Cisco has released a landmark global report titled “The Race to an Agentic Future: How Agentic AI Will Transform Customer Experience,” outlining how agentic AI is set to become the new foundation for B2B technology support and services. Based on insights from nearly 8,000 business and technical decision-makers across 30 countries, the findings highlight a transformative shift—one where AI-powered agents play a dominant role in how companies engage with their tech vendors.
Agentic AI: A Tipping Point in CX
Agentic AI represents a new generation of artificial intelligence that goes beyond automation. These AI agents are task-aware, adaptive, and capable of independently taking or recommending actions to achieve outcomes—without human intervention.
- Smart Autonomy: Agentic AI can monitor, decide, act, and adapt on its own.
- Beyond Traditional AI: Unlike earlier automation, it doesn’t require constant human stitching of workflows.
- Proactive and Predictive: AI interactions become highly contextual, data-driven, and outcome-focused.
Findings from the Global Survey
1. CX Demand Skyrockets in the AI Era
- 92% say vendor support/services are more critical now due to rising IT complexity.
- Enterprises are leaning heavily on tech vendors for strategic IT success.
2. Agentic AI to Lead Most CX Interactions
- 68% of CX interactions expected to be handled by agentic AI within 3 years.
- 56% expect this shift within just 12 months, revealing an urgency to act fast.
3. Full Lifecycle Impact
- Over 80% of respondents see benefits from agentic AI across all stages of the technology lifecycle—especially in support, strategy, and operations.
4. AI as a CX Game-Changer
- Improved productivity, cost/time savings, better data analytics, and smarter troubleshooting are the top expected benefits.
5. Human Interaction Still Matters
- 96% emphasize the irreplaceable value of human relationships in B2B interactions.
- Hybrid models (AI + human touch) remain key to trust and satisfaction.
6. Governance Is Non-Negotiable
- 99% demand ethical, transparent governance in agentic AI deployment.
- 81% want vendors to share their AI vision to foster alignment and confidence.
A Strategic Imperative for Vendors
Cisco’s report issues a stark warning for tech vendors still hesitating on AI transformation. Those that lag behind risk:
- Reputational harm
- Degraded customer trust
- Increased churn
On the other hand, vendors who lead with ethical, scalable, and well-integrated agentic AI stand to gain:
- Competitive edge
- Operational scalability
- Customer loyalty at scale
Cisco’s Vision for Agentic CX
Liz Centoni, Cisco’s EVP & Chief Customer Experience Officer, shared the company’s strategic direction:
“We are closer than ever to solving persistent enterprise pain points. With four decades of data and customer trust, we are reimagining Cisco CX as an agentic-led function—proactive, predictive, and personalized. But this research makes one thing clear: we have to move faster.”
Cisco is embracing agentic AI not just as a support enhancement but as a full-scale redefinition of customer experience across the board—from smarter networking to better security and more productive IT teams.
Cisco’s findings underscore a powerful shift already underway: agentic AI is not just the future of customer experience—it’s the present. Enterprises expect speed, intelligence, and ethical engagement from their vendors, and agentic AI is becoming the cornerstone of delivering on those expectations. For technology providers, the message is clear: adapt fast or fall behind.
