Trust me, I’m human: Why empathy still wins in AI-driven CX

Niki Hall at Five9 explains why the human element is so crucial in customer interactions

 

In a world of automation and AI, what customers still crave is connection. When 40% say they’ll abandon a brand after just one bad experience, customer experience (CX) isn’t a support issue: it’s a board-level priority.

 

CX now sits at the heart of brand trust, customer loyalty, and long-term resilience. For business leaders, that means designing systems that are fast, intelligent, and still feel human.

 

The companies that win will be those who scale empathy as effectively as they scale technology. 

 

 

CX is a trust framework

Whether contacting a retailer, a bank, a utility provider, or a technology firm, customers expect interactions, from billing to support, to be intuitive, responsive, and above all, respectful of their time and needs.

 

Research across sectors shows that a single poor interaction can lead to customer attrition, with brand loyalty quickly eroding in the face of delayed responses, inflexible systems, or poorly managed escalations. Customers reward brands that deliver calm, frictionless journeys across every touchpoint.

 

Yet many organisations still treat CX as a downstream service function. That’s a risk. When experiences fail, customers leave and tell others why.

 

CX should instead be seen as a framework for building trust. It cuts across sales, operations, service, and finance. It isn’t just about metrics. It’s about moments that matter.  

 

 

The demand for empathy at scale

In the drive for digital efficiency, many organisations have undervalued the role of empathy. Yet, in moments of frustration or uncertainty, it is not response speed alone that defines satisfaction. It is the quality of the human response, the ability to understand context, and the willingness to treat customers as people, not cases. Customers want to feel heard, not routed.

 

Even with the rise of digital channels, voice support remains essential. It continues to be the preferred channel for customers in high-value or sensitive scenarios. In fact, 82% of customers favour the phone when urgency is high. No artificial intelligence model, no matter how advanced, can replicate the reassurance of a calm, capable human response.

 

Crucially, empathy does not need to come at the expense of efficiency. With the right systems in place, organisations can deliver both. With access to live insights, sentiment cues and interaction history, human agents can respond with both speed and emotional intelligence. This reduces repeat contacts and increases satisfaction, a win for both the business and the customer.

 

 

AI should enhance, not replace, human capability

Automation works best when it empowers people. AI can triage tickets, suggest next-based actions, and detect points of friction before a customer even flags them.

 

But trust in AI is still evolving. Five9’s CX report finds that 72% of customers are open to AI – but only if there’s a clear path to a human when needed. Escalation design isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a trust signal.

 

The best orchestration combines machine consistency with human warmth. Customers don’t want to choose between speed and understanding. They want both.

 

 

Personalisation is the new standard

As data capabilities improve, so do customer expectations. It is no longer acceptable to treat all customers the same. Increasingly, customers expect brands to remember their preferences, anticipate their needs, and tailor interactions accordingly. 87% of consumers now value brands that recognise who they are and understand their history. But this trust is fragile; irrelevant interactions or poor use of data can erode it fast.

 

This is particularly true of younger consumers, many of whom are willing to share personal data in return for better outcomes. However, that willingness is conditional. If the data is not used wisely, or if it results in irrelevant or impersonal experiences, trust is quickly lost.

 

For leaders, this makes data governance a strategic issue. Insight must be translated into action, and always used responsibly.

 

 

Five priorities for modern CX

To embed customer experience as a strategic asset, business leaders should focus on five core areas:

1. Design for human handoff: Make sure every digital interaction includes a clear, route to live support. 
2. Equip the frontline: Give staff real-time visibility into customer history, preferences, and intent.
3. Emotional intelligence: Train teams to listen, interpret and respond with empathy, especially during moments of stress or conflict.
4. Measure more than metrics: Move beyond resolution time and deflection rates. Track customer sentiment, satisfaction, and journey quality as indicators of success.
5. Align technology with values: Use AI and data in ways that reinforce transparency, customer choice, and fairness. These are the cornerstones of trust. 

 

CX as a board-level responsibility

In today’s market, customer experience can make or break a brand, sometimes overnight. A single viral complaint, a failed escalation, a cold interaction – these are the moments customers remember.

 

That’s why CX can’t sit in a silo. It belongs in the C-suite. It requires cross-functional collaboration, cultural commitment, and investment from the top down.

 

Ultimately, the organisations that treat experience as a strategic growth engine, not just a cost centre, will be the ones that earn customer loyalty, advocacy, and a durable advantage in the AI era.

 

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Niki Hall is CMO at Five9

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and sturti