New UJET Research Shows That Despite 100% of Customer Service Agents Interacting with AI Daily, 0% Consider it Critical to Their Daily Success

New data shows as brands rush to automate customer service, immature AI implementation creates friction and negative experiences for customers and agents

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- UJET, a leader in AI-powered contact center innovation, today released new industry research revealing that despite 100% of customer service agents interacting with AI daily, 93% are confident they could perform their jobs without it. Seventy-eight percent say their organization's AI tools are not currently transformative, while 54% believe AI is helpful but lacks the context and depth needed for real impact.

As a result, 0% of agents—not a single respondent—consider AI critical to their daily success.

While many brands are attempting to automate customer interactions and reduce headcount by deploying AI, UJET's findings confirm this approach hinders agent performance and customer experience (CX) – creating friction rather than productivity or cost efficiency. In fact, Gartner reports that by 2030 the cost-per-resolution for generative AI (GenAI) in customer service will exceed $3, higher than the current average cost of many human agents.

"The rush to adopt AI has caused many brands to overlook their most vital asset: people. AI can empower agents – but instead, immature implementation and tools that lack real-time customer context frustrates them while hurting customer experience," said Vasili Triant, CEO of UJET. "Our research shows AI must shift from automating front-end interactions to eliminating the back-end complexity that truly hinders agent performance and causes poor customer experiences. Only then will brands experience the transformative benefits AI is capable of providing."

Sixty-five percent of customers express frustration about having to repeat information to a self-service AI agent before speaking with a human. This failure in AI self-service leaves 14% of agents handling more emotionally charged interactions, contributing to increased stress and burnout. On top of this added workload, 93% of agents feel the need to double-check or verify information provided by AI tools before using it with a customer. Fifteen percent of agents say real-time AI recommendations are simply unreliable or inaccurate.

The report - The Agent and AI Disconnect: A Blueprint for Futuristic CX - also found that:

• The depth of AI integration with agents is staggering: 75% of agents leverage AI for more than three-quarters of their total customer interactions. Nineteen percent of agents report AI involvement in over 90% of their workload, and 16% of agents have reached "total integration," using AI for 100% of their customer interactions.
• AI tools are hindered by legacy system complexity: AI inefficiency stems from bloated tech stacks because AI tools cannot operate across siloed enterprise systems and data. Eighty-one percent of agents juggle more than four tools simultaneously, while nearly 20% manage seven or more.
• Agents have concerns about their job security in the AI era: 71% of customer service agents expect to seek new employment in the next 12 months due to job security concerns around AI.

The Future of AI in Customer Service: Automation Done Right

Despite experiencing limited impact and immediate job concerns, most agents see a path forward with AI. Fifty-four percent are cautiously optimistic, believing AI could change roles, not replace them.

In fact, 100% of agents agree that properly deployed AI saves them time so they can handle more customer requests and interactions (66%) and take on higher-value work such as upselling, customer retention, solving complex issues, etc. (20%). These time savings are leading to real benefits for agents like earning promotions (78%), earning more money (24%) and better performance reviews (18%).

By offloading mundane, repetitive tasks to automation, agents are also reclaiming the "human" elements of their roles. Without administrative burdens, agents report significant improvements in soft skills like empathy and active listening (25%), multitasking and time management (22%) and technical troubleshooting (22%).

"The future of CX is not a choice between humans or machines. It will be defined by how effectively an organization integrates the two," Triant added. "Brands must stop minimizing the need for agents in customer service and instead implement AI tools to fuel human connection, trust, loyalty, and build lifetime value – not just focus on deflection and containment. By transforming agents from reactive problem-solvers into proactive brand ambassadors, leaders are turning their customer service agents into their competitive advantage in the age of AI."

UJET is building solutions to solve the agent experience crisis. UJET recently announced Agentic Experience Orchestration (AXO). AXO introduces a persistent AI layer that obscures system complexity by natively integrating with enterprise-wide data and systems, automating mundane, repeatable conversations with virtual agents, and maintaining contextual intelligence throughout the entire customer journey, streamlining the human agent experience while enabling more personal, emotive, and empathetic customer connections.

Download the full report to learn how to empower agents with next gen AI tools.

About UJET

UJET leads the way in AI-powered CX transformation, delivering a future-proof, cloud platform that redefines the customer experience with advanced agentic AI, multimodality, and a mobile-first approach. We infuse agentic AI across every aspect of the customer journey – from build and deployment, to end-customer, agent, and supervisor experiences – to drive automation and efficiency. UJET's AI solutions empower agents, optimize customer journeys, and elevate customer interactions with actionable analytics. Built on a cloud-native architecture, UJET ensures unmatched security, scalability, and prioritized data analytics. Designed for effortless use, UJET partners with businesses to deliver exceptional interactions, smarter decision-making, and accelerated growth in the AI-driven world.

SOURCE UJET Inc.