Elevating Experiences: The AI Revolution in Customer Engagement

Want more insights like these?

In the ever-evolving landscape of business and technology, customer engagement stands as a pivotal factor that defines success. With the advent of AI, a new era of customer engagement has emerged. How have product management and data professionals incorporated AI into their customer engagement strategy and what benefits have they seen?

One minute insights:

  • Brain connectionsAlmost all respondents are using AI, or plan to incorporate it, in their customer engagement strategy
  • Zig Zag Arrow UpThose who have incorporated AI into their customer engagement strategy have already seen benefits
  • AutomationAutomation and a sustainable competitive advantage are the most common reasons teams have decided to adopt AI
  • PathRespondents agree that end-to-end customer journey satisfaction is vital to the success of their company, and digital content is a key component to customer engagement

AI is already incorporated in many customer engagement strategies, and chatbots are the most popular tool used among respondents

98% of respondents have already incorporated, or plan to incorporate, 98% AI into their customer engagement strategy.

Does your company have any plans to incorporate AI into your customer engagement strategy?

Half circle chart: Does your company have any plans to incorporate AI into your customer engagement strategy?

n = 100

Bubble chart: What AI-based technologies are you currently using to help transform customer engagement?

Among respondents who have already incorporated AI (n=45), the majority (80%) use conversational agents (e.g., chatbots) to help transform customer engagement.

What AI-based technologies are you currently using to help transform customer engagement? Select all that apply.

Other 2%*

n = 45

Question shown only to respondents who answered “Yes, we’re already doing so” to “Does your company have any plans to incorporate AI into your customer engagement strategy?”

*Other includes: “LLM”

Question: Do you have any final thoughts to share on artificial intelligence-driven customer experience?

My organization is planning to use AI for use of chatbots and other tools which makes the life of our customers better. As we are [a] customer facing organization, lots of our budget goes into streamlining the process and making sure our customers get satisfaction and save their time as well. AI is [the] next big thing on our agenda, and [there] are many pilot systems which are rolled out to help achieve this target.

Manager, healthcare industry, 10,001+ employees

Of those same respondents (n=45), over half (58%) use Salesforce Einstein as one of their marketing automation platforms.

Bar chart: Which CRM or marketing automation platforms do you use? Select all that apply.

Which CRM or marketing automation platforms do you use? Select all that apply.

Adobe’s Real-Time CDP 13% | ActionIQ 11% | Highspot 9% | We don’t use any CRM or marketing automation platforms 9% | Amperity 7% | BlueConic 4% | Other* 4%

n = 45

Question shown only to respondents who answered “Yes, we’re already doing so” to “Does your company have any plans to incorporate AI into your customer engagement strategy?”

*Other includes: “Centribal”, “Salesforce”

Those who have incorporated AI into their customer engagement have already experienced benefits such as better data-driven customer insights and improved lead generation

Bubble chart: What were the reasons your team decided to adopt or is planning to adopt AI for customer engagement?

n = 98

Of those who have, or are planning to add, AI in their customer engagement strategy (n=98), automation (51%) is the most common reason. Sustainable competitive advantage (48%), generating revenue (47%) and content optimization (47%) are also popular reasons.

What were the reasons your team decided to adopt or is planning to adopt AI for customer engagement? Select all that apply.

Better understanding of customer personas 41% | Create new digital products 41% | Eicient marketing 37% | As part of an overall metaverse/digital realm strategy 31% | Optimize cross-channel spend 22% | Executive pressure 16% | None of these 0% | Other 0%

Question shown only to respondents who answered “Yes, we’re already doing so”, “Yes, we plan to implement in the near future”, and “No, but we plan to” to “Does your company have any plans to incorporate AI into your customer engagement strategy?”

The most commonly selected barriers to AI adoption among respondents are tech stack implementation challenges (55%), skills gaps (51%) and compromised privacy (42%).

What are the main barriers to AI adoption? Select up to 3.

Bar chart: What are the main barriers to AI adoption?

Change management 36% | Decentralization impractical for business operations 34% | Investment risk (i.e., consumers’ transmigration between brands and customer churns holes in profitability) 31% | Costs 24% | Competition 8% | Lack of executive interest 7% | None of these 1% | Other* 1%

n = 100

*Other includes: “Training Datasets, Model Workflows”

Still, many benefits have already been seen from the adoption of AI; the most common are better data-driven customer insights (71%), improved lead generation (56%) and more proactive and personalized customer service (51%).

What benefits has your organization seen from the adoption of AI? Select all that apply.

Bar chart: What benefits has your organization seen from the adoption of AI?

More customized content 38% | Streamlined workflows 38% | Reduction in overall operation expenses 36% | Increase in revenue 31% | Reduction in employee burnout 24% | Quicker product decisions 22% | More informed product decisions 22% | Too early to tell 2% | We haven’t seen any benefits 0% | Other 0%

n = 45

Question shown only to respondents who answered “Yes, we’re already doing so” to “Does your company have any plans to incorporate AI into your customer engagement strategy?”

Question: Do you have any final thoughts to share on artificial intelligence-driven customer experience?

Unless not appropriate, companies not jumping on that train will become less competitive. There are real challenges however with privacy and quality of the experience. It needs to be implemented carefully and the caveats part of the sales/marketing process.

Director, telecommunications industry, 10,000+ employees

I believe that artificial intelligence-driven customer experience (AI CX) has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses interact with their customers. AI-powered solutions can help organizations gain a deeper understanding of their customers, improve the overall customer experience, and increase customer loyalty.

Manager, software industry, <1,000 employees

Respondents agree that digital content is increasingly important to engage customers

Pie chart: To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “In an increasingly digital world, customer engagement centers on digital content”

The majority of respondents (88%) agree or strongly agree that customer engagement centers on digital content.

To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “In an increasingly digital world, customer engagement centers on digital content”

Disagree 0% | Strongly disagree 0%

n = 100

62% of respondents strongly agree that end-to-end customer journey satisfaction is vital to the success of their company.

To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “End-to-end customer journey satisfaction is vital to the success of our company”

Half circle chart: To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “End-to-end customer journey satisfaction is vital to the success of our company”

Those who have already implemented AI into their customer engagement strategy have the highest percentage of respondents who are very satisfied (38%) with their company’s prioritization of customer experience.

How satisfied are you with your company’s prioritization of customer experience?

Chart: How satisfied are you with your company’s prioritization of customer experience?

Note: May not add up to 100% due to rounding

Responses for the question “Does your company have any plans to Note: May not add up to 100% due to rounding incorporate AI into your customer engagement strategy?”

A lightbulb

Want more insights like this from leaders like yourself?

Click here to explore the revamped, retooled and reimagined Gartner Peer Community. You'll get access to synthesized insights and engaging discussions from a community of your peers.

Respondent Breakdown

Map: Respondent breakdown