September 17, 2025
CX Leaders Love AI, So Why Can’t They Make It Work?
Most (96%) of customer experience (CX) leaders worldwide now see artificial intelligence, spanning generative AI and agentic AI, as a cornerstone of their strategy, a sharp rise from 87% last year, according to CallMiner’s newly released 2025 CX Landscape Report with Vanson Bourne. The surge in AI adoption reflects its undeniable momentum, but turning ambition into impact remains a significant challenge.
Organisations across industries like healthcare, financial services, tech, retail, and outsourcing are investing heavily in AI, yet many remain stuck in execution quicksand. For example, 42% still lean on manual processes to interpret customer data. And while 71% of respondents said they’ve designated AI governance resources, two-thirds admit they’re deploying AI without the guardrails needed to properly manage risks. Even among those with formal governance teams, fewer than half are actively shaping AI strategy.
“There continues to be a disconnect between AI ambition and execution. Organisations are investing in the necessary infrastructure, but it doesn’t always translate into value or outcomes. In fact, nearly a quarter of organisations said failure to prove ROI from tech investments is a CX challenge. The leaders of tomorrow will be those who bridge this gap by connecting AI investments directly to CX improvements, ultimately turning insights into enterprise-wide action, ” said Jeff Gallino, CEO and founder, CallMiner.
Adoption Outpaces Readiness
AI usage has skyrocketed, as 80% of organisations have implemented AI in some form, compared to 62% just a year ago. Partnerships with vendors are helping drive that growth. In fact, more than half of organisations are fully dependent on third-party software for their AI solutions. These partnerships often provide a faster and more scalable path forward, with adopters of third-party tools showing higher implementation rates (85%) than those developing in-house systems (71%).
But the rapid expansion also brings heightened anxiety. Security and misinformation loom large as concerns. More than half of CX leaders now worry about AI spreading false information, and nearly half cite security and compliance risks as a top issue.
Data, Data Everywhere—But Not Enough Action
Despite all the technology at their disposal, many organisations remain paralysed when it comes to leveraging CX data. A striking 62% admit they fail to maximise the data they collect, and almost every respondent (98%) said aligning customer feedback across departments is a significant challenge.
Nearly half point to poor communication between teams (48%), a lack of skills to properly analyse data (47%), and confusion over how to turn insights into action (45%).
Interestingly, 96% of organisations agree that AI is not only a driver of efficiency, but also a key to unlocking employee potential. For agents, AI is increasingly providing real-time support during conversations (47%) and reducing administrative burdens so they can focus on higher-value tasks (43%). For customers, AI enables personalisation at scale (43%) and empowers more self-service resolution (40%).
