Gartner Customer Service & Support Conference: Day 1 Highlights

We are bringing you news and highlights from the Gartner Customer Service and Support Conference taking place today through tomorrow in Denver, CO. Below is a collection of the key announcements and insights coming out of the conference. 

On Day 1 from the conference, we are highlighting the Opening Keynote, the human-AI workforce and agentic AI in customer service and support.

Be sure to check this page throughout the day for updates.

• Gartner Survey Reveals Just 4% of Customer Service Leaders Have Achieved The Expected ROI of Their AI Initiatives

Presented by Christopher Sladdin, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner 

As customer service and support organizations increase spending on AI, many are struggling to generate meaningful returns. During the opening keynote , Christopher Sladdin, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, outlined how "AI-forward" organizations are achieving greater results by focusing AI on customer value creation, building connected AI portfolios and designing a value-centered workforce that thrives in an AI-enabled future.

• “The average organization is spending 12% of its customer service budget on AI, yet service leaders report positive returns only a quarter of the time. If we keep pursuing AI primarily for cost reduction, the math simply doesn’t work.” 

• “AI-forward organizations don’t ask, ‘How can we reduce costs with AI?’ They ask, ‘How can we create more value for customers?’”  

• “AI-forward organizations invest nearly 1.8x as much in data and knowledge foundations as they do in AI use cases themselves.” 

• “Start thinking in terms of opportunities to create value. Don’t ask, ‘How can I remove humans from the interaction?' Instead, ask where human involvement can create disproportionate value.” 

• “If we’re going to see what AI can really do, we have to redesign our strategy, investments and workforce.” 

   

  Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with Christopher Sladdin by contacting Jordan Brackenbury-Cox at jordan.brackenbury@gartner.com.

   

  Learn more in the Gartner press release "Gartner Survey Reveals Just 4% of Customer Service Leaders Have Achieved The Expected ROI of Their AI Initiatives".