The Benefits and Risks of Agentic AI in Customer Service—and Why the Human Touch Remains Essential

By Rob Hosking, Executive Director for Administrative and Customer Support, Robert Half

AI in customer service is not new. Tools like AI-powered IVRs, chatbots and knowledge bases have helped provide support for customers—and customer service professionals—for years. What is new is the growing presence of agentic AI in customer service. This type of AI can understand intent, decide the next step and carry it out across other systems, like CRM platforms and billing and payment systems.

Achieving the right AI vs. human balance in customer service matters—a lot. Customers seeking support want efficiency, but they also want to be treated like VIPs. It’s the human side of service—warmth, empathy, nuance and creative problem-solving—that fosters satisfaction and loyalty, especially when customers have urgent needs, are making high-stakes purchases or are unhappy with their experience.

So, while agentic AI in customer service can boost speed, accuracy and consistency, it can’t provide the human touch that many interactions require. Also, like any AI-driven tool, agentic AI must be thoughtfully deployed and used so it doesn’t add to or create customer service struggles.

The priority for managers is to build teams that can work effectively with agentic AI, as its role in customer service is only going to grow. Let’s take a deeper dive into what agentic AI is, the advantages and risks of using it in customer service, and tips for creating a customer service operation where agentic AI and human intelligence collaborate effectively to benefit customers and the business.

Learn about the top roles in demand for today’s customer support teams.

The Benefits and Risks of Agentic AI in Customer Service

What is agentic AI in customer service?
What are the advantages of using agentic AI systems in customer service?
Risks of agentic AI that can lead to customer service struggles
AI vs. human: intuition is where humans come out ahead
Agentic AI in customer service: bringing it all together

What is agentic AI in customer service?

Agentic AI in customer service is software that can understand a customer’s request, decide what to do next and take those steps across business systems.

What does this look like in practice? Say a customer reports they received the wrong item. Agentic AI can check the order, confirm inventory, set up the exchange, arrange return shipping and text a timeline without human intervention. If the replacement item is out of stock or the customer sounds upset, the agentic AI system can then route the case to a customer service professional with a recap and suggested options. A human is more informed and thus better able to help the customer, and the customer doesn’t need to reintroduce themselves or repeat the details of their issue. The result: a faster fix and a better customer experience.

When you implement agentic AI in your call center or contact center, you can decide the scope of what the system can handle and when a human should step in. As agentic AI systems become more advanced, your business will need to ensure it is always striking the right balance between AI and human in customer interactions.

Get more insight into how customer service has been evolving in recent years.

What are the advantages of using agentic AI systems in customer service?

Agentic AI can help improve the customer experience. It can also enhance the productivity of customer support professionals and the overall performance of a customer service operation. Agentic AI systems can:

Provide service around the clock, so customers don’t have to wait until business hours for help

Handle routine steps in the background, giving customers quicker relief while reducing the workload on customer service teams

Pull context automatically, so a human rep receiving a handoff from agentic AI already knows who the customer is and why they are reaching out

Guide agents in the moment by offering reminders they can accept or edit to keep conversations on track

Bridge language gaps by providing translation and accessibility support so more customers feel understood and included

The result: Agentic AI takes on manual tasks and, in turn, frees customer service professionals to focus on the most important issues and provide superior experiences. It also helps businesses ensure they are taking good care of their customers without overburdening customer service teams.

Get more tips for easing employee stress and reducing the risk of burnout.

Risks of agentic AI that can lead to customer service struggles

While agentic AI delivers speed and scale, it can undermine customer satisfaction if it’s not used strategically. Some risks to watch out for include:

Automating the wrong moments. Using AI in interactions that demand the human touch can result in losing a customer’s trust and their business.

Striking the wrong tone. When a customer is stressed or upset, encountering an over-friendly or robotic-sounding AI agent can create even more frustration.

Raising privacy or fairness concerns. Bias and compliance issues are known risks with AI, which is why it’s critical to pair agentic AI use with strong controls and human reviews.

AI vs. human: Intuition is where humans come out ahead

Even the most intelligent AI tools for customer service can’t truly relate to how customers feel. And they don’t always recognize subtle cues—like pauses, tone shifts or word choice—that offer vital insight into what a customer means and what they need. This is where human intuition wins in customer service.

Consider this example: A customer calls a retailer because the birthday gift they ordered for their mother arrived in a badly dented box. The product wasn’t damaged, but the gift packaging was ruined. A rigid, rules-based response from an agentic AI system might be: “Since the item isn’t defective, we can’t process a replacement.” Or an AI agent might simply provide the basic instructions for returns.

Meanwhile, a human, hearing the disappointment in the customer’s voice, knows to take additional steps to make things right, especially after learning the item is also an 80th birthday gift for the customer’s mother. Instead of following the company’s return policy to the letter, the rep quickly arranges to send a new gift overnight and waives the shipping fee.

Agentic AI in customer service: bringing it all together

Agentic AI in customer service is fast and consistent. However, it’s the performance of human professionals that continues to set the bar on what makes service great. The interactions customers are likely to remember and appreciate most are those that include the human touch.

That’s why hiring skilled customer service specialists is crucial. Look for candidates with:

Empathy: listens fully and validates feelings before trying to solve an issue

Adaptability: adjusts tone and style to suit different situations and personalities

Curiosity: asks clarifying questions to better understand customer issues

Intuition: reads subtle signals and makes sound judgment calls under pressure

Resourcefulness: finds creative but appropriate solutions

Accountability: owns outcomes and follows through

Tech confidence: knows how to make the most of AI and other tools to perform their tasks and help customers more effectively

Even in the AI era, hiring intuitive, skilled talent for customer service teams is how organizations can deliver standout experiences and build loyalty that lasts. The future of customer service depends on professionals who can deliver empathy, adaptability and sound judgment—whether they’re working in close collaboration with agentic AI or taking the lead on assisting customers.

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