AI customer service is moving beyond automated replies, but there’s still a disconnect. Surveys have found that 79% of people prefer to interact with a human over an AI agent.
Agentic AI is Empowering Businesses
AI has been around for quite some time, but it’s undergoing a monumental shift. Agentic AI offers little value if the customer still needs to speak with a customer service representative to resolve their issue. To improve the experience, businesses are investing more.
The financial incentive is substantial. Azumo’s 2026 report cites that for every $1 invested in AI customer service, $3.50 is returned. First-time response rates reduce by up to 74% when the right AI customer service software is implemented.
Even though businesses are automating more, maintaining a connection is more important than ever. A person may send an email and get help through WhatsApp, but then go on to need help from a real agent. Omnichannel messaging means that these interactions need to be connected across different touchpoints. AI customer engagement is evolving rapidly to meet demands like this.
Employees who take over an AI conversation can now follow the original request, what steps have been taken, and what still needs to be resolved.
AI isn’t just prevalent in customer service either. It can also be used to reach out with offers, promotions, or even for gamification, freeing up time while bettering the customer experience. For this to be effective at scale, however, personalisation is key, and the human touch should never be removed entirely.
Human Handover Remains Essential
Right now there’s a distinct preference for human support. Customers need a clear route to an employee when automated systems are not able to resolve the request. Good handovers stop customers from having to repeat information or restart the process entirely. Poor agentic AI bots loop in circles, repeat phrases, or offer solutions that are irrelevant to the issue. Businesses that rely solely on AI for customer service may find that they end up losing customers and loyalty. By the time the data indicates that there’s an issue, the damage has been done.
The key moving forward is to embrace AI, but not to replace people. If anything, AI should be used to protect teams and customers. Automating low-value, high-volume tasks that drain people’s time is important, but this should be done so that teams can focus on what really matters, which is resolving more complex issues or building relationships with customers.
When embracing AI, ensuring that there’s always the option for a human handover is key, as is constantly revisiting the agentic AI responses to ensure that they align with brand values.
Companies must use data to train AI agents to better resolve customer queries. The brands that do this well are currently seeing the biggest return on their investment.
As nearly 50% of customers think that AI agents can be empathetic when addressing issues, things are already moving in the right direction.