New research from Salesforce reveals Australian service teams expect AI to handle 60% of cases by 2027, freeing workers for complex problem-solving.
What’s happening: AI has jumped from outside the top ten to become the number one priority for Australian service leaders in just one year, according to Salesforce’s seventh State of Service report surveying 6,500 service professionals globally, including 250 in Australia and 50 in New Zealand.
Why this matters: This shift represents the emergence of what Salesforce calls the “agentic enterprise,” where AI agents work alongside human teams as collaborative partners. Australian service professionals project that agentic AI will boost upsell revenue by 15%, while New Zealand expects potential revenue increases of 20%.
Customer service in Australia is about to look dramatically different. Research shows artificial intelligence will handle the majority of service cases within just two years, fundamentally changing how teams work and what skills matter most.
The shift is already underway. Australian service teams estimate 31% of cases are currently handled by AI, but by 2027 they project that figure will reach 60% as AI agents gain momentum across organisations.
“AI is now the undeniable, number one priority for Australian service leaders as our local organisations evolve and elevate their customer experience approaches,” said Jane Brown, SVP Sales at Salesforce in ANZ. “This monumental shift to the ‘agentic enterprise’ will free up valuable human talent to focus on complex problem-solving, developing new skills, and capturing high-value opportunities.”
The transformation reflects more than just technological adoption. AI has vaulted up the priority list for Australian service leaders, jumping from outside the top ten to number one in just 12 months.
Reps gaining time for strategic work
The impact on individual service representatives tells a compelling story. Reps using AI spend 20% less time on routine cases, freeing up an estimated four hours per week for more complex work. That translates to less time handling password resets and status updates, and more time making nuanced judgement calls and managing difficult exceptions.
Service reps with agentic AI spend even more time on high-complexity cases, dedicating 25% of their week to the thorniest issues.
Robert Sutton, Commercial Director for Sutton Tools, highlighted the practical benefits. “Our implementation of Agentforce on Service Cloud is allowing us to scale our service operations effectively, providing a means of augmenting our customer service teams with digital labour that will help reduce call volumes by an anticipated 20%.”
“By taking on tasks like providing product and inventory information autonomously, Agentforce will enable our teams to concentrate on personalised support and complex issues, rising to the challenge of meeting increased customer expectations, while we navigate the same challenges many service leaders called out in this research, such as operational costs, talent shortages and resolution times,” Sutton added.
The extra time is creating new career pathways. Compared with Australian and New Zealand non-users, agentic AI-enabled service reps are significantly more likely to mentor colleagues, lead cross-functional projects, and improve processes. They’re also more likely to work with high-value customers and take on leadership roles.
Skills development reshaping careers
The career benefits extend beyond daily tasks. In the APAC region, 84% of service reps with AI say it’s creating growth opportunities. Specifically, 91% of Australian service reps have developed new skills, and 92% say their role has become more specialised as a result of working with AI tools.
This skills evolution matters for retention and satisfaction. Service reps with AI feel more optimistic about their career prospects, with agentic AI users showing the strongest confidence about their professional future.
Australian workers remain pragmatic about AI adoption, though enthusiasm is building. While 80% of Australian workers are actively using AI-powered tools, many organisations still lack the governance structures to support systematic implementation.
Security concerns slowing rollout
Despite the momentum, implementation challenges persist. Security remains the top concern, with 46% of Australian and 62% of New Zealand service leaders saying security concerns have delayed or limited their AI initiatives.
However, 95% of Australian and 86% of New Zealand service leaders say the obstacles they’ve faced were expected, and in many cases, less challenging than anticipated.
“While AI is the clear number one priority for Australian service leaders, the top challenge they face during implementation remains security concerns,” Brown said. “These results provide a clear path forward: Australian enterprises that ground these implementations in a foundation of security and trust can ensure they are safely accelerating their adoption of agentic AI, turning their investment into measurable business value and overcoming siloed complexity.”
The revenue implications are substantial. Australian service professionals project that agentic AI will boost upsell revenue by 15%, while in New Zealand the potential revenue increase is 20%. Beyond resolving more cases, teams are betting on AI agents to cut service costs and improve customer satisfaction.
As organisations navigate this transition, the focus is shifting from whether to adopt AI to how to implement it effectively. The emergence of practical AI strategies emphasises the importance of governance, training, and security frameworks that enable service teams to harness AI’s potential whilst maintaining trust and quality.
The next two years will determine which organisations successfully navigate this shift, transforming AI from a technological curiosity into a fundamental component of service delivery.
Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
