94% of service professionals in India say AI saves time: Report

Salesforce released the new State of Service report, sharing insights from over 5,500 service professionals across 30 countries — including 300 from India. Arun Kumar Parmeswaran, managing director - sales, Salesforce India said: “As customer expectations continue to increase, the benefits of AI are clear - increased productivity, cost reduction and improved customer experiences. Organisations are getting better at striking the balance between delivering service at speed with quality augmented by the increasing maturity of automation, and data capabilities. AI and Data are fueling the next level of customer experience, with AI proving its value with a variety of use cases delivering unmatched value to customers while unlocking revenue-generating opportunities.”

The report covers the priorities, challenges, and strategies shaping customer service, including how service teams are tapping AI and data to increase revenue, efficiency, and customer satisfaction amid rising customer expectations.

Key insights from the research include:

• Organizations Lean into AI to Boost Efficiencies.  To scale service without sacrificing quality, organizations are increasingly turning to AI.
• 73% of service organizations in India are using or evaluating AI.
• 93% of service organizations in India plan to increase AI investments this year.
• Top 3 service use cases for AI in India: Automated summaries and reports, Intelligent offers and recommendations, Knowledge article creation.
• 94% of service professionals in India with AI say it saves them time.

• Service Organizations Double-Down on Revenue Generation. The trend of viewing service as a revenue driver instead of a cost center is accelerating, and service teams are making investments to scale.
• 79% of organizations in India expect service to contribute more revenue this year.
• 85% of service organizations in India expect more budget this year.
• 80% of service organizations in India expect more headcount this year.

• Escalating Demands Pressure Service Teams. As customer expectations rise, service agents are feeling the squeeze.
• Service agents in India spend an average of just 35% of their time helping customers.
• 77% of service organizations in India expect higher case volume next year.
• 88% of service professionals in India say customers are more demanding than they used to be.

• Service Boosts Its Data Capabilities. Service organizations are ramping up their data integration efforts to fuel human agents and AI systems.
• 92% of service professionals in India say better access to data from other teams would improve support.
• 81% of service organizations in India are increasing investment in data integration this year.