According to Verizon’s CX Annual Insights report, the future of CX isn’t just about implementing AI, but about strategically integrating it to amplify human connections and address core customer frustrations. The report reveals a critical disconnect: Human Touch Still Reigns Supreme: A striking 88% of consumers are satisfied with interactions handled mostly or fully by human agents, while only 60% feel the same about interactions driven by AI. This preference highlights a fundamental truth: AI’s efficiency cannot replace the empathy and trust that a human provides. The Biggest Frustration: The Human Hand-Off: The single biggest source of consumer frustration with automated interactions is the inability to speak or chat with a live human agent when needed. 47% of all consumers cited this as their top annoyance. Brands themselves recognize this, with a similar percentage of executives reporting this as the main complaint they receive about AI-enabled interactions. The Personalization Paradox: Despite personalization being a top AI use case for brands, most consumers aren’t seeing the benefits. In fact, more consumers said personalization has detracted from their overall experience (30%) than improved it (26%). A significant factor is data privacy, with 65% of executives stating that data privacy rules limit their ability to use AI for personalization. This is a critical issue as 54% of consumers report a decline in their trust in companies to use their personal data properly. Real-World Examples of AI That Works: The Power of Proactive Help: As outlined in the Insights Report, energy utility company Exelon is a prime example. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, the company used AI and predictive analytics to identify middle-income households that might have trouble paying their energy bills. This enabled them to proactively reach out with personalized recommendations for assistance programs, earning customer appreciation and proving that AI can solve real-world problems with a human-centric approach. AI as an Agent’s Assistant: Instead of being used to replace human agents, AI is being used to make them more effective. Exelon is piloting generative AI to help its customer service representatives handle calls more efficiently by providing the right data at the right time and summarizing calls, which eases the agent’s burden. This aligns with the report’s finding that companies are now equally prioritizing investments in both human and AI-driven CX improvements.