AI expected to resolve nearly half of customer service cases in Singapore by 2027, data shows
AI could handle 41 percent of customer service cases in Singapore by 2027, reshaping service operations and career paths.
Artificial intelligence is set to take on a much larger role in customer service operations in Singapore over the next few years, with new research indicating that AI could handle close to half of all service cases by 2027. The findings point to a rapid shift in how organisations design service teams, invest in technology, and define the role of human representatives.
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The data comes from Salesforce’s latest State of Service report, based on a global survey of 6,500 service professionals, including 100 respondents in Singapore. It highlights how AI is moving beyond experimentation and becoming a core part of day-to-day service delivery, driven by rising customer expectations and pressure to improve efficiency.
AI rises quickly on the priority list for service leaders
Service leaders in Singapore estimate that around 30 percent of customer service cases are currently handled by AI-powered tools. By 2027, they expect this figure to reach 41 percent, reflecting growing confidence in AI agents and digital labour.
This change is mirrored in strategic priorities. Within a year, AI has climbed from ninth to third place among key focus areas for service leaders in Singapore. Improving workforce skills remains the top priority, followed by automating processes and workflows, with AI implementation now close behind.
The report describes this shift as the emergence of the agentic enterprise, where AI agents work alongside human teams as collaborative partners. In this model, AI systems can reason and act independently to resolve routine enquiries, allowing human employees to concentrate on more complex and higher-value interactions.
Gavin Barfield, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Solutions, Salesforce ASEAN, said AI agents address a long-standing constraint in customer service. “For decades, customer service has been limited by a commercial constraint: businesses couldn’t afford to hire enough staff to answer every call instantly, so they relied on workarounds like hold music to manage the volume of inquiries,” he said. “AI agents eliminate this trade-off, solving for both scale and quality. Instead of rationing exceptional service, companies can now use AI agents to deliver the immediate, tailored attention of a personal concierge to the mass market. This allows human teams to stop managing queues and start managing the complex, high-value relationships that truly drive growth.”
Beyond faster resolution, service professionals in Singapore expect AI to support revenue growth. Respondents estimate that agentic AI could increase upsell revenue by around 15 percent, as representatives gain more time to focus on customer relationships and problem-solving.
Service roles shift towards more complex and specialised work
The impact of AI is not limited to organisational metrics. At an individual level, service representatives in Singapore who use AI report spending significantly less time on repetitive tasks. On average, they spend 20 percent less time handling routine cases, freeing up an estimated four hours each week.
This additional time is increasingly directed towards complex issues that require judgement and experience. Representatives with access to agentic AI tools spend about a quarter of their working week on high-complexity cases, compared with colleagues who do not use such tools. As a result, service roles are becoming more specialised and less transactional.
The report also links AI usage to career development. Compared with non-users, service representatives who work with agentic AI are more likely to mentor colleagues, lead cross-functional initiatives, and improve internal processes. They are also more likely to work with high-value customers and take on leadership responsibilities.
In Singapore, 84 percent of service representatives using AI say it is creating growth opportunities for them. Around 75 percent report developing new skills, while 78 percent say their roles have become more specialised as a result of working with AI tools. Across the Asia-Pacific region, those using agentic AI are also the most optimistic about their long-term career prospects.
Security remains a concern as adoption scales
Despite the positive outlook, service leaders continue to approach AI deployment with caution. Security is the most frequently cited challenge, with 49 percent of service leaders in Singapore saying security concerns have delayed or limited their AI initiatives.
Even so, most leaders say these challenges were expected and manageable. About 86 percent report that the obstacles they encountered were anticipated, and in many cases less difficult than initially feared. Attitudes towards AI in security are also evolving, with many leaders viewing AI agents as tools that can strengthen threat detection, monitoring, and breach prevention when implemented carefully.
Overall, the findings suggest that AI is becoming a foundational part of customer service in Singapore. As organisations balance automation with human expertise, the focus is shifting towards using AI to improve both operational performance and the quality of work for service professionals.
