, and introduce them to more advanced use

By implementing AI copilot tools, Trendsetters are also meeting agent expectations: Agents who have AI copilots are 20% more likely to feel empowered to do their job well. CX Trendsetters like NEXT are leveraging these AI tools to free up agents’ time to focus on more meaningful work.
Consumers are also seeing the impact of these tools in action: 75% are now in favor of agents using AI to help draft responses, an increase of 10 percentage points from last year.
By building trust and familiarity with AI among agents, customers, and leaders, AI copilots are positioning companies to advance confidently toward autonomous service models (more on this topic a bit further down).

Meanwhile, leaders who are reluctant to adopt AI copilots are compounding an avoidable, yet rampant issue: shadow AI. To lessen the risk of agents using external tools (in the absence of internal solutions), companies must prioritize AI copilot integration, empowering agents with the tools they need—and expect. Doing so will ensure that agents maintain privacy, security, and service quality, and prepare them for a fully autonomous future.

Top benefits include:

Generative AI for personalized customer responses

Real-time decision support for interactions of any complexity

Improved clarity for streamlined communications

Helps agents retrieve information efficiently across systems

Customer Reference

NEXT accelerates its CX transformation, reduces email handling times by 11%

Global retailer NEXT sees AI as a powerful copilot enabling its agents to deliver high- quality service, while increasing agility and efficiency. By leveraging Zendesk AI, NEXT improved service quality and created bespoke applications, which allows them to present customized data and key business information to their global customer service team.