AI and contextual intelligence reset UK customer expectations
Published: Thu, 20 Nov 2025
Customer expectations have jumped. Research from Zendesk's latest Customer Experience Trends report shows that UK consumers now expect fast, accurate, and context-aware support-on the first try. AI is part of the story, but the real shift is how well brands combine AI, data, and human judgment in real time.
What customers now expect
Speed and accuracy decide the sale. In the UK, 90% of CX leaders say customers will leave if an issue isn't solved at first contact. 85% of consumers say responsiveness and accuracy strongly influence whether they buy.
Always-on is becoming standard. 63% of consumers expect 24/7 support, aided by AI agents and self-service that actually resolve issues, not just deflect them.
AI exposure is up - memory is the difference-maker
AI is no longer novel. 64% of UK consumers say they use AI more than last year, with 57% seeing more AI in customer service. Expectations have matured: 84% want agents to continue conversations across channels without rehashing details, and 79% feel frustrated when they have to repeat themselves.
Personalisation now means remembering. 63% expect support to reflect previous interactions, and 85% of CX leaders say memory-rich AI is essential to build those personalised journeys. As Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier puts it, "AI is not the differentiator anymore. How intelligently you apply it is."
First-contact resolution is the baseline
Consumers expect their problem solved in one go. That same 90% figure shows how unforgiving the stakes are. High-maturity organisations report that AI accelerates both first responses and full resolutions-98% say it makes a significant difference.
Channel flexibility matters
Customers want to switch modes without starting over. 70% expect to communicate with text, images, and video in the same thread. 83% of CX leaders believe customers now expect video or visual sharing in support, and 84% say Voice AI could reshape how people interact with brands.
Transparency is part of the experience
Trust requires clear reasoning. 91% of UK consumers want plain explanations for decisions made by AI tools, and 77% specifically value simple language. 87% of CX leaders say transparency will become necessary for all customer-facing AI, and among high-maturity teams, 100% already have-or plan to add-controls that show how AI reached an outcome.
For more, see Zendesk's report: Customer Experience Trends.
Data-driven teams move faster
Leaders are leaning into AI analytics. 91% say "promptable analytics" surface useful insights in seconds. 86% say easier data querying gets more people involved in smart decisions, and 88% report AI is already improving their data and analytics capabilities.
As Matthias Goehler, EMEA CTO at Zendesk, notes: "With contextual intelligence, AI is evolving from automation to anticipation. It transforms one-off interactions into continuous, coherent, and human conversations."
What to do now: a practical CX playbook
- Unify your customer data. Give agents and AI the same timeline, context, and preferences at a glance.
- Adopt memory-rich AI. Persist conversation history across channels so customers never repeat themselves.
- Make first-contact resolution a KPI. Standardise playbooks, tighten routing, and escalate with clear ownership.
- Offer 24/7 coverage. Combine AI agents, knowledge bases, and a smart handoff to human teams.
- Go multimodal. Support text, images, screen recordings, and video in a single thread. Pilot Voice AI where it shortens time-to-resolution.
- Be transparent by design. Explain AI decisions in plain language and give customers an easy way to contest or clarify.
- Use promptable analytics. Let teams ask questions in natural language and push insights into daily workflows.
- Measure what matters. Track FCR, time-to-first-response, containment, CSAT, and escalation reasons by channel.
- Train continuously. Upskill agents on AI-assisted workflows and conversation design; tune your knowledge base weekly.
Want structured learning for your team? Explore role-based AI upskilling here: AI courses by job.
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