In February 2025, global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan released the "2025 Global Customer Service Industry Annual Report." The report shows that AI technology penetration in call centers has exceeded 52%, an increase of nearly 20 percentage points from 2023. However, a counterintuitive finding is that fully automated customer service scenarios account for only 11%, with most enterprises shifting to a "human-machine augmentation" model.
The report indicates that in high-risk industries such as finance, healthcare, and legal services, human agent involvement has actually increased, but their role has evolved from "operator" to "expert reviewer." AI handles 80% of repetitive inquiries, while human agents manage the most complex 20% of cases, such as emotional support, complaint escalation, or cross-departmental coordination. This model has reduced overall customer service costs by 28% while boosting Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 15 points.
Another key trend is "customer service as a data source." By analyzing customer service conversations, companies can predict product defects, marketing campaign effectiveness, or supply chain risks up to three months in advance. For example, an automaker analyzed European customer complaints about charging station compatibility and adjusted the hardware design of its next-generation models ahead of time.
GlobalConnect was named "Asia-Pacific Outsourcing Service Provider of the Year" in the report, with its success attributed to a flexible "AI+agent" hybrid delivery model. The report emphasizes that industry leaders in 2025 are not those with the most advanced AI, but those that best understand how to achieve synergy between AI and human agents.