This matters because service is now directly tied to revenue protection. Consumers surveyed for the report say their perception of a company is shaped by the service it provides (79%), and that customer experience should be much better than it is today (83%).
Resolution, not speed, becomes the loyalty test
Executives say customer tolerance for unresolved problems is shrinking. Most (86%) CX leaders agree that one unsolved issue can cost a brand a customer for life, signalling a shift away from service metrics focused purely on response times.
Consumers reinforce that view, with 88% saying that fast and accurate resolution strongly influences where they buy. Similarly, 86% of leaders say customers will abandon brands that cannot resolve issues on first contact, regardless of channel.
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AI is increasingly seen as essential to meeting those standards at scale. CX leaders say AI is redefining service benchmarks (88%), and AI tools are now part of the workforce (81%), not just background automation. On the customer side, 80% expect AI to improve service quality.
AI maturity separates winners from laggards
Zendesk’s data suggests returns depend less on whether companies deploy AI and more on how deeply it is integrated.
In Apac, high-maturity organisations are seven times more likely than low-maturity peers to report positive impacts on churn reduction. They are also more likely to report positive ROI from AI in customer service and more likely to say AI value exceeded expectations.
However, executives warn that the risk is fragmented deployment. More than three-quarters (78%) of CX leaders say disconnected data and knowledge systems cause AI to give inconsistent answers, undermining trust and limiting business gains.
Memory, not just automation, becomes table stakes
Consumers increasingly expect service systems to remember them. They are frustrated by repeating information (72%), and expect service staff to access prior context instantly (81%). With AI analysing past interactions, they now expect more personalised service and see memory-enabled AI agents as valuable.
Yet, only 49% of CX leaders say deepening personalisation is a top priority, despite 83% agreeing that persistent memory helps build longer-term customer relationships. Among high-maturity firms, 85% already provide full cross-channel memory, far more than less mature peers.
Transparency becomes a new trust hurdle
With AI increasingly being part of modern customer service, the majority of consumers expect explanations for AI-made decisions, with around six in ten saying decisions on refunds, pricing and fraud must be justified in plain language.
Even so, only 35% of organisations currently provide customers with a full, inspectable decision trail, although 80% of CX leaders expect transparency to become non-negotiable within two years.
