Two in three Australian organisations to appoint CAIO: 2027
New research from Datacom shows Australian organisations are increasingly appointing dedicated AI leaders to manage transformation, governance and workforce readiness.
The whitepaper, Beyond automation: what Australians really want from customer experience, draws on a nationally representative YouGov survey of more than 1,000 Australians and reveals a clear message: while people are open to AI in CX and customer service, they value speed, accuracy, trust and human support above all else.
The findings come as many organisations are accelerating investments in AI-powered customer experiences.
Datacom research found 76% of Australians say speed of resolution is one of the most important elements of a good customer experience, while 76% value getting issues right the first time and 72% say it is important to feel understood.
At the same time, customer experiences remain inconsistent. Just 23% of Australians believe customer experience has improved over the past year, while 34% believe it has worsened. Nearly half (47%) say their most recent issue took longer than an hour to resolve or remains unresolved and 7% say their issue was never resolved at all.
According to Datacom MD Managed Operations Stacey Tomasoni, these findings highlight the need for organisations to focus on reducing friction rather than simply adding more technology.
“Customers are not asking organisations to be more digital for the sake of it. They are asking them to be easier to deal with, more responsive and more consistent, and they are increasingly arriving with more information and support behind them,” says Tomasoni.
One of the strongest themes emerging from the research is that Australians do not view customer service as a choice between AI or people.
Instead, they are making practical decisions about when each is most appropriate.
While only 8% say they would prefer AI for most interactions, 38% favour AI for simple issues and human support for more complex situations. Around six in ten Australians continue to prefer human assistance for urgent, complex or high-stakes issues.
The research suggests customer acceptance of AI increases when it helps achieve tangible outcomes such as reducing effort, speeding up routine tasks and improving access to information. However, Australians are significantly less comfortable when interactions involve complex decision-making, financial consequences or emotionally sensitive situations.
Datacom CTO Customer Experience Stuart Kerr says the most successful organisations will design service models that deliberately combine human and digital capabilities.
“The most effective service models will not force customers into a single experience. They will match the mode of service to the moment, minimising customer effort by using AI where speed and simplicity matter, people where context, judgement and trust matter most, and orchestration where the next best action needs to happen sooner,” says Kerr.
The research also highlights trust as one of the most important factors shaping AI adoption in customer service.
Nearly half (44%) of Australians would be open to AI acting as a first point of contact in government services if it made the experience faster and easier. However, only 31% say they trust government agencies to use AI responsibly.
The findings suggest Australians are willing to engage with AI when there are clear safeguards in place, including transparency, accountability, access to human support and the ability to review or challenge decisions.
“Trust takes time to build and can disappear very quickly. That means every decision about AI in service has to strengthen the experience, not simply streamline it,” says Tomasoni.
Beyond current customer expectations, the research points to another emerging trend: AI may increasingly shape how customer interactions begin, not just how they are resolved.
As personal AI assistants become more capable, customers may increasingly use them to compare providers, manage subscriptions, book appointments and complete other routine tasks on their behalf. Today, that behaviour remains early-stage, but the research suggests organisations should begin preparing for it.
While 56% of Australians are uncomfortable with an AI assistant contacting a company on their behalf today, 71% say they would trust AI to perform at least one lower-risk task. Trust is highest for activities such as comparing providers (46%), cancelling subscriptions (38%) and booking or rescheduling appointments (34%).
According to Tomasoni, this trend could eventually reshape how organisations think about service delivery, workforce planning and channel design.
“The next service interaction may not always begin with a person. As customers start to use AI assistants to act on their behalf, organisations will need to rethink not only channels, but the demand and workforce models behind them.”
The report concludes that organisations should focus on improving the fundamentals of customer experience before pursuing automation for its own sake. Key priorities include improving first-time resolution, designing hybrid service models, building trust into operating models, reducing friction across customer journeys and preparing for new patterns of AI-enabled demand.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in customer interactions, the research suggests the organisations that succeed will be those that use technology to make service more responsive, consistent and trusted, while ensuring people remain involved where judgement, empathy and accountability matter most.
Datacom’s latest research highlights that the future of customer experience isn’t about choosing between AI and people – it’s about bringing technology, human expertise and service design together to make experiences faster, simpler and more trusted. Datacom helps organisations transform customer service by reducing friction, improving consistency and using technology where it delivers the greatest value.
