Customer Service and Support Leaders Must Evolve Strategy and Adapt to this Reset in Customer Expectations
Consumers are increasingly adopting unofficial third-party GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Apple Intelligence to resolve customer service issues. The deep integration of GenAI into these widely available consumer tools is driving a shift in consumer behavior, as customers prefer these platforms for their convenience and availability. As a result, customer service teams may expect a decline in official first-party service volume.
“There is a transformation in customer behavior and a reset in their expectations with GenAI continuing to reshape the customer service landscape,” said Daniel O’Sullivan, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Customer Service and Support practice. “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.”
“Service and support leaders must evolve their customer experience and channel strategies to reflect these profound shifts and meet customer needs in this AI-driven world,” said O’Sullivan.
The two impacts of third-party GenAI tools on customer service that leaders must consider include:
Reduced Overall Demand for First-Party Service
GenAI-enabled third-party platforms can provide customers with a significantly lower effort experience than even the best first-party options. While first-party service channels require customers to navigate unfamiliar user interfaces, or wait for solutions, consumer GenAI tools offer immediate answers with minimal effort, integrated into the devices, apps and websites consumers already use daily. Leaders must therefore continue to assess the value of first-party service investments.
“Leaders should create differentiated self-service experiences for customers and focus investments on more sophisticated queries that third-party options cannot easily handle,” said O’Sullivan. “They must keep a close eye on the fast-changing third-party space, monitoring quality and availability of third-party GenAI responses and concentrating their investments on self-service capabilities that supplement, rather than replace, third-party options.”
Customer Expectations for Service are Reset
Customer expectations for service will evolve as they become accustomed to the low-effort, familiar, and conversational capabilities of widely available GenAI tools.
“While unofficial third-party options will continue to grow in popularity, there remains a subset of issues for which customers still require first-party support. To meet customer expectations for natural, conversational, and low-effort service, leaders will need to update their strategies accordingly to safeguard customer relationships and strengthen loyalty,” said O’Sullivan.
According to a Gartner survey of 187 service and support leaders conducted in July and August of 2024, 84% agreed that customers have higher expectations for service now than in the past. As a result, leaders must focus on minimizing customer effort and breaking down sources of friction that lead to a disconnected customer journey. Use GenAI to improve self-service success by implementing a conversational experience across channels and capturing customer intent through natural language inputs.
“It’s also important for leaders to harness customer data, which is a tremendous advantage of first-party service,” said O’Sullivan. “By leveraging this data, they can design truly personalized experiences that deliver customers value.”
