Majority of service firms plan to raise AI investments in 2024: Report

Customer service teams are turning towards artificial intelligence (AI) to increase customer satisfaction, cut down costs, and raise efficiency, according to a State of Service report released by global customer relationship management firm, Salesforce. 

In a report that analysed insights from over 5,500 service professionals across 30 countries — including 300 from India, professionals are turning towards AI to scale up without compromising on quality. About 73% of service organisations in India are using or evaluating AI and 93% of service organisations plan to increase AI investments this year.

AI services are mostly used to develop automated summaries and reports, frame intelligent offers and recommendations, and for knowledge article creation. 

According to the report, 88% of service professionals believe customers are more demanding than they used to be. Average service professionals spend 35% of their time helping customers, with 93% of them believing AI technology saves them time on the job. Professionals are banking on AI efficiencies to tackle quick demands from clients. About 69% of service agents feel balancing customer service speed and quality is difficult, as compared to 76% of professionals who felt the same in 2022.

“As customer expectations continue to increase, the benefits of AI are clear—increased productivity, cost reduction and improved customer experiences," Arun Kumar Parmeswaran, Managing Director—Sales, Salesforce India said,

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Service sectors will also take a more central role in revenue generation. Nearly 85% of decision-makers think service is expected to bring in a larger share of revenue this year. This comes as agents in the sector feel the brunt of the demand, with 77% of agents and 74% of mobile workers reporting increased and more complex workloads compared to just one year ago. Service sectors would have to carefully manage growing headcounts and larger budgets to function efficiently while addressing more rigorous customer expectations.