19 Customer Service Statistics Shaping the Future of Customer Service

No great brand is remembered for poor customer service.

As we move into 2025, customer service has become the defining layer of the customer journey— where expectations are sharper, patience is shorter, and every interaction shapes the perception of your brand. For leaders, the challenge is knowing where to focus, which channels to strengthen, where automation is making a real difference, and how trust is shifting in an AI-driven world.

That’s where customer service statistics come in. They reveal patterns, highlight blind spots, and give leaders the clarity to prioritize investments that matter most.

In this blog, we’ve compiled nineteen must-know customer service statistics to help you anchor boardroom conversations, sharpen your strategy, and set the tone for customer service in 2025 and beyond.

Why customer service statistics matter more than ever in 2025

In a crowded market where products and services often feel interchangeable, customers no longer view lower prices as sufficient to earn their loyalty. What they demand instead is swift, seamless service — issues resolved with priority, often in the very moment they arise. Meeting that standard requires more than isolated fixes. It calls for a holistic, scalable approach, and that’s where customer service statistics become invaluable.

These insights cut through guesswork by showing leaders where customers are leaning, where friction is building, and where investments can deliver the greatest return. Here’s how they help shape smarter strategies:

• Spot trends early: Identify rising complaint volumes, shifting channel preferences, or emerging friction points before they escalate.
• Measure ROI: See whether service improvements are reducing customer churn, boosting retention, or unlocking revenue opportunities.
• Benchmark performance: Compare your numbers against industry standards and those of your competitors to highlight strengths and identify gaps.
• Guide training and technology investments: Direct resources — from agent development to AI and automation — toward the areas that will create the most impact.

19 must-know customer service statistics in 2025

Consider the last time you sought support. You wanted quick answers, not a runaround. Your customers feel the same, and their expectations are sharper than ever. This first set of customer service statistics highlights how behavior is evolving, where preferences are shifting, and exactly how short the window for loyalty has become.

Consumer behavior: the trends shaping CX expectations

• 87% of consumers are likely to avoid a brand after just one negative customer service experience. (Accenture) What this means: One misstep is all it takes to push a customer toward a competitor. Empathy, speed, and first-contact resolution are key to survival.
• 84% of U.S. consumers prefer self-service kiosks, with 66% choosing them over staffed checkouts. (PYMNTS) What this means: Self-service isn’t limited to chatbots or portals. Even in physical spaces, customers now expect the autonomy to resolve simple tasks themselves. It’s a shift that underscores the broader preference for speed and control.
• Only 14% of customer service issues are fully resolved through self-service. (Gartner)

What this means: The intent is there, but the execution is lagging. Knowledge bases and bots that fail to resolve issues often end up frustrating customers and draining efficiency. Closing this gap means investing in sharper content, smarter automation, and seamless handoffs when human support is needed.

• 89% of global consumers believe companies should offer support in their preferred language, and 93% say multilingual communication is essential across all channels. (RWS)

What this means: Language is loyalty. As brands scale globally, multilingual customer support is no longer optional. It’s a direct signal of inclusivity and customer respect, and it’s increasingly expected across every customer service channel.

Support team performance & productivity statistics

Now that you know what your customer expects, let’s examine your current standing. Are you wondering how your support operation stacks up?

The customer service statistics below offer priceless benchmarks. You’ll see where to aim, how peers are using AI, and what might be holding your team back.

• Early use of generative AI assistants has boosted productivity by double digits, with about 14% more issues resolved per hour and nearly 9% shorter handling times. (National Bureau of Economic Research)

What this means: Early AI pilots are already raising agent throughput and cutting handling time. Treat those wins as proof points — measure them, operationalize the workflows, and scale where error and handoff rates stay low.

• Only 32% of customers report that service quality has improved over the last five years. (Accenture)

What this means: Productivity gains alone don’t move customer perception. Leaders must tie operational KPIs to customer-facing metrics (CSAT, FCR) and close the loop to improve efficiency and enhance the real customer experience.

• 54% of support teams use chatbots, VCA, or other conversational AI platforms, which is predicted to be the primary channel in ~25% of organizations by 2027. (Gartner)

What this means: Half the market is moving fast on AI. If your team isn’t experimenting, you’re likely missing out on efficiency and scale. Start small (coaching bots or auto-routing) and build from there. These capabilities enable bots to resolve more queries, freeing agents to focus on higher-value tasks.

• 68% of employees struggle with the pace and volume of work, and 46% feel burned out; AI is a major relief tool, helping to reduce repetitive tasks and freeing up time for problem-solving. (Microsoft)

What this means: Your teams are under pressure, and it’s not sustainable. AI offers immediate relief by offloading repetitive, low-value tasks, allowing employees to focus on higher-impact work. The payoff is real: less burnout, more engaged teams, faster, thoughtful customer experiences.

