As 2025 unravels itself, here’s a look into how the world of customer experience (CX) has evolved over the last year and what lies ahead.
Forrester Research published their US CX Index in June 2024, highlighting a significant opportunity for improvement in customer experience across America. Only the airline industry appeared to be improving the level of CX offered to customers.
This insight from Forrester invites a closer look at the evolving landscape of customer service. What has changed and what needs to be done to create a more positive experience for customers moving forward?
The most important change over the past couple of years has been the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into the CX environment. 2023 was really a year of experimentation and innovation, especially around generative AI. In 2024, we have seen that innovation mature into real use cases, where AI is being used to improve CX in a number of ways.
The really interesting thing is that the customers are seeing this change, and their expectations have grown. Hundreds of millions of people are now using tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft has rolled out AI support in all their business software. Most people are now engaging with AI on a daily basis and so it is natural for them to expect that it will be used to improve CX.
It is also improving processes within companies designing CX solutions. Agents are being supported by AI copilots that can suggest the next best experience when talking to a customer or just handle repetitive tasks – like making notes about a call. So, the customer is seeing an improvement in the level of automated service, while productivity and efficiency is also improving within the enterprise. Perhaps these rapid changes explain some of the Forrester observations. CX in 2025 will continue to focus on AI, but the important point to note is that AI will transform how many disparate CX services are delivered. Here are some pointers on what to keep an eye on in 2025.
- Evolution of Generative AI. The initial fears around hallucination are subsiding as we learn how to train language models more effectively. This means that it is becoming possible to create chatbots that allow natural language interaction with customers where the bot has every single detail on products – based on all documentation and even FAQs. The bot can understand all your product information and also be trained on every question every previous customer has ever asked – this is an extremely powerful way to design automated service.
- Agentic AI. More and more customers will be asking their digital assistant to handle customer service questions so brands need to be ready to handle real customers and their digital agents. In some cases a support situation may involve one bot engaging with another and messaging the customer with an answer. These tools will also be useful inside the enterprise as they will allow each human employee to have a team working on their behalf – everyone will have a group of assistants.
- Insights-driven CX. Traditional metrics in customer service really just focused on monitoring processes – how quickly calls are answered and handled for example. Now it is possible to analyze customer interactions in real-time and create insights that can help the customer directly or help an agent as they engage the customer. Generative AI-powered sentiment and intent analysis can help identify what the customer needs so they can be helped faster and more accurately. Predictions can be made, based on previous behavior and this can lead to very personal recommendations.
- Personalization and proactive engagement. Gartner surveyed American consumers and found that only 13% had experienced any kind of proactive service. AI can dramatically help with suggestions, and deals or special offers, taking customer behavior and creating targeted insight to make the experience more personal. This insight can then form the basis of a proactive engagement strategy.
- AI Regulation. There will be more government legislation focused on how companies can use AI. The European Union already has a detailed AI Act – this will be emulated globally. But in addition to government regulation, it is likely that companies will want to create their own internal regulation to ensure common standards across the entire business focused on ethics and AI use that impacts customers.
The Forrester analysis of CX in 2024 featured a challenging statement. They called it ‘pervasive mediocrity’ and asked why this has now become normal? The good news is that bold leaders still realize the value of great CX and the opportunity to pull away from mediocre service.
There will be more changes and challenges ahead, but AI is at the heart of most CX trends right now. All the five suggestions above are powered by AI. We are watching a radical transformation of how companies engage with their customers and AI is at the core of all these changes. CX leaders like Movate are helping brands integrate AI technologies thoughtfully into their CX strategies and drive business success in this rapidly evolving space.
About the author
SVP & Chief Marketing Officer
Vivian Gomes is the Chief Marketing Officer at Movate. He is an industry thought leader with a strong professional track record of over 2 decades in the IT and BPM industry. He leads a passionate team focused on strengthening the Movate brand and helping grow the business. He is a regular contributor of thought leadership in Tier 1 media and speaks on various podcasts and event panels. He has won several industry awards for his leadership and achievements in the marketing arena.