Agentic AI takes customer service to next level, report claims

A new report highlights the transformative impact of “agentic AI” on customer service, revealing significant improvements in efficiency and customer satisfaction for companies embracing the technology.

The “2025 AI in CX Benchmark Report” published by Forethought indicates that businesses utilizing agentic AI are seeing notably higher rates of self-service and substantial reductions in resolution costs compared to those using more basic AI or no AI at all.

Agentic AI represents a significant evolution in artificial intelligence for customer experience. Unlike traditional AI, which primarily focuses on answering questions or guiding users through pre-defined pathways, agentic AI possesses the ability to autonomously make decisions and take actions on behalf of the customer.

This means it can go beyond simply providing information to actively resolve issues from start to finish, potentially updating records, processing requests, or initiating follow-up actions without direct human intervention at every step.

The Forethought survey of over 600 customer experience professionals found that companies employing agentic AI experienced an average of 33% higher deflection rates, meaning more customers were able to resolve their issues through self-service options.

Furthermore, those using agentic AI in conjunction with a dedicated AI platform or in-house solution saw their average resolution costs decrease by over 20%. Deon Nicholas, president, executive chairman and co-founder of Forethought, emphasized this advantage, stating, “Companies using AI that can go beyond responding to questions to take action and resolve customer issues are seeing the biggest improvements in satisfaction, retention and efficiency.”

The report also indicated a strong correlation between agentic AI adoption and improved customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores. A significant 64% of respondents using agentic AI reported higher CSAT scores in 2025. While voice remains a dominant channel for customer support, the survey predicts chat will be the number one growth channel in the future, underscoring the need for multi-channel support solutions powered by sophisticated AI.

Despite the clear benefits, the adoption of AI in customer experience is still relatively recent, with 57% of companies using it in 2025, but only 13% having done so for more than two years. The report also identifies barriers to wider adoption, including challenges with integrating AI into existing systems, data privacy and security concerns, and customer acceptance and trust.

To learn more and download the full 2025 AI in CX Benchmark report, click here.