With 2024 drawing to an end, Gartner has made a bold prediction for the future of the customer service space.
Moving forward, the research and consulting firm believes that customers will increasingly look to unofficial third-party generative AI (GenAI) tools to solve their queries.
Indeed, Gartner predicts that unofficial solutions – such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Apple Intelligence – will solve 40 percent of all customer service issues by 2027.
The company argues that the widespread availability of GenAI within popular consumer tools is altering customer behavior, which will result in more and more customers turning to these platforms for their convenience.
Consequently, customer service teams could well see a decrease in direct first-party service interactions.
In expounding on the prediction, Daniel O’Sullivan, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Customer Service and Support practice, commented:
As customers increasingly self-solve issues through GenAI-enabled tools, there will be diminished demand for official first-party service.
“When customers do have to engage with first-party service, their expectations will be higher.”
Evolve and Adapt
Unless Gartner’s crystal ball is malfunctioning, customer service departments will have to make some considerable adjustments to their offerings in the next three years.
But this is a lot easier said than done.
The nature of first-party service channels dictates that they often require customers to navigate unfamiliar interfaces or wait for assistance.
GenAI-powered third-party platforms on the other hand, offer customers a more effortless experience – providing instant solutions within familiar apps, devices, and websites.
For Gartner, the best way to combat this is by prioritizing unique self-service experiences and investing in handling complex queries that third-party tools cannot easily address.
Customer service leaders should concentrate “their investments on self-service capabilities that supplement, rather than replace, third-party options,” O’Sullivan explains.
The research firm also predicts that the low-effort allure of third-party GenAI tools will inevitably lead to higher customer expectations.
Worryingly, a Gartner survey from this year found that expectations were already on the rise, with 84 percent of respondents agreeing that customers have higher customer service expectations now than in the past.
In order to meet these evolving expectations, leaders must adapt their strategies to maintain customer relationships and build loyalty.
Ironically, one of the ways in which this can be achieved is by utilizing GenAI. The tech can be deployed to enhance self-service by creating conversational experiences across channels and using natural language inputs to understand customer intent.
O’Sullivan also recommends that customer service leaders should play to their strengths when it comes to data:
“It’s important for leaders to harness customer data, which is a tremendous advantage of first-party service.”
By leveraging this data, they can design truly personalized experiences that deliver customers value.
More Research and Predictions from Gartner
Earlier this week, Gartner released a survey, which found that 44 percent of service leaders explored customer-facing GenAI voicebots in 2024.
Of the 187 leaders surveyed, 11 percent were piloting the technology, and 5 percent were already using it.
Broader interest in GenAI was also evident in the study, with 85 percent of respondents planning to explore or pilot customer-facing solutions in 2025.
Elsewhere, Gartner recently made another prediction, claiming that by 2028, 30 percent of Fortune 500 companies will offer customer service exclusively through a single AI-enabled channel.
Instead of managing multiple distinct channels, businesses are expected to unify customer experiences based on specific intents – combining AI, various modalities, and human support when needed.
This shift aims to reduce the complexity and costs associated with traditional multi-channel contact centers, which often deliver inconsistent experiences.
