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The AI Performance Gap in Enterprise Customer Experience

As companies advance into the digital era, many are recognizing the profound impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on customer experience (CX). A new report by TELUS Digital, in partnership with Ryan Strategic Advisory, unveils critical insights into the current state of AI deployment across various industries. Conducted among 815 enterprise leaders in customer engagement, this research reveals a striking trend: while AI is widely implemented to enhance customer service, most organizations lack the necessary tools to monitor and optimize AI performance effectively.

Current Landscape of AI in CX

In recent years, businesses have adopted AI to support a range of customer-facing functions—from onboarding to technical support, and complaint handling. The survey found that human agents assisted by AI emerged as the predominant method across these functions. Specifically, the data highlights:

• - Technical support: 61% of companies use AI-assisted human agents.
• - Customer retention/winback: 61% report employing similar strategies.
• - Onboarding: 60% utilize human-AI collaborations.
• - Revenue growth: 58% employ AI for this purpose.
• - Complaint management: 54% integrate AI support.
• - Billing/payments: 51% utilize AI assistance.

Despite these numbers showcasing a reliance on AI support, only 32% of enterprises have adopted AI-powered quality assurance (QA) and coaching tools. The absence of these essential tools hinders their ability to measure AI interaction effectiveness and connect investments to tangible business outcomes.

The Need for Optimization

According to Peter Ryan, President and Principal Analyst at Ryan Strategic Advisory, while enterprises are eager to implement AI solutions, they face significant challenges in optimizing them. The swift pace of AI adoption in customer experience is not matched by the operational infrastructure needed to effectively manage these advancements.

Ryan notes, “The trend shows that organizations are rapidly deploying AI in various operational aspects of customer experience, yet the tools required to optimize this deployment lag significantly behind.” The gap between effective AI utilization and the technology to monitor and refine its application creates barriers to realizing the full return on AI investments.

Diverse AI Deployment Strategies

The survey also uncovered various strategies organizations are employing regarding AI in their Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) platforms. The findings are as follows:

• - 26% utilize native, built-in AI features.
• - 22% combine these with third-party tools and custom solutions.
• - 18% integrate external AI tools with existing CCaaS systems.
• - 7% build custom AI solutions internally.
• - 23% are still weighing their options.

Interestingly, many enterprises reported running or planning to invest in up to 12 different areas pertaining to AI capabilities—indicating a significant interest in advanced technologies for customer service.

Overcoming Challenges and Future Directions

With such substantial financial commitments to customer experience—61% of respondents indicated annual expenditures exceeding $10 million—enterprises face misalignment in where they invest versus their operational capabilities. Key gaps were noted in areas vital for agent support:

• - AI copilots for real-time assistance (56% plan to invest, but only 38% currently use).
• - Intelligent knowledge management systems (51% for investment plans, but only 34% currently used).
• - Automated quality assurance and coaching (46% plan to invest; only 32% currently have).

These discrepancies demonstrate a pressing need for businesses to prioritize investments in tools that support agent performance, particularly within live and post-contact environments.

Jamie Timm, Global Senior Vice President at TELUS Digital, explains, “Organizations are no longer questioning whether to use AI in CX; they're focusing on how to enhance its performance. However, several firms are managing multiple AI initiatives without a cohesive strategy.”

Conclusion

TELUS Digital aims to assist organizations in closing the operational gap through its Digital CX Transformation services, utilizing a proprietary SMART CX framework. This framework helps assess and improve various layers of customer experience operations. As enterprises navigate the complexities of AI integration within customer experience, prioritizing the development of operational capabilities that complement customer-facing tools will be crucial for maximizing AI’s potential.

For enterprises eager to optimize their AI investments and enhance their customer experiences, the integration of robust monitoring tools and quality assurance measures is essential. As highlighted by this report, the real question for organizations becomes not if they should adopt AI, but how they can deploy it most effectively to achieve meaningful customer outcomes.