## This Week in AI Customer Service

The week of December 15-23, 2025, revealed exciting but complicated truths about AI customer service agents. Major companies around the world invested billions of dollars into AI tools to help customers faster and easier. The United States saw the biggest shift, with news reports showing how technology is changing the way shoppers get help during busy shopping seasons.

## Customers Love Speed, But Miss Real People

When AI agents work well, they are incredibly fast. One example from this week showed that a global manufacturer named Danfoss used AI agents to handle emails about orders. The AI system automatically made decisions about 80% of customer requests, and it cut the waiting time from 42 hours down to almost instant. That's a huge improvement! Many stores and companies saw similar speed gains, with 85% of customers saying that AI made getting help faster.

But here's the problem: being fast isn't enough. New research released this week found that 75% of customers felt frustrated even after getting a quick AI response. This happened because the fast answer didn't actually solve their problem. Customers explained that they often had to repeat themselves multiple times when switching between AI chatbots and human helpers. The research showed that only 7% of people said they never had to explain their issue again.

## Humans Still Win in Customer Service

When scientists and researchers asked customers what they preferred, the answer was clear: 54% of shoppers said humans provided better customer service than AI. Even more interesting, 55% of customers had to ask for a human to step in and help because the AI couldn't understand their problem.

Companies learned another important lesson this week: customers want real solutions, not just quick responses. Research showed that 68% of customers said getting a complete fix was more important than how fast they got an answer. Almost 90% of people said they would stop shopping at a store if the company completely removed human customer service workers.

## The Future: Teamwork Between AI and Humans

The exciting news from this week is that the best companies are figuring out the right mix. Apple, Microsoft, Google, and JPMorgan Chase all announced new AI agents that work alongside humans instead of replacing them. For example, JPMorgan Chase created an AI helper called "Coach" that helps advisers find information 95% faster so they can spend more time talking with customers about what they really need.

Experts believe 2026 will be the year of "hybrid customer service." This means AI handles the simple, quick questions, while humans handle the tricky situations that need understanding and kindness. As one company leader said this week: "The future isn't AI replacing people, it's AI strengthening the foundation so humans can deliver clarity, empathy, and trust".

## What Companies Got Wrong in 2025

This week's reports also explained where companies made mistakes. Some built AI chatbots that refused to connect customers to humans instead of actually solving problems. Others used AI in ways that felt creepy or invasive to shoppers. Many companies didn't tell customers they were using AI at all, which made people feel tricked. In fact, only 22% of customers said companies clearly told them they were talking to a robot.

Looking ahead, companies are learning to do better by using clean, accurate information, making sure AI knows when to ask for human help, and being honest with customers about where AI is being used. The message from this week's news is simple: better AI isn't about more robots—it's about smarter teamwork between AI and people.