Organizations today are navigating a new customer experience challenge: while technology investments are accelerating, the impact these investments have isn’t always clear. According to a recent global survey of CX leaders conducted by Metrigy, one figure stands out: half of companies say their contact center technology fails to help them deliver the experience they envision.
For many of these organizations, increasing investments in AI-driven capabilities could be a beneficial solution. However, the real question isn’t ‘Do we have enough AI?’ but rather, ‘Are we leveraging AI in ways that truly matter?’
Earlier this year, we introduced a self-assessment framework to help organizations benchmark their Customer Experience AI maturity and uncover gaps. Today, in partnership with Metrigy, we’re excited to release the latest insight from a global survey on AI and customer experience which reveals what’s truly working at scale, what sets the highest performers apart, and what organizations everywhere can learn from those setting the pace.
The AI Maturity Model: What defines CX leaders.
The study—Shaping the Smarter, More Automated CX of the Future—leveraged an AI maturity model, measures organizations across five key metrics: use of AI for CX, AI enablement for ideal CX, customer satisfaction, agent efficiency, and revenue growth. The “Leaders” group represents those with the highest combined scores—organizations that are not just adopting AI but seeing it create a measurable business impact. It also reveals three major trends shaping customer experience in 2025 and beyond.
1. Turning AI investments into real impact.
AI adoption is now mainstream, with nearly 60% of organizations rolling out AI as extensively as possible. Yet, only half feel their technology truly enables them to deliver the customer experience they aspire to.
Failing to leverage AI has clear consequences: customer churn skyrockets from 21.5% to 50.3%, while agent turnover increases significantly, jumping from 24% to 42.3%.
What are Leaders doing differently?
Leaders are far more likely to broadly deploy AI, including agent assist, AI virtual agents for customers, and generative AI-powered self-service. The leading organizations have implemented 1.7 times more AI features than others, and have seen improvements across critical KPIs, including first-contact resolution, call containment, and average handle time (AHT).
2. Proactive engagement: moving beyond manual outreach.
Proactive communication has become a cornerstone of modern CX, with 86% of organizations reaching out to customers before issues arise. Yet, most still rely on manual processes or basic automation, and fewer than one-third have adopted AI-driven communications.
What are Leaders doing differently?
Among the top-performing organizations, 96% engage in proactive outreach, and 61% use AI to power these communications—compared to just 6% at the lower end of the maturity model.
This gap highlights how Leaders are leveraging AI not only to increase the frequency of proactive engagement, but to personalize and optimize these interactions. The payoff is tangible: organizations using AI-powered proactive outreach report the highest Net Promoter Scores (61.3 vs. the overall average of 57.0) and experience below-average customer churn.
3. Operational excellence: raising the bar with advanced AI.
Many organizations are starting to experiment with advanced AI tools—such as interaction analytics, auto CSAT, hyper automation, hyper personalization, and sentiment analysis. However, adoption remains inconsistent across industries.
For example, while interaction analytics is used by nearly two-thirds of companies, technologies like hyper personalization and sentiment analysis are adopted by less than half.
What are Leaders doing differently?
What sets the Leaders apart is not just adoption, but deep integration and purposeful use of these technologies to drive real-time feedback and process improvement. Leaders consistently report stronger gains in operational KPIs, with 60% of all companies seeing positive AI impact and average improvements of 31% or more.
For Leaders, these results are amplified, as they use AI to optimize every stage of the customer journey and deliver more consistent, high-quality service.
From insights to action.
What ties these trends together is not just technology, but mindset and execution. Leaders treat AI as a strategic enabler, integrate it across workflows, and focus on measurable business outcomes. Their journey isn’t about chasing every new tool—it’s about making deliberate choices that deliver value at every step.
For organizations looking to close the gap, our new global eBook translates these findings into a practical roadmap—helping you benchmark your maturity, learn from proven strategies, and identify the technologies that will drive the greatest impact for your business.
The accompanying analyst whitepaper provides a deeper dive into the research, offering detailed insights from CX Leaders worldwide.
Leading the way AI-driven CX
Is your organization ready to lead the way in elevating customer experiences with AI? Discover where you stand—and the steps to get ahead.
Download the latest AI research and global eBook to access the full report, practical benchmarks, and actionable recommendations for your CX strategy.
Learn more:
The AI Revolution in Customer Experience is Now! Are you leading or lagging behind the competition?
5 Customer Experience Trends Separating Leaders from Laggards in Europe
Beyond the Hype: How Webex AI is Radically Transforming Customer and Employee Experiences
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