Companies around the world are using more AI helpers for customer service than ever before. A big study asked people in many countries if they were comfortable with AI solving their problems. The answer was yes—77% of people said they felt okay with it. This shows that customers are ready for artificial intelligence to help them faster and whenever they need it.

During the 2025 holiday shopping season, AI agents were everywhere. In the United States, almost 8 out of 10 shoppers used AI helpers when buying gifts and holiday items. These helpers did things like track packages, answer questions about returns, and send delivery updates. The good news is that 85% of shoppers said AI made service faster. People loved not having to wait on hold or wait for emails back. Speed matters when you are shopping for gifts and worried about deadlines.

But not everything was perfect. When AI helpers couldn't solve a problem, customers had to talk to a real person. But here is the problem—getting from AI to a human worker wasn't always smooth. In fact, 90% of business leaders said their AI-to-human handoffs needed work. Sometimes customers felt like they had to repeat everything they already told the AI. Other times, the AI just didn't understand what the customer needed. More than half of shoppers said they had to give up on AI and ask for help from a real person.

One important finding is that people still trust humans more than AI for tough problems. More than half of shoppers said real people gave better service than AI. When someone's package goes missing, when something arrives broken, or when there is a billing mistake, people want to hear from another person who understands how they feel. AI helpers are great at giving fast answers, but they are not as good at showing empathy when someone is frustrated or upset.

In Brazil, a bank called Banco Bradesco showed how agentic AI could help. They used new Microsoft technology to create AI helpers that did not need people with computer science degrees to build them. Regular team members could design and launch AI agents to help customers and handle work inside the bank. This means companies can get AI helpers working faster without needing a huge tech team.

Experts now say the best way forward is not replacing humans with AI, but having them work together. This idea is called Total Experience, which means looking at the customer journey, the employee journey, and the partner journey all at the same time. When done right, AI handles the simple, repetitive jobs—like checking order status—while humans handle the complex, emotional situations. This makes the humans' jobs better and customers happier.

When it comes to voice-based AI helpers—where people talk instead of typing—the numbers are interesting. In the United States, 56% of people said they felt comfortable using voice AI for easy insurance questions. But 27% of people said they wanted the choice to talk to a real person anytime. This tells us that people want options—they like fast AI help, but they do not want to be stuck with only AI. They need a simple way to get to a human if they need one.

The biggest takeaway is that companies need to build smart systems that combine the speed of AI with the warmth of human helpers. People are ready for AI, but they want it to be honest, clear, and used in the right situations. The companies that figure this out will win customers' loyalty and trust.