The road to AI maturity (Part 2): Deliver value with automation

In part 1 of our road to AI maturity series, we covered why aligning your teams and strategy is an essential first step in AI maturity. With that foundation in place, automation can become a real game-changer—not just reducing workload, but fundamentally reshaping what great service looks like.

We’re not just talking about an automated email that responds after someone places an order, but something else entirely: agentic AI that can reason, take action, and step up as a real team player.

It’s no surprise then that 87% of CX leaders agree this kind of AI dramatically improves the quality of every customer interaction. Why? These memory-rich agents create deeply personalized experiences—something 85% of leaders say is key to keeping customers happy and loyal. And with nearly three-quarters of customers expecting round-the-clock support, these intelligent AI agents are fast becoming indispensable tools for any team.

In this second chapter of our AI maturity series, we’re here to guide you on how to get started with agentic AI and scale smarter automation—all while maintaining trust, quality, and the irreplaceable human connection at the heart of every interaction.

Start with what customers ask for most

Smart automation begins with truly understanding your customers—what they ask for most, how they journey through your service experience, and where things slow down or break.

Most successful organizations begin by pinpointing 5-7 high-volume, repeatable intents where customer paths are predictable—these real patterns reveal the highest-impact opportunities for automation to deliver the biggest payoff.

Once you understand where automation can have the biggest impact, generative AI tools like Knowledge builder make creating and maintaining a reliable knowledge base quick and manageable. And that’s key, because smart automation only works when powered by accurate, up-to-date information behind the scenes.

With this foundation, launching AI agents is almost effortless. A few clicks, no training needed, and they’re tapping into trusted knowledge to guide customers smoothly and confidently. By connecting relevant internal and external knowledge sources—like Confluence and others—organizations have achieved automated resolutions rates of up to 30% or higher.

The goal here isn’t to automate everything overnight. By automating the low complexity, high volume questions, you can free your team from predictable tasks so they can focus on tackling the unexpected—and creating those thoughtful, human moments customers remember.

Boost with more control and customization

Once your AI agents are confidently managing routine questions, teams move to the next stage of maturity to introduce more control and customization—adding guardrails that ensure accuracy, compliance, and personalized experiences where it really matters. This structure enables AI to handle complex, goal-driven conversations with predictable, trustworthy outcomes.

As organizations advance, they connect AI to core systems so it can orchestrate multi-step tasks end-to-end—often combining structured guidance with agentic reasoning to decide how to progress a conversation or when to escalate. Whether processing a refund or updating an account, AI can complete more of the work autonomously while still honoring the rules you define.

Customers who layer in this next level of smart automation typically see their automated resolution rates increase, reflecting AI’s growing ability to handle nuanced complex requests without human intervention.

To design this type of smart automation—keep these tips in mind:

• Define clear, goal-oriented use cases: Help AI handle nuanced tasks like scheduling, troubleshooting, or managing returns—not just FAQs.
• Reflect your brand’s personality: Make sure every interaction feels authentic, with the right tone and clear cues when AI or humans are on the line.
• Build seamless handoffs: Ensure customers never feel stuck—hand them off smoothly when things get tricky.
• Blend structure with intelligence: Use backend integrations and agentic reasoning so AI can navigate complex workflows confidently and compliantly.

Done right, your automated resolution rates will soar—and it won’t just be fast; it will feel thoughtful, personal, and—most importantly—help customers get what they need without the hassle.

Make AI your differentiator

When your AI agents start solving problems faster and smarter, scaling their impact means making data your best friend. By closely monitoring AI performance—tracking automated resolutions, active users, and handoffs to humans—you gain sharp insights into what’s working and where to focus next. But data alone isn’t enough: pairing analytics with quality assurance tools ensures you continuously improve accuracy, build trust, and maintain the high quality customers expect. Together, these inputs guide your next moves and help scale AI-driven service that keeps getting better.

Consider these insights your maturity roadmap. Use them to refine your knowledge base, explore new use cases, and expand across channels, languages, and markets. Some organizations see automation rates soar beyond 80%. But here’s the honest truth: not every conversation should be automated, and not every business aims for 100%. Some require more human touch; others strive for full-scale AI-powered service. That’s the beauty of agentic AI—it flexes to fit your needs and grows alongside your goals.

By leveraging agentic AI to set your business apart and customer feedback as your guide, you’re creating a future where service feels effortless, personalized, and truly resolves customer issues. And as AI automation gets smarter and evolves alongside your team, you’ll unlock new levels of connection and efficiency that sets your business apart.

Remember, automation isn’t about replacing humans—it’s about empowering them. And as mentioned, not every conversation should be automated. In the final blog of our AI maturity series, we’ll explore AI-powered tools that support the human touch—helping agents work smarter and admins know where to optimize—so your whole team can deliver exceptional service, no matter the challenge.

Check out the rest of our Road to AI maturity series:

Part 1: Start with a plan to unlock real results