Top AI Adopters in Customer Service Gain Over 50% KPI Improvements: EY Report
Leading enterprise adopters extracting maximum return from artificial intelligence in client support recorded up to 50% or higher gains across primary performance benchmarks, according to EY India. The study observed that while artificial intelligence adoption expanded broadly across Indian corporate sectors, business value generation remained uneven. EY India classified enterprises into three performance categories based on outcomes: Achievers, Challengers, and Aspirants. The top-performing Achievers tier represented 23% of surveyed businesses that captured elevated operational returns. Challengers accounted for 33% of surveyed enterprises with moderate returns, while Aspirants formed 44% with low returns.
Enterprise Categorisation and Quantified Performance Gains
Achievers regularly registered 25% to 50% or higher gains across customer experience, revenue uplift, average handle time, and agent productivity. In comparison, Challengers experienced 10% to 25% progress, while Aspirants recorded less than 10% or tracked no formal metrics. Preeti Anand, Partner, Business Consulting at EY India, noted that widespread tool adoption contrasts with uneven commercial returns as companies struggle with fragmented implementations. NITI Aayog's AI employment roadmap projected that India's customer experience headcount could decline from 2–2.5 million in 2023 to 1.8 million by 2031 under an AI-driven displacement scenario, according to Observer Research Foundation.
Customer experience emerged as the primary goal for 45% of Achievers, positioning satisfaction ahead of immediate cost reductions.
Technical Architecture and Voice AI Deployment Disparities
Technology deployment patterns displayed stark contrasts, with Voice AI reaching scaled deployments among 91% of Achievers. Among top adopters, 45% utilized rules-based bots, while 37% ran advanced artificial intelligence intent prioritisation systems. Conversely, more than 80% of Challengers and Aspirants continued relying on human personnel or basic menu-driven interactive voice response systems. Achievers expanded algorithmic tools across approximately 60% of primary technical departments utilizing intelligent assistants and live knowledge engines. Challengers and Aspirants remained limited to isolated pilots and traditional customer surveys without deeper operational integration. The EY customer service AI survey was conducted between Q4 CY25 and Q1 CY26 based on more than 100 in-depth responses and executive interviews, according to MediaNews4U.
Foundational Governance and Strategic Transformation Roadmap
Arun Nagarajan, Partner, Technology Consulting at EY India, observed that many organisations mistakenly view technology deployment as the sole success driver.
Regarding operational bottlenecks, 38% of Achievers cited data quality challenges, while over 40% of Challengers and Aspirants pointed to governance constraints. The consulting firm outlined a five-step transformation framework for enterprises aiming to overhaul customer care operations through advanced computational systems. The study concluded that commercial enterprises must surpass disconnected applications and embed intelligence into corporate workflows to generate durable business impact.
Background
Under India's DPDP Act, recording customer voice interactions constitutes processing personal data requiring specific, informed consent identifying the purpose rather than generic recording notifications, according to Gistly.
Indian financial institutions using voice AI must comply with the DPDP Act alongside sectoral guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India and IRDAI, according to Edesy.
Industry contact center benchmarks report that cost per customer interaction dropped 68% from $4.60 to $1.45 following AI implementation, according to Memeburn.
Enterprises integrate conversational AI into legacy CRMs like Salesforce and Zoho using secure API middleware with token management, response caching, fallback handling, and DPDP-compliant data minimization, according to Azriva.