The AI Advantage: Moving from Cost Centre to Growth Engine

💡 Rethinking the Role of Service in the Growth Equation

Customer service has traditionally been treated as a cost to minimise—streamlined, offshored, or automated. But AI is changing the equation. McKinsey & Company (2023) estimated that AI-enabled service can cut costs by up to 40% while boosting both customer satisfaction and agent productivity.

Forward-thinking companies aren’t just using AI to save money—they’re using it to drive growth. The result is a fundamental shift: from service as a support function to service as a strategic growth engine. And when applied with intent, AI is the catalyst behind that transformation.

📊 From Resolution to Revenue

According to Zendesk 's 2025 CX Trends Report, companies leading in AI adoption are outperforming their peers in areas that directly impact commercial performance:

• 22% higher customer retention

• 33% better customer acquisition

• 49% more cross-sell revenue

That’s not theory — that’s execution. And it’s a result of AI doing what it does best:

• Automating repetitive tasks

• Surfacing smarter recommendations

• Making every interaction feel more personal — even at scale

As Harvard Business Review (2023) notes, the most successful applications of AI in customer service are those that deepen personalisation and foster stronger emotional connections between customers and brands.

🔄 Changing What We Measure

To get this right, we also have to stop measuring service by the old metrics. It’s not just about handle time or deflection anymore. CX Leaders are measuring:

• CSAT vs AI resolution rate

• First Contact Resolution

• Internal Quality Score

• AI-assisted conversion rates

• Lifetime value (LTV) uplift per touchpoint

This is where AI shows its commercial edge. When it’s deployed not just to do more, but to do better — across acquisition, retention, and expansion.

⚙️ How It Works in Practice

Here’s what this looks like on the ground:

• A smart AI Agent answers a billing question instantly, before the customer churns.

• A product recommendation is made mid-chat based on behaviour, not just browsing history.

• A frontline team, now less bogged down with low-value queries, focuses on onboarding, upsell, or reactivation campaigns.

The goal isn’t to replace the human in service. It’s to unlock their time — and to scale your commercial impact without scaling your costs.

References

• Zendesk (2025) Zendesk CX Trends 2025.

• McKinsey & Company (2023) The Next Frontier of Customer Engagement: AI-enabled Customer Service.

• Harvard Business Review (2023) Using AI to Build Stronger Connections with Customers.