Artificial intelligence is expected to significantly reshape frontline roles in customer service, with more than 80% of organisations planning to expand the responsibilities of human agents as AI adoption accelerates.
That’s according to research from Gartner, which surveyed 321 customer service and support leaders in October 2025. The findings highlight growing pressure on contact centre leaders to embrace AI-driven transformation, with 91% reporting increased expectations from executive leadership to invest in AI technologies.
The research suggests many organisations are moving beyond early experimentation with automation and are now redesigning service models to combine AI capabilities with human expertise.
Service and support leaders said their top priorities for 2026 include improving customer satisfaction, increasing operational efficiency and boosting the success of self-service channels. AI is increasingly being deployed to help achieve these goals, particularly by improving first-contact resolution and reducing customer effort during interactions.
“Service organizations are entering a period where AI and human expertise must work in tandem,” said Kim Hedlin, Director, Research, in the Gartner Customer Service & Support practice. “Leaders are not just deploying AI—they are redesigning service models to ensure that technology enhances the customer experience while humans provide context, empathy, and judgment.”
As automation takes over more routine tasks, contact centres are also reassessing the future role of human agents. The survey found nearly 80% of organisations plan to transition some agents into new roles, reflecting the need for greater expertise in handling complex or emotionally sensitive customer issues.
To support this shift, 84% of leaders said they plan to add new skills to the agent role and adjust hiring profiles to reflect the evolving demands of AI-enabled service environments.
Knowledge management is also becoming a growing focus. As organisations expand self-service tools and AI assistants, maintaining accurate and accessible knowledge content is increasingly critical. The research found 58% of service leaders plan to upskill agents into knowledge management roles, ensuring information remains reliable for both customers and AI systems.
For UK contact centre leaders, the findings underline a broader trend: AI is not replacing frontline teams but transforming the nature of customer service work, requiring new skills, stronger knowledge frameworks and closer collaboration between people and technology.
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