Within the next two years, almost half of all customer service interactions in Singapore will be handled by artificial intelligence (AI), but businesses must be able to explain how the technology works or risk alienating customers.
According to , by 2027, 41% of customer service cases in Singapore are expected to be managed by AI, up from the current estimate of 30%. Service status A report released today by Salesforce, a leading customer relationship management software company.
The study surveyed service professionals around the world, including 100 in Singapore, and found that AI adoption has jumped from ninth to third place in just one year as a priority for local business leaders.
However, another report released on the same day by customer service platform Zendesk suggests that in the rush to automate, Singapore businesses may be overlooking a key consumer demand: trust.
Zendesk in 2026 Customer experience trends According to the report, 96% of consumers in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the highest number globally, now want clarity on AI decisions.
Nevertheless, the report identified significant gaps in preparedness. Currently, only 35% of organizations provide a fully auditable record of AI decisions, and only 37% of customer service agents believe that building trust and transparency is a top priority.
Mitch Young, senior vice president of APAC at Zendesk, noted that consumers in the region are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
“In Asia-Pacific, what is industry-leading today can quickly become the standard of tomorrow. Customers here don't just want quick answers, they want instant resolution, deep personalization, and transparent and easy-to-understand AI,” said Young.
He added that the business case for investing in AI maturity is strong, with companies that invest seven times more likely to see improved customer churn and nearly twice as likely to report higher returns.
Rise of AI agents
Automation efforts are on the rise as Singapore businesses continue to grapple with the need for labor costs and operational efficiency.
Salesforce's report talks about the rise of agent-based enterprises, where autonomous AI agents work alongside people to handle daily tasks.
Gavin Barfield, Salesforce ASEAN vice president and chief technology officer, said agent AI can help solve the historical trade-off between reducing costs and providing high-quality services.
“For decades, customer service has been limited by commercial constraints. Companies couldn't afford to hire enough staff to answer every call instantly, so they resorted to workarounds like putting music on hold to manage call volume,” Barfield said.
“AI agents eliminate this trade-off and address both scale and quality. Instead of rationing superior service, companies can now use AI agents to instantly deliver the personalized attention of a personal concierge to a mass market.”
For the local workforce, AI integration appears to be changing roles rather than eliminating them completely.
Service agents in Singapore using AI report spending 20% less time on routine tasks such as resetting passwords and processing status updates, freeing up about four hours per week for more complex tasks.
As a result, 84% of service professionals in Singapore say AI is creating opportunities for growth, with many upskilling to manage more complex issues that require human empathy and judgment.
However, hurdles still remain. According to a report from Salesforce, security is a top concern for service leaders in Singapore, with 49% admitting that security concerns are holding them back from adopting AI.
Data disconnection is also a major challenge, according to Zendesk research, with 78% of customer experience leaders in APAC noting that the inability to connect siled knowledge causes AI to provide inconsistent answers and undermine customer trust.
“The best systems put contextual intelligence to work, connecting past interactions with current intent to predict what will happen next,” said Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk. “That's the balance Zendesk provides: automation that gives a personal touch and builds trust by bringing real context to every conversation.”
