As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, transforming the way businesses engage with and deliver value to customers, its integration into customer experience (CX) strategies and broader business operations has reached unprecedented levels. Whether organizations are cautiously testing the waters or diving in headfirst, AI’s potential to revolutionize industries is undeniable. Recently, experts from The Verde Group sat down with Nikolaus Hruska, vice president at Problem Solutions, to explore how AI is reshaping customer experience (CX), addressing persistent challenges, and driving innovation. Problem Solutions specializes in designing and creating advanced AI technologies that address complex business challenges.
AI in 2025: From Automation to Strategic Partner
Hruska emphasized that 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for AI, as it transitions from a tool for automation to a strategic partner in business operations. Companies are increasingly leveraging AI to offer hyper-personalized customer experiences, enable predictive decision-making, and optimize resource allocation. “Imagine AI systems that not only predict market trends but also help businesses pivot before disruptions occur,” he noted. This proactive capability positions those companies willing to lean in to the technology as an indispensable asset for operational agility and customer-centricity.
Companies That Will Succeed
While AI has demonstrated tremendous potential, organizations that thrive in 2025 will treat AI as a strategic partner, not just an automation tool. This strategic perspective requires businesses to think and act differently. Agility and flexibility will become paramount. By using AI for hyper-personalization, predictive decision-making, and proactive problem-solving, these companies can align AI with customer-centric goals, embedding its capabilities into core operations to drive improved customer experiences and business outcomes.
The Size of Company Doesn’t Really Matter, It Comes Down to Risk Tolerance
Smaller organizations do have an advantage when it comes to realizing the benefits of AI. Due to their agility and fewer bureaucratic layers, smaller organizations are better positioned to take risks and experiment with AI. Hruska pointed out that small companies can quickly adopt commercial AI tools and build applications tailored to their needs. Nimbler organizations often achieve transformative results faster by fostering a culture of experimentation and adaptability. Larger organizations, while slower to move due to their size and complexity, bring the advantage of scale. With dedicated resources and budgets, they can integrate advanced AI systems deeply into their operations. However, to succeed, both small and large companies must cultivate a willingness to take calculated risks and continuously iterate on their AI strategies.
Common Challenges Still Face an Organizations Ability to Maximize the Benefit of AI
Some things remain true when it comes to achieving maximum value from Ai investments. Challenges like limited technical expertise, siloed data, and unclear AI objectives will hinder adoption, usage and value. Many organizations will likely fall into the “shiny object” trap, adopting AI without a strategic plan and then wonder why they are not seeing the value of their investments. In addition, cultural resistance, siloed data, and fragmented processes impede AI adoption. Employees may fear change, and leadership often underestimates the effort needed for success. Overcoming these challenges requires collaboration, strong leadership, and investments in data integration and reskilling. Hruska recommends starting with targeted pilots in high-impact areas, then scaling based on proven results is a low-risk way to prove internal value and drive change.
Companies That Will Succeed: Balancing AI and Human Touch
Success lies in balancing AI’s efficiency with human empathy. AI can handle repetitive tasks, freeing employees to focus on high-impact interactions. Hruska highlights the importance of seamless escalation to human agents for complex issues, ensuring trust, personalization, and a better customer experience.
While AI offers efficiency and scalability, Hruska warned against over-automation. Striking the right balance is crucial. “AI should handle repetitive, low-stakes tasks, freeing up employees for high-impact interactions where empathy and critical thinking are essential,” he advised. Seamless escalation processes—from AI to human agents—are key to maintaining trust and personalization.
Hruska shared a personal anecdote to illustrate this point. While a food delivery service’s AI chatbot effectively addressed his initial concerns, the human escalation failed to meet expectations due to a lack of data visibility and empowerment, leading to frustration. This underscores the need for consistent and integrated experiences across AI and human interactions.
Overcoming Persistent CX Challenges
In 2024, The Verde Group analyzed 15+ years of CX data and identified three areas of CX friction that have persisted for nearly two decades. Hruska highlighted how AI may be applied to achieve breakthroughs in these three key areas:
- Value for Money: AI can enhance perceived value by identifying trends in customer feedback and addressing root causes of dissatisfaction via recommended product and service enhancements.
- Speed of Service Recovery: Real-time monitoring and predictive analytics enable organizations to identify bottlenecks and to proactively resolve issues before they occur, significantly improving customer loyalty.
- Product and Service Quality: By analyzing data from diverse sources such as reviews and support calls, AI can detect defects early and facilitate continuous improvement via recommended treatments and best practices.
These advancements represent a shift from reactive to proactive problem-solving, allowing businesses to not only meet but exceed customer expectations.
Risks and Best Practices
Adopting AI comes with its risks, including data privacy concerns, over-automation, and a lack of transparency. To mitigate these, Hruska recommends:
- Implementing stringent data handling policies to protect customer information.
- Maintaining human oversight in sensitive or complex decision-making processes.
- Focusing on customer-first innovation, ensuring that AI investments enhance the customer experience rather than merely serve internal goals.
Looking Ahead
Our conversation with Hruska concluded with a call to action: Organizations must embrace AI not as a shiny object but as a transformative tool for customer-first innovation. By addressing cultural barriers, aligning AI with business objectives, and prioritizing the customer perspective, businesses can unlock new levels of efficiency, loyalty, and growth.
As AI continues to mature, its role in shaping the future of customer experience will only grow. For businesses willing to adapt, 2025 promises to be a year of significant breakthroughs and opportunities.