This year, artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform industries, dramatically reshape customer experiences and redefine how businesses operate. Innovative technologies like advanced virtual agents and agentic AI will elevate customer satisfaction and drive efficiency through highly personalized human-like interactions and seamless assistance. Let’s look at a few predictions from myself and other Genesys experts about what AI-driven opportunities and challenges we’ll see in 2025.

 

Good News for Consumers: The Rise of Virtual Agents Is Upon Us

Here’s my take on what I think you can expect this year.

Many businesses use chatbots to automate customer service and drive efficiency. When built correctly, they’re valuable tools, easy to deploy and allow customers to interact with a brand 24/7. But the reality is most chatbots provide fragmented interactions earning a reputation as one of the most frustrating parts of a customer experience.

The majority of chatbots are ineffective because they have rigid designs, aren’t structured to keep up with human conversation and require constant maintenance to stay updated. When problems are escalated to a human agent, a customer’s context and history often does not follow. This results in employees asking repetitive questions and adding to a customer’s frustration and feelings of not being heard.

To orchestrate the highly personalized experiences consumers desire, businesses should upgrade their chatbots to advanced virtual agents. Virtual agents use large language models to mimic natural human conversation. They can understand more complex conversations, seamlessly pass context to their human counterparts, and tailor experiences based on real-time consumer behavior and preferences. Simply put, virtual agents can give customers the human touch that chatbots can’t.

 

Agentic AI Is the Next Big Thing in Tech — and the Ultimate Life Hack for Consumers

– Glenn Nethercutt, Genesys Chief Technology Officer

Tech leaders are already looking beyond the power of generative AI to agentic AI. Agentic AI will usher in the next level of customer experiences through proactive and adaptive engagement with the potential to bring immense value to both businesses and their customers.

No longer just passive assistants, agentic AI will tackle complex, multistep tasks that defy a simple, predefined path and adapt to real-time decision-making. Think of it as the Jarvis to your Tony Stark — it coordinates multiple AI agents, each focused on a specific part of a task, to deliver seamless, real-time solutions that adjust with every new piece of information.

Picture this: AI tracks your delivery, reroutes your package on the fly, dodges traffic jams and weather, and keeps you updated during every step of the process — without you ever asking. Agentic AI will empower the next generation of self-service, creating interactions that are as smooth, as fast and as intuitive as having your own personal assistant.

Get ready for a future where AI handles the details effortlessly freeing you to focus on what truly matters.

 

AI Will Drive Retail from the Back End Forward

– Josh Goldlust, VP of Product, Digital Experience

In 2025, AI will transform the retail industry behind the scenes by enhancing operational efficiencies, orchestrating customer experiences, boosting inventory management through personalized in-stock recommendations and more. These changes will significantly enhance online shopping and customer service requiring brands to replicate the personalized, AI-driven experiences consumers expect online, in store.

Over the next few years, expect to see AI-powered predictive analytics in action, offering real-time, personalized discounts based on in-store behavior. This will be particularly important for retailers with strong customer data and loyalty programs. Retailers that successfully integrate these seamless, personalized experiences both online and in-store will lead the pack, while others who are not experimenting with AI risk falling behind.

In 2025, AI will dramatically improve customer experiences with more personalized and empathetic interactions. It’s no secret that AI’s potential is near limitless, but challenges, such as ineffective AI chatbots, still remain. And businesses will need to do their part to address them. The companies that prioritize innovation and embrace new AI technology will create significantly better customer experiences and earn customer loyalty.

Watch this webinar “CX trends in 2025 and beyond” to learn what other trends experts say are on the horizon in 2025.