AI can transform customer experiences – when it lives up to its promise
Businesses need technology and people to help serve customers faster
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/jon-shaw · TechRadarOpinion By Jon Shaw published 13 April 2026
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) entered the mainstream with a powerful promise: to make everyday interactions simpler, faster and more intuitive. In customer service, that promise is especially important.
As connectivity becomes ever more essential to how we live, work and stay in touch, people expect problems to be resolved quickly and conversations to feel seamless.
Jon Shaw
Commercial Operations Director at VodafoneThree.
But, even as AI becomes more capable, it doesn’t remove the need for human input.
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While some industries have been guilty of struggling to apply AI in ways that truly improve these moments – or becoming over-reliant on the technology before it’s quite ready – we’ve seen, first-hand, the impact AI can have when applied alongside people.
It removes effort for customers, improves outcomes for agents, and raises overall service standards.
That balance of human empathy and intelligent automation should underpin the approach to AI. For us, it is ultimately about using AI to support human experts, rather than replace them – pairing technology with the trained specialists who can interpret context, adapt quickly and respond with empathy.
It’s about unlocking the version of AI that customers have been promised.
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