December 08, 2025
Exploring SE Asian Customer Experience B2B Maturity and Reaction to AI
Reports highlighting the evolution of CX are coming thick and fast from the business and consumer hot beds of Asia.
Customer experience comes in many flavours around the world, and a new European Customer Experience Organisation (EXCO) report explores the rise in B2B CX across Asia.
From the might and complexity of China and India to booming tiger economies, the report focuses on CX maturity and culture. It also investigates the power of tradition and technology and how they play out in highly customer-service territories.
The Asian View of Customer Experience
The news from Asia is full of positive steps, like the move to strong investment from Singapore, the move to AI while maintaining human values and other familiar stories, but the EXCO report has some unique insights into cultural quirks and examples of innovation.
As the report notes, “At the same time, modern CX-driven economies like Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, and others have been cultivating strong design cultures and digital capabilities, setting high regional benchmarks.”
Notes From the Asian CX Perspective
- China’s shift from a cost-driven to CX-driven approach that shows how digital ecosystems and mobile-first platforms are redefining traditional B2B expectations.
- Japan’s “omotenashi” ethos of wholehearted and anticipatory hospitality highlights a cultural model of proactive service that Western firms can adopt.
- India’s rapid CX maturity in IT and services demonstrates how customer success roles and design thinking are reshaping global outsourcing.
- South Korea’s mobile-first, tech-integrated CX illustrates how AR/VR demos, predictive analytics and loyalty programs are applied in B2B contexts.
- Singapore’s structured, ROI-focused, CX culture offers a disciplined model where design maturity and digital infrastructure drive measurable business outcomes.
How Asian Consumers React to AI
Also in Asia, a recent survey from Genesys, “The Future of Customer Experience in Asia”, highlights the rise of AI among consumers and how they react to it.
Based on surveys of 120 CX leaders and 1,400 consumers across seven Asian markets, it reveals a region in transition, focusing on digital self-service, AI, and agent augmentation.
When it comes to AI perceptions, trends include:
- Consumer comfort with AI is growing but uneven, 45–55% comfortable using AI for simple tasks; which is highest in Singapore (55%) and lowest in Indonesia (38%).
- AI is seen as a speed enabler, not a replacement, around 45% of consumers expect faster responses with AI-powered support; and one in four are comfortable with fully
digital AI agents. - Escalation to humans is non-negotiable More than half of consumers expect seamless human transfer, rising to 60% in Philippines.
- Accuracy and resolution are critical 45% of consumers are frustrated with AI-powered support for not getting accurate answers.
- Leader vs consumer gap sees 58% of leaders have deployed chatbots and virtual agents, 26% are scaling generative AI, but only ~50% of consumers are comfortable.
- Trust and design quality will determine success.
With the summary noting that, “regional differences in digital behaviour are narrowing, but maturity levels still vary. Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines lead in AI enthusiasm to improve service speed, while markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan place greater emphasis on availability and resolution.”
We’d be delighted to hear more CX success and from-the-streets stories around Asia, do get in touch if you see a shining example.
