Guide
How teams use AI in customer service today, what customers think of it, where it goes wrong and how to start without putting your reputation at risk.
Updated 7 min read
The short answer
AI in customer service means using software that reads, writes and speaks to answer customer questions, route requests and help human agents. It handles routine questions fast, and people handle the cases that need judgment.
Key points
Customer service teams answer the same questions many times a day: where is my order, how do I reset this, what does my plan include.
AI takes the routine part of that work. It reads the request, finds the answer in your help content and past tickets, and replies. When it is unsure, it passes the case to a person.
Teams use AI at several points in the support flow. Most start with one and add more later.
Older chatbots followed scripts and failed when a customer phrased things differently. Generative AI customer service tools understand free-form questions and write natural replies.
They can also summarize a long ticket history in seconds. That makes generative AI customer support useful for agents as well as customers. See our guide to AI automation for the wider picture.
79%
of Americans strongly prefer a human over an AI agent
89%
say companies should offer the option to speak with a human
81%
think AI is used mainly to save money
Customers are cautious about the use of AI in customer service.
A 2025 SurveyMonkey survey found 79% of Americans strongly prefer a human over an AI agent, and 89% believe companies should always offer the option to speak with a human.
SurveyMonkey also found 81% believe AI is used mainly to save money, not to improve service.
Any AI customer experience plan has to earn trust, not assume it. The same goes for AI in customer engagement, such as follow-ups and offers.
14%
more issues resolved per hour with AI assistance
34%
gain for novice and low-skilled agents
2.3M
conversations handled by Klarna's AI assistant
The evidence for benefits of AI in customer service is real, though results vary by team and setup.
A National Bureau of Economic Research study of support agents found AI assistance raised issues resolved per hour by 14% on average, and by 34% for novice and low-skilled workers. It also improved customer sentiment.
Klarna reported in 2024 that its AI assistant had handled 2.3 million conversations, two-thirds of its customer service chats.
Errands that took 11 minutes were resolved in under 2, with a 25% drop in repeat inquiries. These are the company's own figures.
So how does AI improve customer service in practice? It shortens waiting, keeps answers consistent and gives agents the full context of a case.
Customer support with AI also stays the same across shifts and channels.
IBM's 2025 research reported that mature adopters saw 17% higher customer satisfaction. IBM is an AI vendor, so treat it as one data point, not a promise.
Done well, an AI-driven customer experience feels like a fast, accurate first step, with a person one click away.
51%
of service leaders say security concerns slowed their AI plans
The risks are manageable when you plan for them from the start.
Security is the most common brake: Salesforce reports 51% of service leaders say security concerns have delayed or limited their AI initiatives.
The Federal Trade Commission adds that AI gets no exemption from existing laws, so claims you make about AI must be truthful.
Using AI for customer service works best when you start small and measure. You do not need new software: AI can work inside the helpdesk, inbox and phone system you already use.
If you want help, our AI agents for customer service work builds this inside your current tools.
Our data
We asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 10 buyer questions about AI customer service. They named 101 companies, and 79% appeared in only one of the three.
| Criterion | ChatGPT | Gemini | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Companies named | 40 | 38 | 51 |
| Sites cited most | zendesk.com (5 of 10) | botpress.com and gartner.com (5 of 10) | sobot.io (6 of 10) |
Nexum measurement, October 20, 2026, via DataForSEO: 10 buyer questions to each AI, US English, 30 answers in total. 7 companies appeared in all three. Google showed an AI Overview for 8 of the 10 questions.
FAQ
Final step
You leave knowing which processes to automate first and what each one costs you today, whether we work together or not.
You can keep paying for manual work, or find out this week exactly what it costs you.
What happens on the call
Before
You answer 3 quick questions when you book, so we come prepared.
On the call
We find the manual work that costs you most and put a number on it, live.
Decide
An honest read on whether we're the right fit. If we're not, you'll hear it on the call.
Once you book, we look at your site and tools before the call, so the 30 minutes go to your numbers, not introductions.
Prefer to write first? Email us directly: contact@nexumautomations.com
