Amdocs released a global study, “Rethinking Brand and Customer Experience in the Agentic Era,” commissioned by Amdocs in collaboration with McCann Tech agency and Coleman Parkes, which explores the impact on brand identity as consumers interact with generative AI-based agents (AI agents) for customer care and sales.
For decades, brands have fostered loyalty and trust through memorable experiences crafted by human agents and digital interactions. Now, in the agentic era in which AI agents autonomously perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with customers on behalf of businesses and individuals, the branding paradigm is changing, which is particularly significant for service-intensive brands, such as communications service providers (CSPs), financial services providers, and many others.
As AI technology advances, AI agents are gradually becoming brand representatives—speaking the brand’s language, aligning with its values, and engaging customers meaningfully. In this new landscape, AI is no longer just a tool; it is an essential extension of the brand. Brands must design AI agents that actively shape customer perceptions and uphold brand integrity.
“The agentic era is a completely new era,” said Gil Rosen, Chief Marketing Officer, Amdocs. “Each brand interaction with a customer via AI agents should be seen through the paradigm of brand, context, and customer: What is the brand persona, what is the context of the customer interaction, and who is the customer? In the agentic era, these possibilities are infinite. Is it always the same AI agent persona or does each customer meet another persona depending on the context of the interaction? It’s a question every brand must address because as AI agents evolve, this will fundamentally redefine how businesses interact with their customers and workforce across all channels.”
The global study examined consumer and CSPs expectations for the agentic era, and reveals that consumers are largely open to interacting in the near future with CSPs’ AI agents and have a positive perception of them.
In terms of the Philippines, 55% of consumers surveyed in the country perceive CSPs using AI agents as “futuristic and innovative”. Additionally, 39% of consumers believe that the use of AI agents demonstrates a CSP’s commitment to improving customer service, which is above the global figure of 30%. However, 41% of consumers also express concerns that AI agents could be used primarily for cost-saving purposes.
Filipino consumers (52%) also expressed a preference for interacting with personal AI agents, above the global figure of 45% for the same category.
Additional findings regarding Filipino consumers from the research:
● As technology matures, personal AI agents that provide a unique experience are increasingly preferred over human interactions: 52% of Filipino consumers (the same figure for global consumers stands at 45%) said they would prefer interacting with personal AI agents, versus 38% who would rather keep their interactions solely with human agents. In fact, 59% of consumers stated they would be willing to switch to a CSP that offers superior personal AI agents.
● Unique AI agents with varying personalities are expected: Almost half (47%) of consumers expressed interest in customizing their AI agent’s characteristics.
● CSPs overestimate consumer hesitancy toward AI agents: While less than half (40%) of consumers globally expressed concern about the use of AI for customer care and sales, CSPs estimated this concern to be nearly 60%. Furthermore, only 27% of Filipino consumers expect to feel uncomfortable interacting with AI agents, compared to CSPs’ estimation of 58%.
● Consumers have high expectations of AI agents, which exceed those of CSPs in every surveyed aspect: 86% of consumers in the Philippines expect a high level of empathy from AI agents, compared to just 43% of CSPs globally. This gap is also significant for agent professionalism (86% vs. 44%), quick issue resolution (88% vs. 51%), and achieving first-time resolution (73% vs. 27%)
The Amdocs amAIz platform, which includes amAIz agents, leverages telco-specific expertise to improve customer care, overall customer experience and beyond, assisting CSPs in seamlessly implementing AI agents into their existing operations. In a mature proof of concept of the amAIz platform, a leading North American service provider achieved a 63% reduction in average handling time, a 50% improvement in first-time problem resolution, and a 49% increase in Transactional Net Promoter Score.
