5 Customer Experience Trends for 2025 by Steven Van Belleghem

Summary

This video outlines five customer experience (CX) trends for 2025 and beyond, centered on the rise of agentic AI — autonomous AI agents that act and decide on customers’ behalf. The speaker argues authenticity is overrated and predicts a surge in artificially created experiences, driven by efficiency plus customer value. AI will reset customer care, rendering old KPIs obsolete and shifting differentiation to deep trust, transparency, and long-term relationships. Human roles must be redefined around passion, human connectivity, and ethics as empathy and creativity are augmented by AI. The talk closes by urging senior-level CX leadership to prioritize customer obsession.

Takeaways

• 😀 The rise of AI agents will be a key customer experience trend for 2025 and beyond. AI will evolve from simple chatbots to 'reasoners' and eventually to AI agents that take actions on your behalf.
• 😀 Agentic AI will be a major focus in 2025, with AI systems acting autonomously on behalf of customers, offering personalized solutions such as booking trips or managing tasks.
• 😀 Authenticity in customer experience is overrated. While human interactions are ideal, the need for scalable, artificially created experiences will become more important, especially for younger generations.
• 😀 The future of customer experience will see a shift toward artificially created experiences, not just online but also offline, creating more engaging interactions for customers.
• 😀 AI in customer care will drive a complete reset, where traditional KPIs like call waiting times or language quality will no longer be relevant as AI will provide 24/7 service with no waiting time.
• 😀 By 2025, AI will automate customer care functions, making traditional measures of efficiency obsolete. Companies must prepare for this reset to avoid falling behind.
• 😀 Customer care teams can already leverage available data to reduce service requests by offering conversational support based on FAQs, creating more efficiency before the AI reset occurs.
• 😀 As AI service becomes the norm, differentiation in customer care will shift from efficiency to trust and transparency. Companies will need to prove their values and maintain consistent, long-term customer relationships.
• 😀 The human aspect in customer service will evolve, with empathy, creativity, and human connectivity becoming the key differentiators in a world dominated by automation and AI.
• 😀 Senior leaders, including CEOs, will take on more responsibility in customer experience, emphasizing a customer-first mindset, with leaders like Brian Chesky (Airbnb) and Sumit Singh (Chewy) leading by example.

Q & A

What is the key trend in customer experience (CX) for 2025 and beyond?

The key trend is the rise of AI agents, particularly agentic AI, which can make decisions and take actions on behalf of users. These systems will help streamline customer experiences by acting as a 24/7 assistant, automating tasks like planning a trip or handling other personal and professional responsibilities.

What are the five stages of generative AI according to Sam Altman?

The five stages are: 1) Chatbots, where AI can have conversations, 2) Reasoners, where AI can engage in problem-solving, 3) AI agents, which take actions based on user input, 4) Innovators, where AI assists in innovation, and 5) Organizations, where AI can perform organizational work.

How do AI agents differ from traditional chatbots or AI systems?

AI agents are more advanced than traditional chatbots because they not only provide information or advice but also make decisions and perform actions on behalf of the user, such as booking travel or managing tasks, based on provided instructions.

Why does the speaker believe authenticity in customer experience is overrated?

The speaker argues that authenticity isn't always positive, as some truly authentic people may have harmful intentions. Additionally, authentic human interactions are scarce, making it difficult for organizations to rely on them exclusively for customer experience.

What is the difference between authentic and artificially created customer experiences?

Authentically created experiences rely on real human interaction, while artificially created experiences are designed to be enjoyable and valuable, often using technology or carefully crafted settings, like those found in Disney parks or Coldplay concerts. The speaker believes that some of the best experiences today are artificially created.

What is the biggest issue with AI in customer care according to the speaker?

The biggest issue with AI in customer care is the misuse of AI just for the sake of having it, such as the example of Coca-Cola's AI-generated Christmas commercial, which lacked real value. The speaker suggests AI should focus on efficiency gains and value creation for customers, not just novelty.

How will AI impact customer service KPIs in 2025 and beyond?

AI will render traditional customer service KPIs like wait time and call length obsolete. AI systems will be able to handle thousands of customer interactions simultaneously, 24/7, across multiple languages, and with minimal incremental costs, creating a reset in customer service operations.

What human skills will be essential in customer service as AI automation expands?

As AI handles most customer service tasks, human skills like empathy, passion, and creativity will become more important. However, empathy and creativity might be increasingly achievable by machines, leaving passion and human connectivity as the primary differentiators for customer experience.

How do AI and customer experience leaders align to redefine CX in the future?

CX leaders, particularly at the CEO level, will focus on customer experience as a key differentiator. Leaders like Airbnb's Brian Chesky and Chewy's Sumit Singh are examples of executives who deeply involve themselves in customer experiences, showing that strong customer relationships are key to success in the age of automation.

What is the predicted future of human roles in customer experience in a world dominated by AI?

Human roles will focus on ensuring deep trust and long-term relationships with customers. While AI will handle efficiency, the human touch will be crucial for building trust, showing transparency, and delivering proactive communication, especially in high-value or sensitive customer interactions.