CX Drives Success: Humans & AI, Together at the Wheel

In 2025, the smarter question in CX is not whether AI will play a role, it is how humans and AI should interlock to drive business outcomes. The organizations succeeding today treat them not as opponents, but as partners. 

AI at the Edge: The New Accelerator 

AI is no longer a fringe experiment; it is a critical lever in scaling high-quality CX. Bank of America provides a vivid example. Its virtual assistant Erica has now surpassed 3 billion client interactions, averaging more than 58 million interactions per month. That scale enables rapid responses to routine banking needs and frees human advisors to focus on higher‑value guidance. 

Beyond banking, organizations that adopt agentic AI are reporting measurable gains, including increased satisfaction and lower costs per case. Recent survey data shows that many teams achieve higher CSAT scores and over 20 percent cost savings when agentic AI is implemented thoughtfully. 

Executive benchmarking also points to broad impact of incorporating agentic AI. An IDC and Microsoft study found an 18% improvement across customer satisfaction, employee productivity, and market share, with ROI achieved in roughly 14 months. 

Stories Where Humans Still Matter 

Speed matters, but people define meaning. The brands that stand out are those where AI handles the routine and humans handle the relationship. 

Starbucks illustrates this balance. Its AI platform, often discussed in the context of Deep Brew, supports personalization and operational decisions with Microsoft technologies. Yet the defining moments remain human, like a barista greeting a customer by name or adjusting an order based on preference. 

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines worked with DigitalGenius to automate answers to repetitive questions across channels. Independent case documentation has noted that automation handled a significant share of social media queries, while agents focused on more complex cases. The pattern is clear. AI manages volume, humans manage trust and recovery. 

The Human + AI Equation 

The top performers run CX as a co‑pilot system. AI handles low‑friction, high‑volume tasks. Humans step in when nuance or empathy is required. Microsoft, for instance, has embedded AI‑powered agents and Copilot across internal operations, helping employees synthesize context, automate repetitive steps, and surface insights while preserving human judgment at the center. 

Reframing the Narrative: It Is Not Just Cost, It Is Trust 

Yes, retention and cost matter. The bolder story is that CX success in 2025 is about trust as currency. Many customers even feel brands have lost touch with the human element of experience. The practical takeaway is simple. Use AI to remove friction and noise. Ensure people are included to create confidence and connection. 

On This CX Day 

• Reframe your CX goals in terms of trust, resilience, and storytelling, not only cost. 

• Identify one high‑volume area where AI can remove toil, and free humans for the moments that matter. 

• Pilot agentic AI with human‑in‑the‑loop design, and measure satisfaction lift alongside efficiency. 

• Train teams to read AI signals and act with judgment, not rely on the algorithm. 

The winning formula is not ‘Humans versus AI’, it is ‘Humans with AI’. Machines accelerate. People steer toward meaning, loyalty, and enduring success. 

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At BARE International, we use AI to enhance analytical insights, but it’s our team’s 40 years of experience that turns data into strategy. Our technology drives precision, our people deliver perspective. 

Ask us how BARE blends human expertise with AI innovation to elevate your customer experience.