Gartner: Unofficial Third-Party GenAI Tools Will Resolve Many Customer Service Issues

By 2027, 40% of all customer service issues will be fully resolved by unofficial third-party tools powered by GenAI, according to research by Gartner, Inc.

Consumers are increasingly adopting unofficial third-party GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Apple Intelligence to resolve customer service issues. The deep integration of GenAI into these widely available consumer tools is driving a shift in consumer behavior, as customers prefer these platforms for their convenience and availability. As a result, customer service teams may expect a decline in official first-party service volume.

“There is a transformation in customer behavior and a reset in their expectations with GenAI continuing to reshape the customer service landscape,” said Daniel O’Sullivan, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Customer Service and Support practice. “As customers increasingly self-solve issues through GenAI-enabled tools, there will be diminished demand for official first-party service. When customers do have to engage with first-party service, their expectations will be higher.”

GenAI-enabled third-party platforms can provide customers with a significantly lower effort experience than even the best first-party options, according to Gartner. While first-party service channels require customers to navigate unfamiliar user interfaces, or wait for solutions, consumer GenAI tools offer immediate answers with minimal effort, integrated into the devices, apps and websites consumers already use daily. Leaders must therefore continue to assess the value of first-party service investments.

According to a Gartner survey of 187 service and support leaders conducted in July and August of 2024, 84% agreed that customers have higher expectations for service now than in the past. As a result, leaders must focus on minimizing customer effort and breaking down sources of friction that lead to a disconnected customer journey. They are advised to use GenAI to improve self-service success by implementing a conversational experience across channels and capturing customer intent through natural language inputs.

“Leaders should create differentiated self-service experiences for customers and focus investments on more sophisticated queries that third-party options cannot easily handle,” said O’Sullivan. “They must keep a close eye on the fast-changing third-party space, monitoring quality and availability of third-party GenAI responses and concentrating their investments on self-service capabilities that supplement, rather than replace, third-party options.”

Gartner clients can read more in: “Third-Party GenAI Will Eclipse Your Company’s Customer Service.”

Channel Impact^®
Customer expectations for service will evolve as they become accustomed to the low-effort, familiar, and conversational capabilities of widely available GenAI tools. Customer service and support influencers must help in strategy evolution and adaptation that matches the needs of customers.