2025 is officially here and as a CX Professional you need to be up to date on all things CX. AI was the biggest elephant in the room in 2024 and will probably remain this way this year too. However, there are other areas you should focus on to ensure you deliver CX Excellence for all your customers this year.
1. 97% of leaders plan to invest in Gen AI with 45% prioritising improving CX as part of the investment. (KPMG)
Investment plans reflect the growing importance of CX. With customer expectations rising and the recognition that AI will be a major player in improving CX and businesses’ overall performance, CX Professionals have a unique opportunity to secure budgets for CX strategies.
However as Jeff Mango states, “The fact that they think that AI is going to improve customer experience is really good for the industry. But connecting the dots between the value of improving customer experience and what it actually means and then how that AI actually helped to drive that value [is] going to be a critical story for CX leaders to be able to tell.”
2. Organisations that demonstrate how customer satisfaction is associated with growth, margin, and profitability are more likely to report customer experience success and are 29% more likely to secure more CX budgets (Gartner, Inc.).
As a CX Professional, it is your responsibility to show the ROI of CX investment. We understand this can be hard as CX is sometimes hard to measure because getting direct correlations between CX improvements and increased profits can be tricky. On top of that, if you add AI to the mix as mentioned above it can be harder. However, if you do manage to get this right the C-suit will be more likely to approve budgets that will provide you with the resources you need to deliver successful CX strategies.
Learn More: Masterclass: What is the perfect CX metric for your organisation?
3. 64% of customers will spend more if a business resolves their issues where they already are. (Zendesk CX Trends Report)
Today’s customers expect quick, seamless resolutions to their problems. This statistic emphasises the growing preference for convenience and omnichannel solutions.
This is important because if you can make it easy for customers to do business with you they will! It’s great news for all CX Professionals who are investing their CX efforts into omnichannel technologies. Whether it’s through email, chat, or social media, businesses that meet customers where they are stand to see a significant impact on customer loyalty and sales.
4. 59% of all consumers feel companies have lost touch with the human element of customer experience. 71% would rather interact with a human than a chatbot or some other automated process. (PwC)
While AI and automation play a growing role in CX, there is a clear desire for human interaction. This highlights the importance of maintaining a human touch at all touch points in the customer journey. Balancing automation with human empathy is key to retaining customer trust.
As Zig Serafin, CEO at Qualtrics, predicts, “Organisations must return to basics: clear communication, setting realistic expectations, and consistent delivery. Trust isn’t granted – it’s earned through every interaction and every commitment honoured. In this environment, meeting heightened expectations isn’t sufficient; you must exceed them while maintaining unwavering reliability. Those who neglect these basics risk being left behind in 2025 as consumers gravitate toward brands they can rely on. Looking ahead, the real differentiator won’t be the latest technology or the flashiest marketing – it will be the ability to build genuine trust.”
5. Only 57% of customers trust companies to use AI ethically. (Salesforce)
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integral to CX strategies, trust remains a major hurdle. Companies must prioritise transparency and ethics in their AI implementations. Concerns surrounding data privacy, bias, and accountability are at the forefront of customers’ minds, and companies that fail to address these concerns risk damaging their reputation and losing customer loyalty.
On top of this Suzanne Steele, from Adobe, says, “2024 has been the year that companies have taken AI out of the playground and into production… Coming into 2025, organisations will need to turn their attentions to enablement and education, ensuring everyone across the business – from users to leadership and advisory boards – understands not just how AI and generative AI should be used to boost productivity and enhance the customer experience, but also where the guardrails are to ensure responsible and appropriate use. Those companies that put a focus on AI governance and education will be well positioned to deliver greater personalisation, higher productivity and enhanced service to customers at scale.”
This is important because it clearly shows that AI can be extremely helpful, and all businesses are adapting to it rapidly. However, if not done right, it could destroy customer trust and loyalty.
6. 70% of CX leaders struggle to increase customer loyalty (Gartner)
Despite recognising the importance of customer experience, CX leaders still find it difficult to drive loyalty. This shows the gap in skillsets and qualifications in CX Professionals.
At The CX Academy, we provide training for all team members, from short courses for customer-facing staff to our Professional Diploma in CX perfect for all CX Managers, and Professionals who design and deliver CX strategies. After completing our Professional Diploma course you will have the tools, skills and confidence to deliver great CX strategies that will increase customer loyalty and retention.
You will be also empowered by our CX Framework which has been designed based on thousands of customer insights.
Learn more: Professional Diploma in Customer Experience (CX)
7. 86% of B2B customers expect companies to be well-informed about their personal information during service interactions. (Gartner)
When it comes to personalisation CX tends to focus on B2C interactions. However, for B2B clients, it’s just as important, if not more. B2B customers are placing an increasing emphasis on personalised service. Forrester’s research shows that B2B “personalisation targeted to specific needs is most impactful in the early stages of discovery, while personalisation based on organisation increases in impact closer to purchase and post-sale.”
As well as this, Tara DeZao, from Pega, predicts, “Gen AI is being rapidly adopted by marketers globally, but it’s not as simple as plugging your existing data directly into your Gen AI. As we head into the new year, brands need to understand that messy, unchecked data will give you messy, unchecked results that can alienate, frustrate, or even offend customers when it underpins customer engagement.”
As a CX Professional working mainly with B2B companies gathering reliable data will become immensely valuable. One way you can do that is by using our CX Academy Framework to survey your customers which will give you very accurate and contextual data that you can use to further improve your CX and identify if your customers are satisfied with the level of personalisation they are receiving.
Learn More: Using TCXA Emotional Framework to Survey Your Customers
8. 77% of CRM leaders believe that AI will handle most ticket resolutions by 2025. (HubSpot)
AI is set to revolutionise customer service by 2025. Automation will help businesses scale their support operations and provide customers with quicker resolutions, freeing up human agents to focus on more complex issues.
It is during those interactions that CS agents will have the power (and now hopefully more empowerment) to build relationships and strengthen customer bonds that drive loyalty.
It’s important to understand that by AI taking over some of the tasks and direct human interaction it’s directly making gaps in the opportunities for customers to have deep emotional connections to the business. Therefore the few human interactions that will be left will be even more important to get right.
The good news is, as Birago Jones, CEO at Pienso, predicts, “Next year, enterprises will shift their approach to purchasing AI solutions for CX departments—moving away from large, proprietary and expensive AI ‘copilots’ towards smaller, more efficient and customizable solutions.”
This means that there will be more businesses using more tailored AI to their and their customer’s needs further fostering customer loyalty.
9. Gen Z and Millennial customers are 27% more likely to purchase from a company that cares about its impact on people and the planet. (HBR)
Younger generations, including Gen Z and Millennials, are placing increasing importance on corporate social responsibility (CSR). This highlights the growing significance of ethical business practices for driving purchasing decisions.
As a CX Professional whose biggest target group is Gen Z and Millennials, you need to ensure your business is constantly working on sustainable solutions. Furthermore, you need to lead with transparency to strengthen customer relationships.
If you would like to learn how to deliver successful CX strategies, enrol in our Professional Diploma in CX course today.
