EY Report Highlights Over 50% Performance Gains for Top AI Customer Service Users

Organisations achieving the highest returns from artificial intelligence in customer service recorded performance improvements of over 50 per cent across core metrics, according to an EY India report released on November 4, 2026.

The findings are based on more than 100 surveys and executive interviews. The report categorises organisations into three distinct tiers based on the actual value derived from their AI deployments: Achievers at 23 per cent, Challengers at 33 per cent, and Aspirants at 44 per cent.

Organisations classified as Achievers reported improvements ranging from 25 per cent to 50 per cent or greater across key performance indicators, which include customer experience, revenue, average handle time, and agent productivity. Meanwhile, Challengers measured gains between 10 per cent and 25 per cent, while Aspirants recorded under 10 per cent improvement or tracked no measurable outcomes at all.

The study notes that customer experience ranked as the primary transformation objective for 45 per cent of Achievers, surpassing both cost reduction and revenue growth as a strategic priority. These top-performing organisations have scaled artificial intelligence across roughly 60 per cent of their core customer service technology domains, diverging sharply from lower-tier peers that largely rely on isolated pilot projects.

Data quality and governance emerged from the study as the central dividing lines across the tiers. Among Achievers, 38 per cent pointed to data quality as their primary operational challenge. In contrast, over 40 per cent of Challengers and Aspirants cited governance, regulatory compliance, and internal change management as their key barriers to progress.

Adoption patterns also varied significantly between the groups. Approximately 91 per cent of Achievers have deployed voice AI at scale, and 73 per cent utilise AI-powered dynamic knowledge management tools. This compares to an adoption rate of just 8 per cent among Aspirants, underscoring that foundational investments in data infrastructure, process governance, and integrated workflows drive sustained business outcomes rather than standalone automation.

"This report highlights a critical reality for businesses implementing new technologies: deploying tools in isolation does not guarantee success. The significant performance gap between top achievers and aspirants demonstrates that sustainable returns on investment depend heavily on foundational data quality, robust governance frameworks, and scaled integration rather than fragmented pilot projects. Enterprises must focus on getting their underlying data infrastructure right before expecting measurable operational gains from advanced technologies." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes