Contact centers have invested heavily in automation, analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the years. The main goal? Improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
While AI has led to improved customer experience, agent experience has often suffered as a result. Agents feel overwhelmed by unclear AI directives, don’t trust its accuracy, and are unsure if AI will ultimately replace them. The strong sense of ownership that agents once felt over their work is dwindling.
However, when organizations implement AI alongside the right agent guidance, and focus on human/AI collaboration, CX and AX improve, and everyone wins.
Below, we dive into the core drivers of poor agent AI experiences and explore strategies to overcome these hurdles so you can harness the full potential of AI by empowering your agents.
Many organizations face the same issue; they bought and deployed AI tools without taking time to be strategic. AI burst onto the scene a few years ago, and many leaders (both in CX and the wider business world) invested heavily in this technology.
Worldwide AI investment reached $1.5 trillion in 2025, according to Gartner.
These AI tools were deployed with the assumption that technology alone would drive outcomes, and it would make a fast impact on the metrics that matter most.
Our research shows that at least 55% of businesses express regret about their AI implementations, largely due to an overestimation of AI’s capabilities and a lack of strategic planning. Additionally, 34% of leaders reported that employees have quit their roles as a direct result of AI’s deployment.
If agents don’t understand how AI can support them, then common problems emerge: they ignore it or trust blindly in it. Neither approach leads to better customer experiences.
So, what can organizations do to successfully implement AI?
For many agents, AI deployment felt like a disruption to their workspace. 59% of agents say they receive no coaching on how to work with AI tools, leading to a profound sense of skepticism. When agents don’t see the benefits of using AI and how it can make their jobs easier, they resist using it.
Even when AI is trained on internal data, like knowledge bases, one incorrect or outdated article can lead to AI providing wrong answers to both agents and customers.
Instead of being guided on how AI tools work, or when to rely on it versus override it, agents were expected to adapt to these changes. Without proper context, AI can feel like another complex system to manage, another thing to interpret when actively trying to engage with a customer.
Many agents today aren’t necessarily resistant to AI; they are undertrained on how and why to use it properly.
When AI is implemented strategically, it enhances consistency, speed, and service across every interaction. The data, insights and speed of AI are critical in supporting modern omnichannel CX strategies. However, the empathy, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence that humans possess could never be replaced.
If CX leaders want their agents to use AI effectively, then it’s important for management to:
Invest in AI literacy
Train agents on how AI works, how and why recommendations and insights are generated, and where limitations exist.
Redesign workflows
Ensure AI reduces cognitive overload instead of adding more complexity to existing processes or systems.
When you teach your agents that enabling AI in their workspace supports them, AI will stop feeling like an external force but a trusted teammate. When repetitive and routine tasks are automated, it leaves space for agents to create better experiences across channels, ensuring continuity, understanding, and resolution.
Agents can now focus on:
Active listening
Acknowledging emotional cues
Asking better follow-up questions
Personalizing conversations beyond scripted responses
Building relationships and customer loyalty
In the AI era, interactions are becoming more relational than transactional. As agents gain fluency and confidence in how AI works and where it adds value, they are better equipped to guide conversations, validate recommendations, and deliver consistent experiences.
The results? Improved efficiency, stronger customer trust, and more empowered teams.
Looking ahead, the path to successful CX is enabling customer service agents to use AI effectively. This requires organizations to invest in ongoing AI education, measure success based on outcomes, create clear guidelines that build trust, and redesign workflows.
When AI is built and deployed with agents in mind, they will be equipped to work alongside each other. Agents will become experienced orchestrators, leaders will be strategic designers, and customers will experience consistent, more human and more resilient service.
The immediate reality is that CX improves when humans and AI are intentionally designed to work together.
There are broader questions that arise about the long-term future of AI and its effect on customer service. For answers on if AI takes humans’ jobs, you can look at our piece, “Is AI Replacing Customer Service Agents in Call Centers?”