On Thursday 13 March 2025, Capgemini, a technology transformation company with an office in Bertrange (Luxembourg), released the latest report from its research institute, detailing how generative and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) could transform customer service.
The report, entitled “Unleashing the value of customer service: The transformative impact of Gen AI and agentic AI”, raises the question of: “How can organisations better meet the needs of customers, while also empowering dissatisfied customer service agents and delivering top-and bottom-line benefits?”, adding that customer service “is one of the most powerful capabilities available to organisations to help them drive purchases, encourage loyalty and shape brand perception by connecting directly with customer sentiment.”
According to the Capgemini Research Institute, the report seeks to provide organisations with a road map toward revolutionising customer service through the capabilities of generative and agentic AI by providing crucial insights into current and future trends in customer service. The research was based on findings from a global, cross-sector survey of around 9,500 consumers and 500 customer service agents and supervisors, as well as 1,000 executives.
The report went on to detail that, as generative AI advances from copiloting (the use of virtual assistants) to utilising AI agents, it will unlock opportunities to elevate customer service, through autonomously handling routine tasks and enabling traditional, human customer service agents to transition from existing support roles to more specialised positions which focus on enhancing customer experiences.
The key issues and opportunities detailed in the report, which could benefit customer service processes, are as follows:
- With 65% of executives responding that their organisations face low operational efficiencies in customer service functions and only 16% of surveyed agents reporting overall satisfaction within their roles, there is a clear need to transform the customer service function and recognise its strategic role in driving brand perception, loyalty, retention and revenue;
- 70% of customer service agents report a reduction in overall workload through using generative AI and agentic AI technology, while 24% of organisations report reduced operating costs and 31% report faster response times. These benefits are anticipated to grow as organisations recognise the increasing strategic importance of customer service and the role which AI technologies can play in improving customer satisfaction, agent experience and operational efficiency.
Chief Portfolio & Technology Officer and Group Executive Board Member at Capgemini, Franck Greverie, stated: “With over half of consumers prepared to leave a brand due to poor customer service, even if their purchase is good, business leaders now recognise that exceptional customer service is no longer a luxury but a strategic imperative.” He added: “Organisations are navigating multiple headwinds, including a lack of call centre agent engagement, poor coordination between departments and outdated legacy systems. Reimagining customer service with generative AI requires businesses to transform their digital solutions, operating model and data foundations; leaders who embrace this change will not only enhance customer satisfaction and operational efficiency but also unlock commercial opportunities for competitive edge in the market.”
According to the research, 86% of organisations have already implemented generative AI, initiated virtual assistants or started exploring AI’s potential in their customer service functions.
The report also noted that this is not just a technological shift for businesses but also an organisational one which will demand a complete redesign of customer service from the ground up.
The full report can be found at: https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/customer-service-transformation
Differences between generative and agentic AI
Generative AI functions by learning from existing data and uses that knowledge to generate new, original outputs that mimic human creativity. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, DALL•E and MidJourney rely on advanced machine learning models to analyse and replicate patterns in the data on which they are trained. This allows them to predict what may come next based on patterns it has seen before. Despite its limitations, generative AI is already being utilised in several industries, such as marketing and entertainment.
Agentic AI is designed to act autonomously to achieve specific goals. As well as generating outputs, agentic AI systems make decisions, take actions and adapt to changing environments. They are utilised in autonomous vehicles, robotic process automation and digital smart assistants.
Agentic AI differs from generative AI through is its ability to act with purpose by not just reacting to input(s) but by autonomously considering objectives and making choices to achieve them. However, the autonomy of agentic AI raises critical questions about ethics and accountability.
SM
