Qualtrics Annual X4 Conference: Experience Agents Have Arrived

Forbes

21-03-2025

AI is the concierge of the future - anticipating needs, personalizing experiences and making every interaction seamless. AI and Agentic AI was a key theme from a customer experience perspective at the annual Qualtrics X4 Experience Management Summit this week in Salt Lake City bringing in 6,000 practitioners from all over the world.
"The best organizations in the world trust Qualtrics AI today to make every connection count, and Experience Agents represent a radical shift in what's possible from an Experience Management platform," said Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin.
A key customer experience announcement was Qualtrics Experience Agents™ - highly specialized AI agents that autonomously deliver customer and employee experiences at scale across every channel and interaction. Unlike transactional AI agents that promise efficiency, Experience Agents are designed to interact directly with customers and employees.
Qualtrics Annual X4 Conference in Salt Lake, March 20, 2025
For example, if a customer consistently flies the same airline and uses the same car service - leaving home at the same time before each flight - why couldn't the airline automatically arrange the car service at the moment the flight is booked? These small but significant gestures enable companies to anticipate customer needs, simplify their lives, and foster deeper loyalty. These experience agents expand customer experience programs, close the loop with customers, and extend your workforce beyond what was thought possible before.
Experience Agents will interact directly with customers and employees in personalized, proactive and empathetic ways that increase loyalty, boost employee engagement, and drive greater business insights and opportunities. The specialized agents scale across every channel and touchpoint, respond in-the-moment to fix or improve experiences, and track market trends to pursue strategic opportunities. With Experience Agents, companies no longer have to wait to take action from feedback from surveys, call center chats, online reviews, and online interactions. Agents can step right into the customer interaction and resolve the issue in the moment in ways tailored to individual preferences and needs.
At the event I sat down with Isabelle Zdatny, head of thought leadership at Qualtrics XM Institute, who co-wrote a brand new report the Qualtrics 2025 Consumer Trends Report offering a critical lens into the evolving customer experience (CX) landscape.
Isabelle Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership for Qualtrics XM, sits down with Blake Morgan for The ... More Modern Customer Podcast
Based on responses from 23,730 consumers across 23 countries, the report underscores a central truth: loyalty is harder to earn and easier to lose than ever before. For chief customer officers (CCOs) and senior CX executives, the findings illuminate both challenges and opportunities to strengthen customer relationships in a hyper-competitive world.
6 Key Findings From Qualtrics 2025 Global Consumer Trends Report 1. Heightened Expectations and the Fragility of Loyalty
The report reveals a stark reality: over 53% of consumers cut spending after a single bad experience—a 2.7% increase from 2024. With inflation squeezing disposable income, customers are less forgiving and more discerning, expecting brands to deliver on promises consistently. Interestingly, the data shows that incremental improvements can yield outsized returns. Moving from a 1- or 2-star experience to a 3-star experience boosts repurchase likelihood by 1.6 times—nearly 15% more than the lift from a 3- to 5-star jump.
For CX leaders, this is a clarion call to prioritize reliability over perfection. While striving for excellence is admirable, the real opportunity lies in eliminating friction points and meeting baseline expectations. Isabelle Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at Qualtrics XM Institute, notes that "nice-to-have" industries like retail and hospitality are raising the bar, forcing even "need-to-have" sectors like utilities to up their game. CCOs should audit their customer journeys to identify and address these foundational gaps, ensuring no customer is lost to preventable missteps.
2. Trust as the Bedrock of Loyalty
Trust emerges as a cornerstone of customer loyalty in 2025, with 61% of consumers prioritizing it when interacting with companies. Yet, businesses are faltering—communication issues rank as the second-leading cause of poor experiences, trailing only service delivery failures. The report emphasizes that clear, honest, and reliable communication across the customer journey—from marketing to support—is non-negotiable.
This finding resonates deeply in today's climate, where skepticism toward AI and data usage is on the rise. CX executives must double down on transparency, ensuring promises made in marketing align with the reality of delivery. Hilton's approach, as shared by Jessie Harn, Sr. Director of Enterprise Customer Insights, offers a blueprint: by collecting in-stay feedback, they've refocused on "brilliant basics" like a good night's sleep, rebuilding trust one guest at a time. CCOs should consider similar real-time feedback loops to close the gap between expectation and execution.
3. The Decline of Feedback and the Rise of Silent Defection
A troubling trend for CX leaders is the 8% drop in customer feedback since 2021. Only 32% of consumers now send feedback directly to companies after a bad experience, down 6.9%, while 51% opt to say nothing and simply walk away. This "silent defection" leaves businesses blind to friction points, making it harder to course-correct.
The report urges a diversification of Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs beyond traditional surveys. Max Venker, CX Solutions Expert at Qualtrics, advocates for integrating operational and behavioral data with predictive analytics to uncover insights. For executives, this means investing in a multi-channel listening strategy—think social media sentiment, contact center interactions, and digital behavior tracking. Elizabeth Erkenbrack, RVP of XM Strategy, adds a human touch: "Show customers you're listening and care about what you hear." Demonstrating responsiveness, even without fixing everything, can keep the feedback flowing.
4. AI Skepticism: A Call for Transparency and Human Connection
While AI adoption grows—two-thirds of APJ consumers have used it at least once—skepticism is mounting. Only 23% trust companies to use AI responsibly, and concerns about trustworthiness and interaction quality loom large, especially in North America. Latin American consumers, despite their optimism, demand transparency around data use, with 71% citing privacy concerns.
For CX leaders, the lesson is clear: AI must enhance, not replace, the human experience. Leonie Brown, Lead Product Scientist at Qualtrics, advises using AI to reduce employee workload—think faster answers or better responses—while offering swift human escalation when needed. Apple's launch of Apple Intelligence, highlighted in the report, exemplifies this balance: it's positioned as a tool to help users achieve goals, not a flashy gimmick. CCOs should align AI strategies with customer-centric outcomes, ensuring transparency and choice remain paramount.
5. Regional Nuances: Tailoring Strategies Without Overhauling Them
The report's regional breakdown reveals consistency across markets, with subtle differences. EMEA consumers, bolstered by GDPR, show lower privacy concerns (42%) but less loyalty. APJ leads in AI comfort, while Latin America balances high personalization demands (73%) with privacy worries. North America lags in AI trust, necessitating a focus on education and reliability.
CX executives need not overhaul strategies but should fine-tune them. In EMEA, emphasize value to boost loyalty; in APJ, lean into AI with clear data ethics; in Latin America, co-create personalized experiences with customer consent. Universally, the data underscores that trust, consistency, and responsiveness are the linchpins of success.
6. The Path Forward for CX Leaders
The 2025 landscape demands agility and empathy from CX leaders. By focusing on trust, addressing silent defection, and deploying AI judiciously, CCOs can turn challenges into opportunities. The Qualtrics report isn't just a snapshot—it's a roadmap for building lasting customer connections in an unpredictable world. For senior executives, the message is simple: get the basics right, listen harder, and lead with transparency. Your customers—and your bottom line—will thank you.You can download the full Qualtrics 2025 Global Trends Report here.