In the agentic era, service-intensive brands will need to consider the brand impact of the generative AI-based agents' personality on their customers in every interaction
Amdocs global study reveals consumer preferences when interacting with AI agents and the key considerations brands must address during their journey into the agentic era
JERSEY CITY, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / December 5, 2024 / Amdocs (NASDAQ:DOX), a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies, today released a global study*, "Rethinking Brand and Customer Experience in the Agentic Era," commissioned by Amdocs in collaboration with McCann Tech agency and Coleman Parkes, which explores the impact on brand identity as consumers interact with generative AI-based agents (AI agents) for customer care and sales.
For decades, brands have fostered loyalty and trust through memorable experiences crafted by human agents and digital interactions. Now, in the agentic era in which AI agents autonomously perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with customers on behalf of businesses and individuals, the branding paradigm is changing, which is particularly significant for service-intensive brands, such as communications service providers (CSPs), financial services providers, and many others.
As AI technology advances, AI agents are gradually becoming brand representatives-speaking the brand's language, aligning with its values, and engaging customers meaningfully. In this new landscape, AI is no longer just a tool; it is an essential extension of the brand. Brands must design AI agents that actively shape customer perceptions and uphold brand integrity.
"The agentic era is a completely new era," said Gil Rosen, Chief Marketing Officer, Amdocs. "Each brand interaction with a customer via AI agents should be seen through the paradigm of brand, context, and customer: What is the brand persona, what is the context of the customer interaction, and who is the customer? In the agentic era, these possibilities are infinite. Is it always the same AI agent persona or does each customer meet another persona depending on the context of the interaction? It's a question every brand must address because as AI agents evolve, this will fundamentally redefine how businesses interact with their customers and workforce across all channels."
The global study examined consumer and CSPs expectations for the agentic era, and reveals that consumers are largely open to interacting in the near future with CSPs' AI agents and have a positive perception of them.
In fact, 51% of consumers perceive CSPs using AI agents as "futuristic and innovative". Additionally, 30% of consumers believe that the use of AI agents demonstrates a CSP's commitment to improving customer service. However, 48% of consumers also express concerns that AI agents could be used primarily for cost-saving purposes.
Additional findings from the research:
As technology matures, personal AI agents that provide a unique experience are increasingly preferred over human interactions: 45% of consumers said they would prefer interacting with personal AI agents, versus 35% who would rather keep their interactions solely with human agents. In fact, 61% of consumers stated they would be willing to switch to a CSP that offers superior personal AI agents.
Unique AI agents with varying personalities are expected: Almost half (49%) of consumers expressed interest in customizing their AI agent's characteristics
CSPs overestimate consumer hesitancy toward AI agents: While less than half (45%) of consumers expressed concern about the use of AI for customer care and sales, CSPs estimated this concern to be nearly 60%. Furthermore, only 34% of consumers expect to feel uncomfortable interacting with AI agents, compared to CSPs' estimation of 58%
Consumers have high expectations of AI agents, which exceed those of CSPs in every surveyed aspect: 80% of consumers expect a high level of empathy from AI agents, compared to just 43% of CSPs. This gap is also significant for agent professionalism (85% vs. 44%), quick issue resolution (87% vs. 51%), and achieving first-time resolution (74% vs. 27%)
The Amdocs amAIz platform, which includes amAIz agents, leverages telco-specific expertise to improve customer care, overall customer experience and beyond, assisting CSPs in seamlessly implementing AI agents into their existing operations. In a mature proof of concept of the amAIz platform, a leading North American service provider achieved a 63% reduction in average handling time, a 50% improvement in first-time problem resolution, and a 49% increase in Transactional Net Promoter Score.
*Survey, interviews and focus groups of 120 CSP leaders and 7,025 consumers aged 18-69 in 14 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Supporting Resources
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About Amdocs
Amdocs helps those who build the future to make it amazing. With our market-leading portfolio of software products and services, we unlock our customers' innovative potential, empowering them to provide next-generation communication and media experiences for both the individual end user and large enterprise customers. Our employees around the globe are here to accelerate service providers' migration to the cloud, enable them to differentiate in the 5G era, and digitalize and automate their operations. Listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Amdocs had revenue of $5.00 billion in fiscal 2024.
Amdocs' Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs' growth and business results in future quarters and years. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general macroeconomic conditions, prevailing level of macroeconomic, business and operational uncertainty, including as a result of geopolitical events or other regional events, as well as the current inflationary environment, and the effects of these conditions on the Company's customers' businesses and levels of business activity, including the effect of the current economic uncertainty and industry pressure on the spending decisions of the Company's customers. Amdocs' ability to grow in the business markets that it serves, Amdocs' ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company's products and services obsolete, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, our ability to successfully and effectively implement artificial intelligence and Generative AI in the Company's offerings and operations, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future; however, Amdocs specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in Amdocs' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023 filed on December 13, 2023 and our Form 6-K furnished for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 on February 20, 2024, the second quarter of fiscal 2024 filed on May 20, 2024 and for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 on August 19, 2024.
Media Contacts
Michael Zema
Amdocs Public Relations
mzema@amdocs.com
SOURCE: Amdocs Management Limited
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