This weekly update covers major changes happening in customer service as AI agents become more common in businesses around the world.

Quant, led by CEO Chetan Dube, made big news this week by launching their first agentic AI system for customer service. Unlike regular chatbots that just answer questions, these new AI helpers can actually do tasks like booking appointments, changing orders, and fixing account problems. The company calls them digital colleagues because they work like real employees but never need breaks.

Early results look promising. Quant says their AI can solve about 77% of customer problems with responses in less than 5 seconds. This beats human workers by 13 points, meaning the AI fixes more problems than people do. A large United States utility company that serves 3.6 million customers is already using this technology during storms and busy times.

However, customer trust remains a big challenge for all AI systems. A new survey of 1,500 adults in the United States, done on September 21-22, found some concerning trends. About 82% of people say their chatbot conversations usually end up needing a human worker anyway. Also, 57% of customers have had terrible customer service experiences recently.

The survey showed that customer priorities are changing too. Only 31% of people care most about getting fast service. Instead, 60% want their problems solved correctly the first time. This means companies need to focus on making their AI smarter, not just faster.

Major companies are already seeing success with AI customer service. Sephora, the makeup store, uses AI chatbots to help customers find products and get personalized recommendations. Their customer satisfaction went up by 30% after adding AI helpers. Wendy's fast food chain handles 50,000 food orders every day through their AI system, working in multiple languages with 95% accuracy.

Security experts are raising important warnings this week about AI safety. As companies rush to use AI agents, many are not thinking enough about security. The number of non-human digital workers is expected to reach 45 billion by the end of 2025. That's 12 times more than all the human workers in the world.

Only 10% of business leaders have a good plan for keeping their AI systems safe. This is dangerous because 80% of computer attacks happen when hackers steal or break into digital identities. Companies need to protect their AI helpers just like they protect their human employees.

The AI customer service market is growing incredibly fast. Experts predict it will be worth more than 50 billion dollars by 2030. Gartner, a research company, thinks that AI systems will handle 80% of common customer problems by 2029.

Voice technology is getting much better in 2025. New AI systems can understand customer emotions by listening to how they talk. If someone sounds frustrated, the AI can change its tone to be more helpful and caring. Some systems can even use voice biometrics, which means they recognize customers by their voice instead of asking for passwords.

Proactive customer service is becoming more common. Instead of waiting for problems, AI systems now contact customers first with helpful updates. Walmart uses AI to tell online shoppers about shipping delays or suggest different products before customers even ask. This prevents problems before they happen.

Companies are also using AI to help new customers learn their products. Canva, the design website, uses AI chat helpers to teach new users how to make designs and work with templates. This helps more people succeed with the product from the very beginning.

Despite all this technology, human workers are still very important. Experts say that while AI can handle simple questions, people are still needed for complex problems and emotional situations. The future of customer service will likely be humans and AI working together, not AI replacing people completely.