AI and customer experience—how marketers can balance technology with the human touch

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re asking for. Can you please try again?” We’ve all received some version of this frustrating message. A failed interaction creates a lousy experience that even the best customer service agent can’t salvage. While today’s AI is more sophisticated than yesterday’s chatbots, the core customer experience challenge remains the same: finding the right balance between automation and human touch to deliver efficiency for customers and the business alike. But now the stakes are higher. As technology has advanced, so have customer expectations. Entering 2025, we see many brands over-focused on machine interactions when, in many cases, customers still need human help. There’s a disconnect between what customers want, and what brands are building. Ad Age Best Places to Work 2025 50 companies doing a standout job See the full list here Consider this: 80% of companies are either using or planning to adopt AI-powered chatbots for customer service by 2025—but 77% of customers find customer service chatbots frustrating. With that in mind, here are some things to consider as you build out your automation strategy: Create an escape hatch Marketers have been talking about “personalized experiences at scale” for nearly two decades. Step-change advances in AI technology bring this vision much closer to reality. Now more than ever, automating straightforward interactions can reduce costs while boosting efficiency. But in any business, there will always be edge cases that AI can’t handle. There will be crisis moments when no level of tech can solve the customer’s issue, and you need a human, ASAP, to save the relationship. And sometimes, even absent a crisis, the customer just wants warmth and empathy from a fellow mammal. Hence, the escape hatch. Every automated experience should offer an easy option to engage with a person. Too often, it feels like brands make it deliberately difficult to find a phone number or email address. This may ensure a certain level of cost savings, but it alienates customers. To enhance the escape hatch, use algorithms to proactively identify when a human should step in. A system that recognizes signals for urgency, such as emotionally charged language, or repetition of the same phrase. Providing proactive human intervention can help avert the phone- and laptop-throwing stages of catastrophic CX failure. Identify the right use cases With all the hype swirling around AI, there’s a huge amount of pressure for brands to take action—any action, just to prove they’re not falling behind. Many leaders are placing bets and making investments because they believe other leaders are making similar investments, not because they’ve fully thought through the implications for their customers or their business. Unfortunately, any technology roadmap rooted primarily in competitive pressure is doomed. Yes, brands should move with agility to stay competitive, but customer success begins and ends with a focus on customer needs, behaviors and expectations. Despite the hype, only 9% of organizations are AI-mature, so there’s still plenty of runway before we reach a now-or-never inflection point. Gen Z Career Forum Get practical advice on launching your career and excelling in the industry Register today To keep the focus on real-world use cases, one question to ask is, “What can agentic AI bring that will enhance the current CX?” This grounds the thinking in customer insights, generating ideas on how to exceed customer expectations while also saving money. In general, expectations are highest around expensive, high-consideration purchases. The buyer wants to be recognized as a high-value customer and expects to receive a commensurate level of support. Often, this means a human touch. It’s worth repeating that customer experience doesn’t end with a transaction; post-conversion is typically where loyalty and long-term value are won—or not—and where automated interactions can go sideways if the customer doesn’t feel recognized. It’s important to tread lightly when automating historically human-to-human interactions; finding efficiencies through better automation of person-to-machine or machine-to-machine touchpoints can be an easier, less risky place to start. Measure the right KPIs “Customer experience” isn’t just about a series of moments; it’s about how all those moments add up to deliver a consistent, rewarding experience over time. We sometimes refer to this as the difference between little “e” and Big “E” customer experience. Right now, in the early days of the AI era, we see brands focused on capturing cost savings “in the moment.” Reduce the need for human interaction and save money on staff. Do this often enough, and you’ve got yourself a business case. This isn’t necessarily wrong. But there is a longer game to play—one about brand affinity and business growth. Thoughtfully deployed across the total customer journey, automation can help build brand health and topline momentum. NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today To avoid winning the battle but losing the war, a balanced scorecard approach is critical. Of course, you want cost savings. Ideally, you also want to increase customer satisfaction, retention and long-term value. Even if cost reduction is the low-hanging fruit, the bigger prize is loyalty and revenue growth. Aim for long-term impact, not just quick savings. Automation is already improving our ability to deliver efficient, personalized experiences at scale. The next 5-10 years will see a fundamental transformation of the practice of CX, as AI agents get smarter and customers become more comfortable with the technology. Many types of interactions will become 100% automated as machine-to-machine transactions become more prevalent—first in B2B contexts, but eventually across B2C as well. Yet, as much as we busy humans value efficiency, we still crave human connection, especially in moments of confusion or frustration. This desire may become more pronounced in a world increasingly optimized by AI. Brands that listen to their customers—and seek a balance between automated efficiency and human connection—will be well positioned to thrive in the experience economy. Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2024 Global ad spending, rankings, analysis and profiles for the biggest marketers Click here

AI and customer experience—how marketers can balance technology with the human touch

Featured Stories