Jun 12, 2025

SAVED From multimodal copilots to autonomous agents, some companies are banking on AI to transform every layer of the customer experience. The Gist AI leaders raise the bar. Anthropic, Intercom, Ada and Forethought are pushing AI beyond scripted chatbots into agentic, multimodal customer experiences. Smarter support, faster service. From predictive copilots to GPT-4 chatbots, AI is resolving inquiries, boosting productivity and delivering personalized interactions at scale. Success depends on integration. Real-world AI performance requires backend access, data orchestration and human oversight—not just plug-and-play tools. AI-powered customer interactions are rapidly evolving, with businesses using advanced models to enhance support, personalize experiences and improve operations. Industry leaders such as Anthropic, Intercom, Ada, and Forethought are leading this transformation, using AI to automate responses, assist human agents, and deliver more intuitive customer engagement. This article explores how these companies are pushing the boundaries of customer AI technology, shaping the future of frictionless, intelligent interactions. Table of Contents Business Efficiency Gains Lowers support costs, increases agent productivity and scales operations Forethought’s Predictive AI adds to this capability by forecasting customer intent and resolution paths, enabling businesses to preempt issues and optimize resource allocation before problems escalate. Looking ahead, Forethought is leaning into a future powered by agentic AI —a new phase of automation where AI agents can plan and execute tasks independently, rather than waiting for specific prompts. Founder Deon Nicholas told CMSWire that to meet rising customer expectations, businesses must go beyond retrieval-based approaches. “Adopting agentic AI allows CX AI to plan, reason and execute tasks," Nicholas said. "These solutions foster brand loyalty and accelerate companies’ growth and profitability.” By embracing this shift, Forethought is positioning its platform not just as a tool for efficiency, but as a strategic driver of long-term customer loyalty and service transformation. Through agentic capabilities and predictive insight, it was designed to enable businesses to deliver more consistent, context-aware support at scale. While many vendors still rely on information-retrieval approaches to support automation, Nicholas explained that Forethought is building solutions that go beyond answering questions—they act. Nicholas said that businesses looking to scale personalized, high-quality service must evolve past static, FAQ-style bots. Instead, agentic AI enables dynamic problem-solving, adapting to complex customer needs in real time without requiring tightly scripted workflows. The Challenges of Implementing AI-Driven Support One of the most overlooked realities in AI implementation is the level of effort needed to tailor solutions for meaningful outcomes. Businesses that rely solely on off-the-shelf AI without integration or oversight may struggle to meet the performance that vendors promise. Heaton said that for an AI agent to be more than an FAQ bot, it has to be hooked into a brand’s systems. "That means API and integration work by giving the AI agent ‘limbs’ to be able to take actions." Heaton emphasized that relying exclusively on generative AI vendors often leads to mediocre results. True impact comes when businesses invest time and resources into tightly integrating AI with internal systems, building secure workflows and establishing guardrails to minimize or eliminate data leakage and reputational risks. Integration and Data Fragmentation Remain Top Challenges Another major hurdle in adopting effective AI tools lies not in the technology itself, but in how customer data is organized and accessed across touchpoints. As such, Garg emphasized that one of the biggest organizational challenges is fragmented, siloed data. "A rushed or botched roll-out of new AI capabilities that leaves consumers frustrated…could be costly." According to Garg, the real power of AI lies in its ability to orchestrate experiences across the entire journey—but only if brands take the time to unify data and avoid rollout missteps that frustrate customers. In addition, data privacy remains one of the most pressing risks in customer AI. Even enterprise AI tools may fine-tune on user data, requiring safeguards to prevent potential violations. Yelena Ambartsumian, founding attorney at AI and privacy law firm AMBART LAW PLLC , told CMSWire that using customer support tickets and conversations for training can be done, but it requires stripping out personally identifiable information. "Otherwise, it may constitute a 'sale' of personally identifiable information, which must be disclosed," Ambartsumian said. Why Human Oversight Still Matters in the Age of AI Even with mature AI systems, human oversight remains essential—especially for edge cases, training, and accountability. "With more advanced AI and sufficient documentation, many contact centers may get to a point where there are few escalations and one human oversees many AI agents," said Heaton, who envisions a future in which humans act more as supervisors than front-line responders, conducting random quality checks and refining models. Still, rare or emotionally charged interactions will always require a human touch. Similarly, Forethought’s founder, Nicholas, emphasized that while AI may eventually handle more frontline tasks, the most effective solutions will still require human oversight—for empathy, edge cases, and continuous improvement. "AI should empower people, not necessarily replace them. Ironically, AI may prove to be more empathetic and patient than humans, especially in addressing complex and ambiguous customer support issues." About the Author Scott Clark is a seasoned journalist based in Columbus, Ohio, who has made a name for himself covering the ever-evolving landscape of customer experience, marketing and technology. He has over 20 years of experience covering Information Technology and 27 years as a web developer. His coverage ranges across customer experience, AI, social media marketing, voice of customer, diversity & inclusion and more. Scott is a strong advocate for customer experience and corporate responsibility, bringing together statistics, facts, and insights from leading thought leaders to provide informative and thought-provoking articles. Connect with Scott Clark: Tags