62% of companies allocate 10% or less of their CX budget to AI
While 88 per cent of enterprises say they are exploring advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), less than a third are actively using the technology in multiple areas of their business, according to research published by CustomerGauge.
The Boston-based provider of account experience solutions surveyed more than 300 customer experience (CX) professionals to produce its report, The State of AI and B2B CX Benchmarks.
CustomerGauge described the relatively small amount of budget dollars towards AI as a “commitment gap,” though it noted those serving high-value clients were more likely to be actively using the technology. For example, 53 per cent of those serving firms with a customer value in the $1 million range are using it in multiple areas.
B2B firms are also taking a cautious approach in the AI tools they use. Despite the hype around agentic AI, for instance, CustomerGauge found just over half are relying on chatbots and virtual assistants. AI-driven personalization, in contrast, was cited by only 17 per cent of those surveyed.
For those who have taken the plunge, 39 per cent said AI has led to improvements in customer satisfaction. However less than 20 per cent are personally confident in their own ability to understand and use AI in their role.
“Nearly all companies say AI is essential to the future of customer experience, but few are backing that belief with action,” the report’s authors wrote. “AI is at risk of becoming another buzzword in CX — unless companies match their vision with real investment and execution.”
360 Magazine Insight
CustomerGauge’s report suggests most B2B firms see AI primarily as a means of speeding up business processes and making them more efficient rather than deepening customer relationships.
Despite the technology’s potential to learn and undercover deep insights from vast quantities of data, for example, only four per cent are using AI to uncover new customer pain points.
This is a huge oversight, given that many B2B purchases are overseen by a committee the vendor never gets to see, and the fact that a lot of buyers have already made up their minds before they connect with a sales rep.
While the stats offered here cover a lot of ground, it would have been interesting to see a more granular breakdown on AI use cases. For example, there has been a lot of discussion about the potential for generative and agentic AI to help sales teams scale customer outreach and handle tasks like booking meetings.
In areas like marketing, meanwhile, getting a better sense of how campaigns will perform may become the biggest source of value: 65 per cent said predictive analytics is the capability they’re most excited to deploy (though some would suggest that’s not really AI.
The source of the commitment gap CustomerGauge is talking about here may be tied to confidence: 52 per cent of those surveyed predicted AI will handle less than 40 per cent of customer interactions. That’s a lot less game-changing than many AI vendors make the technology sound.
Overall this gated 24-page report is well worth the download given its focus on B2B and the potential to help guide CX strategic planning over the latter half of 2025 and beyond.
