77% of support teams say AI is meeting or exceeding expectations
More than half of customer service and support professionals say their organization’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) has helped them achieve faster response and resolution times, according to research published by Intercom.
The San Francisco-based provider of helpdesk and customer service applications surveyed more than 2,400 people to produce its 2026 Customer Service Transformation Report.
Intercom found other AI benefits included the ability to offer 24/7 coverage to customers, which was cited by 47 per cent. This was followed by scaling support without growing headcount, cited by more than a quarter of respondents.
Most customer service professionals admitted, however, that they are still relatively in the early stages of AI adoption. Only 10 per cent described their use of the technology as mature, which was defined as having AI fully integrated into everyday operations.
Intercom said 43 per cent of those in the “mature” segment reported higher quality and consistent performance from AI compared with the rest of the survey sample.
While AI can encompass many different technologies, Intercom’s report suggested organizations are starting to look beyond using generative AI to summarize customer call transcripts and surface information from knowledge centers. For example, 38 per cent said they were planning to deploy AI agents to automatically handle customer enquiries.
Customer service leaders are also clear on their overall priorities: 58 per cent cited improving customer experience (CX) and satisfaction, a number that has doubled since Intercom conducted the same research a year ago.
“Teams at surface-level implementation see initial gains, but those that invest in deeper integration, give AI more responsibility, and continuously refine it see different results: clearer ROI, stronger metrics, and greater capacity to reinvest in the customer experience,” the report’s authors wrote. “This gap is measurable, and it’s widening.”
360 Magazine Insight
There’s an underlying tone of “more is better” when it comes to AI in Intercom’s report. Though it breaks out stats from those who are still at the “exploring” or “scaling” stage, it’s clear the research is making a case for weaving the technology deeper into the tools and platforms customer service departments use.
It’s worth pointing out, though, that measuring return-on-investment (ROI) for AI in customer service remains challenging. Less than three quarters of those in the “mature” category” said they could do it (70 per cent), which was only 10 per cent higher than those in the “scaling” segment.
The report’s authors noted that achieving maturity takes intentional effort and a commitment to continuous improvement. It also takes time. Advancements in agentic AI in particular are happening so rapidly that many firms are probably exercising a reasonable caution in deploying the technology as they evualte the sea of vendor solutions available to them and weigh the potential risks of error, data security and employee upskilling.
The latter area is a highlight of Intercom’s gated 51-page report, where the company offers an in-depth look at how companies are addressing training and professional development of their staff, evolving the roles they recruit for and more.
