It’s time for my annual predictions related to customer service and customer experience (CX). It would be impossible not to mention AI in my predictions. That’s the topic du jour—actually, the topic of the year. AI technology is improving at such a rapid pace that anything happening today will become a history lesson a year from now, if not sooner. Not surprisingly, some of the trends and predictions will cover topics related to technology, but not all of them. So, here is Part One of my take on the trends and predictions we’ll experience in 2025 and beyond.
1. The customer continues to get smarter. I’ve opened with this one for several years. Customers know what great service looks like, and as companies and brands deliver and exceed their expectations, they are hoping—and even expecting—that the other companies they do business with will create similar experiences. Think about your favorite companies to do business with. Don’t you wish other companies were just as good? Well, that’s exactly what your customers are thinking, and once you understand it, you’ll deliver the experience that makes them want to continue to do business with you.
2. More companies will realize the power of AI is not only for the customer experience. In the space where I work (customer service and CX), most of the hype has been around AI being used to support customers. But, there are plenty of other great uses for AI beyond the CX world. Companies are implementing AI programs to help them manage inventory, streamline processes and more. Most, if not all, are aimed at reducing costs. That’s no different in the CX space. Some companies are realizing it’s also important to enhance the employee experience—specifically, the employees on the front line. Customer service agents are using generative AI to help them get the best answers for their customers. Having access to this higher level of information is empowering and fulfilling, creating a better employee experience (EX).
3. More companies will realize that customer service is not a department, but a philosophy that is embraced by everyone in the organization. I’ve preached this for years, and one might ask, “Is this new?” Probably not, but in the past year, I’ve heard several CX leaders comment that customer service is what happens when customer experience fails. I want to correct this. Smart leaders realize that customer support (not service) happens when CX fails. Customer service is part of an entire experience that happens at every interaction the customer has with the company or brand. It is not a department that handles complaints and problems. This is not as much a prediction as it is a warning. If you don’t think this way, you will find yourself playing catch-up and fighting to keep up with your competition.
4. Ease and convenience are getting baked into the customers’ experience. The trend continues. For the past five years, our customer service and CX research (sponsored by RingCentral) has found that convenience remains at the top of what customers want from the companies they do business with. The easiest company to do business with will win over its competitors. Customers like convenient, hassle-free experiences. Each year, in my annual customer service and CX research, I ask customers to choose their favorite customer experiences from a list. Convenience has come out on top, and I predict the trend of convenience being a favorite will continue. The result is that companies are focused on finding ways to make it easier for a customer to buy, get support, make returns (if that applies to your business) and more.
5. AI will become government regulated. Well, not all of AI, but in the very near future, there will be legislation aimed at protecting consumers from the nefarious use of AI. Currently, there are few, if any, existing laws that specifically apply to AI, but there is proposed legislation addressing concerns of safety, security, transparency and more. In the customer service and CX space, companies using AI to respond to customers’ questions, complaints and other customer service issues will most likely have to identify that the customer is interacting with an AI-powered bot. In other words, there will be transparency. This is just one example of what’s to come.
So, those are just the first five trends and predictions for 2025. Stay tuned for Part Two next week, when we’ll dive deeper with five more predictions and trends facing our industry.