Forethought's 2025 AI in CX Benchmark Report has found that companies deploying agentic AI in customer experience (CX) operations are resolving more service tickets and lowering costs compared to those using traditional or less sophisticated artificial intelligence solutions.
The report is based on a survey of more than 600 CX professionals from mid-market companies in the United States and offers an analysis of technology combinations and their impact on CX outcomes. The study compared organisations using basic decision trees, retrieval-augmented generative AI (RAG), and agentic AI, the latter being defined as AI that enables autonomous decision-making and can act on behalf of a user.
Agentic AI was identified as more effective across key performance metrics. According to the report, companies utilising agentic AI managed to process 57% more customer service tickets and achieved, on average, 33% higher deflection rates compared to those using non-agentic AI solutions. The report also states that 73% of companies employing agentic AI noted an improvement in their deflection rate within the year, versus 40% for those not using agentic AI. Additionally, 82% of respondents credited AI for improvements in their deflection rates.
Deon Nicholas, President, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Forethought, commented on the findings, saying: "Companies using AI that can go beyond responding to questions to take action and resolve customer issues are seeing the biggest improvements in satisfaction, retention and efficiency. Over the past year, adoption of agentic AI for CX has accelerated, but many companies are still choosing less effective options that leave their customers stuck in frustrating IVRs or chat-based decision trees. Businesses that want to stay ahead must prioritize solutions that resolve customer issues end-to-end."
The report further details that using agentic AI with either a dedicated AI for CX platform or an in-house solution led to an average reduction in resolution costs by USD $4 per case, equivalent to a cost saving of over 20%.
When measuring customer satisfaction, 64% of respondents using agentic AI reported higher CSAT scores in 2025. This compares to 55% for organisations using RAG-based AI, and 49% for companies not employing AI in their CX operations.
The survey also examined the integration of agentic AI with popular help desk platforms. Among companies leveraging agentic AI with help desk software, those achieving the highest deflection rates used Freshdesk (66%), Kustomer (61%), and Hubspot (60%).
In terms of channel usage, most organisations reported supporting customers via voice, chat, and email. While voice remains the top channel for most companies, chat is emerging as the fastest-growing avenue for customer interactions, suggesting that a multi-channel approach to CX has become essential. The majority of respondents, 60%, indicated that voice is the most effective channel for resolving customer service issues, while millennials showed a preference for chat (41%), Gen Z respondents were more likely to prefer texting, and baby boomers were more inclined to use phone and email support.
Companies are increasingly adopting AI for customer experience, but barriers remain. The report found that 57% of companies are using AI for CX in 2025, though only 13% have more than two years of experience with such solutions. The use of dedicated AI for CX solutions increased sharply compared to one in seven respondents in 2024.
When considering the qualities required of AI agents, 88% of survey participants said it is important that AI communicates in the company's brand tone and voice, while 94% emphasised the importance of conveying empathy in AI responses.
Despite the benefits, several obstacles hinder broader AI adoption in CX. The report highlights that 73% of respondents cited challenges integrating AI with existing systems, 59% mentioned concerns over data privacy and security, and 58% noted issues regarding customer acceptance and trust.
The findings present a comprehensive overview of current CX technology trends and offer insight into the potential of agentic AI to drive measurable improvements in customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
