It’s 2025, so we are back with our annual CX predictions, grounded in our company’s continued mission: to elevate our service to clients and help brands deliver world-class CX.
As we’ve done in years past, 2025 begins by evaluating last year’s predictions against our grading criteria below:
- Spot On: Precisely as anticipated.
- Mostly Right: Close to the mark with minor adjustments.
- Half and Half: Mixed success.
- Mostly Wrong: Some merit but largely off-course.
- Dead Wrong: Missed the mark.
Armed with insights drawn from our expanded CX Dream Path™ framework and a vast BPO and CX AI partner network, this year’s predictions go beyond labor and cost optimization.
We explore the evolving intersections of CX strategy, tech innovation, and the role of AI in shaping customer experiences. First, let’s see how our 2024 projections fared—and then delve into what lies ahead for 2025.
Grading Our 2024 CX Predictions
1. Tech Investment via Labor Cost Savings
Prediction: Labor cost savings will be redirected toward tech, with AI and automation enhancing CX efforts, as more leaders prioritize long-term CX initiatives.
Outcome: Spot On.
This one landed perfectly. Leaders embraced labor savings as a funding source for AI investments, particularly in agent-assist tools and automation. The key? Not replacing humans outright but using AI to amplify efficiency and outcomes. The takeaway for 2025: the most successful brands will double down on balancing tech investments with human expertise to scale CX improvements.
2. Kenya to Overtake South Africa in Outsourcing
Prediction: Kenya will surpass South Africa as Africa’s top outsourcing hub, driven by superior pricing, performance, and ROI.
Outcome: Mostly Wrong.
We saw encouraging growth in expertise and talent across Kenya, but South Africa maintained its position as the go-to African destination for brands in the U.S. While Kenya’s pricing advantage remains, South Africa’s established reputation and superior levels of buyer confidence kept it ahead. In 2025, expect Kenya to keep closing the gap, especially as North American leaders look for cost-effective BPO alternatives.
3. AI Struggles with Agent Occupancy
Prediction: AI will enhance CX metrics like AHT (Average Handle Time) and FCR (First Call Resolution) but fall short in optimizing agent workloads.
Outcome: Mostly Right.
Agent-assist AI tools delivered measurable efficiency gains, but adoption was slower than anticipated—possibly due to budget constraints or lack of internal expertise. For 2025, look for brands to recalibrate—prioritizing AI tools that complement, rather than cannibalize, human contributions.
4. Shift from IVR to AI-Powered IVAs
Prediction: AI-driven IVAs (Intelligent Virtual Assistants) will replace traditional IVR systems, offering dynamic, human-like interactions.
Outcome: Spot On.
IVAs gained traction, delivering smoother, more intuitive customer experiences. However, they’re still not ubiquitous, largely due to integration challenges. In 2025, expect even more adoption, as companies realize the ROI of IVAs in reducing friction and boosting customer satisfaction.
5. English Fluency Challenges for Nearshore BPOs
Prediction: Nearshore BPOs will face pressure to improve English fluency among agents as AI advances, but human language skills remain critical.
Outcome: Mostly Right.
Most nearshore markets such as the Dominican Republic and Colombia saw rising costs to maintain strong English fluency standards, as demand outpaced quality supply. AI helped in some cases (e.g., real-time accent neutralization), but brands leaned heavily on well-trained agents for customer service and support interactions. For 2025, watch how nearshore markets balance these pressures.
6. Political Call Centers Shift to Self-Service
Prediction: The 2024 elections will push political call centers toward self-service options like automated voter registration and survey systems.
Outcome: Mostly Right.
Younger voters drove this shift, favoring quick, automated solutions over traditional call-based outreach. Political campaigns reallocated resources toward digital and SMS strategies.
Political call centers face intense spikes in urgency and volume during election cycles, whether midterms or general elections, unlike the steadier demands of always-on industries like retail or financial services. For 2025, anticipate even more innovation in self-service channels, particularly as AI-powered personalization takes hold.
