The news: Trust in agentic AI is gaining ground, with nearly all (93%) business and tech decision-makers worldwide believing it will help deliver more “personalized, proactive, and predictive” customer service, per Cisco’s The Race to an Agentic Future report.

While concerns remain about effects on quality and a loss of human connection, 88% are confident that AI-powered service tools will help their companies achieve their goals.

Rapid rise: The accelerated adoption of autonomous AI tools in customer service comes as companies like Yelp and Toast create tools that can manage customer support tickets, facilitate bookings, and shorten wait times.

• Respondents expect over half (56%) of their support interactions with technology partners will be handled by AI within the next year, and 79% within the next 10 years.
• More than two-thirds (68%) have already used an AI-powered customer support tool.

Human touch: Although businesses are solidly embracing AI—47% of US executives expressed confidence in having agentic AI make decisions for customers in a February NLX survey—vendors of B2B technology companies concede that AI-led support still needs a human touch.

Without human oversight and involvement, service quality may decline, as evidenced by Klarna’s rollback of its AI customer service plans after the customer experience worsened.

Desire for connection: Consumers still value human connection over fast service. While 59% of consumers are willing to use a chatbot for faster service, 86% think empathy and connection are more important than speed, per Five9.

• 89% say customer support needs a combination of human connection and AI for the best user experience, per Cisco.
• Three-quarters (76%) believe agentic AI can’t replicate human empathy in customer service.

Use and comprehension rise: Vendors still want transparency around implementation and clarity on how AI initiatives will work.

• Only 33% of businesses and tech leaders have a “deep understanding” of agentic AI and how it works, while 46% understand the basics, per the report.
• 79% believe tech companies need to do more to communicate how they plan to use consumer-facing AI support tools.

Our take: Vendors should establish clear AI roadmaps, retain human employees for oversight, and be transparent about implementation to maintain partner trust and avoid alienating consumers.