• By 2029, agentic AI will autonomously resolve 80% of routine customer service issues. (Gartner)

What this means: As AI capabilities mature, customer service teams have an opportunity to reimagine their customer service workflows. By offloading routine queries to agentic AI, you can improve response times, lower costs, and redeploy human agents to focus on complex, high-impact interactions that build loyalty and customer trust.

• 79% of leaders agree that their company must adopt AI to stay competitive, but 59% are unsure how to measure its productivity gains. (Microsoft)

What this means: To get real value from AI, you need to tie it to outcomes that matter: faster response times, reduced handling costs, and higher agent efficiency. When you define success early, you scale AI with confidence. Read Revolutionizing Customer Service with AI

Channel preferences & technology adoption trends

Let’s face it: customers don’t think in channels. They want to reach you, fast, through whatever’s most convenient. That’s why understanding where and how they prefer to engage matters more than ever.

So, let’s break down how preferences are shifting, which tech is gaining traction, and what that means for how you show up.

• 47% of customers prefer phone channels for complex inquiries in 2024. (Contact Babel)

What this means: Customers still turn to their phones when problems become complicated. Maintain a strong voice as a high-touch channel while digital handles simpler requests.

• 74% of customer service interactions in the U.S. now occur on mobile devices. (Statista)

What this means: Your chat widget, help center, and ticketing must be flawless on mobile. If they’re not, users move on.

• 79% agree that companies should disclose when they use AI. (Ipsos)

What this means: If you’re using AI in customer service, tell them. Label AI interactions clearly, explain the benefit, and always provide a clear path to a human. Being upfront builds trust and prevents AI from feeling like a barrier.

• The global chatbot market was valued at $15.57 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $46.64 billion by 2029. (AI Chatbot Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029)

What this means: AI chatbots are scaling rapidly because they enable teams to accomplish more with fewer resources. Investing in smart automation is highly beneficial for long-term efficiency and productivity. Just make sure it adds value, not friction.

• 51% of customer service journeys now begin on third-party platforms, such as search engines, social media, and generative AI tools. (Gartner)

What this means: You no longer control the customer’s front door. Service starts spontaneously in places you might not own. Meeting customers where they already are by optimizing content visibility, utilizing in-platform support, and ensuring seamless handoffs turns third-party starts from a blind spot into a frontline advantage.

• In 2025, 83% of marketers worldwide reported using Facebook for their business, with Instagram and LinkedIn following at 78% and 69%, respectively. (Statista)

What this means: Social media has evolved into a critical touchpoint for customer engagement, not just brand awareness. Enterprises that treat it as a service and support channel are better positioned to meet rising expectations, resolve issues faster, and strengthen customer relationships at scale.

JetBlue is recognized for its highly responsive X (formerly Twitter) support, answering customer queries far quicker than many competitors.

Source

Their proactive communication about flight delays and personalized responses have created many “wow” moments for travelers. This approach exemplifies the importance of speed and consistency across digital channels.

🔖Bookmark Now: 11 Social Media Customer Service Examples

Cost, ROI and impact of great customer service

Investing in support excellence leads to lower costs, increased loyalty, and higher revenue. These statistics demonstrate how the math works in your favor.

• Brands lose a record $29 for each new customer they acquire when service quality is poor. (The State of Social Commerce 2022 by SimplicityDX)

What this means: Bad customer service wipes out your acquisition spend. If you’re investing to bring customers in, but not supporting them well after, you’re bleeding value. Don’t just focus on getting new users. Instead, focus on keeping them happy once they land.

• 65% of customers who experience good service recommend the brand to others, creating organic growth opportunities. (Capgemini)

What this means: Delivering excellent service turns customers into brand advocates. By consistently exceeding expectations, you can drive organic growth through word-of-mouth, reducing acquisition costs while strengthening your brand’s reputation.

• Treating customer service as a value center (vs. cost center) leads to 3.5x higher revenue growth. (Accenture)

What this means: Investment in the right technology (AI, automation, omnichannel platforms) amplifies every ROI metric from cost control to upsell and cross-sell.

Good Read: Customer Service ROI: How to Improve with AI in 2025

What’s changed since 2020

Here is a comparison that highlights how customer service patterns have progressed between 2020 and 2025, shaping new standards for service delivery.

Let the data guide your CX strategy

These customer service statistics make one thing clear: data isn’t just for reporting; it’s the foundation for smarter decisions at every level of customer service. The organizations that win in 2025 will be the ones that read signals in real-time and act decisively to reduce churn, increase satisfaction, and resolve issues more quickly.

Customer service is no longer a back-office function. It has become a frontline discipline that shapes loyalty, influences purchasing decisions, and sets the standard for brand trust.

Sprinklr Service enables enterprise teams to bring this vision to life. With AI-powered automation, unified omnichannel workflows, and actionable insights, it equips leaders to deliver services that are efficient, empathetic, and measurable at scale.

Curious what that looks like in practice? Schedule a demo to see how Sprinklr can help your service organization set the pace in today’s customer-first market.