Six CX Trends To Watch for the Rest of 2025
Enough looking back. Onward to what will likely be the most pivotal year in CX in more than a generation with our 2025 predictions:
Brands Mistake CX Disruption for Progress
Many brands will deploy disconnected AI solutions that create the illusion of innovation without delivering meaningful value. The critical failure lies in treating AI and human operations as separate entities rather than an integrated whole.
Expect to see large, vanity *AI projects fall flat – and incremental, integrated optimizations widen the competitive gap for proactive brands.
(*Note – Facebook was in the news in early January 2024, halting an AI-bot initiative following backlash from glitches and misinformation).
AI Bridges the “Missing Middle” in CX Visibility
We all know CSAT and NPS don’t capture the whole picture. While they will still be around in 2025, we don’t expect them to be used alone.
When customer interactions are captured and reviewed automatically, CX leaders can use AI insights from real-time quality monitoring, compliance tracking, and proactive issue resolution tools to gain additional insights and measure success.
AI captures (and interprets) the full spectrum of customer sentiment not just the extremes typically reflected in post-interaction surveys. This will be further strengthened with the emergence of even more powerful tools such as Tone Emotion AI.
This fuller view opens the potential for new, outcome-based pricing models that prioritize actual performance improvements over traditional quantitative metrics.
2025: The Rise of Omnilingual Call Center Agents
Real-time AI voice modification tools will be more widely used, we expect the following to be the order of adoption:
Accent neutralization will broaden the appeal of some lower-cost outsourcing geographies and reduce the overall cost
Speed to scale will be accelerated by accent neutralization, as the accent standards for hiring new agents can be relaxed without impacting what the caller experiences
Real-time language translation AI will have a breakout year in 2025, allowing a mono-lingual or bi-lingual agent to serve customers in any language
AI Transforms Call Center Hiring & Training
Reducing the burden of agent recruitment and training is a big driver for outsourcing in the first place. 2025 is the year for BPOs to have AI carry some of that burden. These technologies make great sense for the volume of agents that BPOs employ, but less sense for brands to use in-house. We expect to see:
AI recruitment tools align the right innate skills to the right roles and programs improving the accuracy of agent fit
AI-powered training environments will improve speed to proficiency and eliminate the need and risk of having new agents “practice on customers”
Agent assist tools help accelerate agents through cumbersome knowledge bases and multiple back-end systems leading to higher efficiency and more rewarding work resulting in reduced attrition
“Right-Shoring” Redefines CX Outsourcing
Traditional outsourcing models will evolve as AI eliminates geographic constraints. Companies will prioritize expertise and partnership quality over physical location. This transformation enables access to global talent while maintaining consistent service quality through AI-enhanced capabilities. The balance of what is “right” for a brand, in both distributed labor and CX AI technology, will give way to “RIght-Shoring.”
Further, as global infrastructure strengthens and AI tools become more advanced, more brands will explore outsourcing for the first time. The growing integration of labor and CX AI delivers increasingly measurable business benefits, making outsourcing a compelling strategy for achieving both efficiency and innovation.
AI Regulation Heats Up: Legal & Compliance Risks Loom
The expanding use of AI will bring a surge of legal and regulatory complexities, becoming a top concern for organizations. Expect dozens of high-profile cases to emerge as brands face a growing landscape of AI compliance requirements and legal scrutiny.
CX leaders should closely monitor Europe, where stringent AI regulations are already in place. These laws may set a precedent, potentially influencing similar legislation in the U.S., making proactive compliance strategies essential for staying ahead.
Organizations must develop robust governance frameworks to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance.
Bridge the Gap Between BPO and AI
What’s your prediction for 2025? If it’s leveraging CX AI to win, stop settling for half-measures. Don’t choose between optimizing call center labor costs or investing in CX AI when you can achieve both—with experts who understand the full picture. That’s where we come in.
We don’t just predict CX trends; we help our clients navigate them. By living at the intersection of BPO labor and CX AI, we’ve guided the top brands in the world through the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of customer experience. In just 30 minutes, we can show you how to reduce labor costs, enhance CX, and craft a strategy your CFO will approve.
