Singapore – With rising consumer expectations, companies that embrace AI to deliver personalised, empathetic experiences are seeing stronger customer loyalty and higher retention rates, according to the latest report from Zendesk, a customer experience firm.
In this report, Zendesk found that CX Trendsetters in APAC saw 56% higher customer acquisition rates, 45% higher customer retention rates, and 63% higher cross-sell revenue. These figures implied the transformative potential of AI in driving both customer satisfaction and business performance.
By leveraging AI, organisations also gain crucial benefits from these investments, noting more than two-thirds of CX leaders in Asia Pacific (APAC) report positive ROI from their AI tools in CX. Said adoption coincides with an increasingly positive consumer attitude toward AI, with 79% holding favourable views towards AI, a 6% increase compared to the previous year.
As part of the report, Zendesk also noted five key trends shaping the future of customer interactions in 2025. These trends encompass autonomous service acceleration with AI copilots. Said trend showed 82% of the respondents believe having an AI copilot would help them do their job better, freeing them up to focus on more complex issues, thus enabling a smooth and scalable experience.
Included in this forecast is a trend where consumer confidence rises with human-like AI agents. According to the report, consumers in 2025 are searching for AI that goes beyond efficiency and feels genuinely human, with 82% of them stating the importance for AI agents to have human-like traits, with a similar proportion (80%) calling out the friendliness of AI agents as crucial for a positive experience.
The report also highlighted personal AI assistants to redefine the future of customer interactions, especially with personal AI assistants like Siri and Alexa, which are becoming integral to daily life, leading consumers to expect assistant-driven experiences in customer service.
Another important trend to look into includes voice AI gaining ground as the preferred channel for complex issues. With voice AI technology advancements, customers are also finding it easier to articulate their needs through voice, particularly for complex issues.
More specifically, it was observed that about 61% of APAC consumers have already engaged with voice AI, with 73% eager to embrace its ability to facilitate natural and intuitive interactions. This technology elevates customer connections across various touchpoints, from phone calls to messaging and apps, providing customers a personalised sense of being understood.
Lastly, the report also emphasised the growing importance of personalised service in fostering customer loyalty, with AI setting new standards. As their expectations for great service rise, consumers in APAC have increasingly low tolerance for bad experiences, with 70% willing to switch to a competitor due to just one bad experience—a trend that’s grown by 10% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, loyalty is becoming the ultimate power metric in today’s competitive landscape, pushing CX leaders to double down on personalization. Through AI-driven recommendations and custom responses, businesses can create distinctive and impactful experiences that not only meet but exceed customer demands for relevance and value.
Commenting about the report, Tom Eggemeier, CEO at Zendesk, said, “AI should be more than just another technology we use—it’s a way to bring companies and customers closer, and it’s redefining the relationships we can build. At Zendesk, we believe that AI should be in service to humans and help companies understand and better connect to their customers as individuals.”
“When brands focus on creating genuine, human-centred AI interactions, they don’t just make things run more smoothly—they create trust, loyalty, and a lasting connection. This report shows that putting customers at the heart of AI is more than a smart strategy; it’s becoming the new standard for building loyalty in a rapidly changing world,” he further shared.
Maureen Chong, regional vice president for Asia at Zendesk, also remarked, “Consumers in Asia Pacific have spoken—they now view AI as essential to CX and want it to be more human-like, friendly, and personalised. Organisations that have embraced AI—CX Trendsetters—say adopting AI at scale is crucial to surviving the competitive pressures that lie ahead.”
“Those investing in AI to meet these emerging needs will be pleased to know that consumers are seeing the difference—80% of APAC consumers believe a clear gap is forming between companies that leverage AI effectively in customer service and those that don’t. A company’s customer service is now a key battleground for customer loyalty, and those that focus on human-centric AI will create a competitive differentiation that builds lasting customer loyalty,” explained Chong.
