AI in customer experience: New Zealand’s make-or-break moment

New Zealand is quietly becoming a nation of queue waiters. According to ServiceNow’s latest AI in customer experience report, Kiwi consumers spent more than 22 million hours waiting in service queues last year. That’s eight hours per person per year listening to hold music they’d rather forget.

Kiwis expect answers in the moment, not after tedious waits or being shuffled among multiple departments. When organizations fall short, the impact is evident: Nearly one in two consumers is willing to switch providers if their time is wasted, and more than 20% will seek a refund after a poor experience.

Consumers have moved from AI hesitation to demand for tech that enables services that help solve their issues.

For businesses, this is more than a wake-up call; it’s a make-or-break moment. How leaders respond can affect customer satisfaction scores (CSATs), revenue, market share, and the economic growth boost New Zealand is banking on AI to deliver.

Kiwis are all-in on AI

Speed and efficiency have become deal-breakers, with more than half of New Zealanders counting on AI for faster, smoother service. More than 40% agree AI has made their experiences with brands better, and 55% see access to 24/7 support as the biggest gain from AI.

At the other end of the line, service teams say they’re now dependent on AI to help deliver more personalized service. Our research found 64% of reps trust new AI tools, and 54% agree they’re key to providing the superior service consumers want.

If consumers and frontline employees are all-in on AI-powered experiences, and investment in AI is soaring, why are so many organizations falling short? In most cases I see, leaders are addressing the wrong problems.

Start with the foundation

Bigger budgets have resulted in a proliferation of fragmented chatbots, virtual assistants, and automated routing. Every team has AI in their tools, but the tools aren’t talking to each other.

When your data is fragmented, your workflows are disconnected, and your teams are working in separate systems, adding more AI doesn't fix those problems. It just automates dysfunction.

The ultimate experience is the one you don’t realize you’re having: when CRM AI agents autonomously anticipate needs, determine the best course of action, manage workflows across departments, and help resolve issues before customers have to ask.

System consolidation isn’t glamorous, but every leader I’ve spoken to who’s seeing positive results says the same thing: They had to fix the foundation first.

Empower reps to deliver empathy

Our research shows that, on average, service reps toggle between three to five systems to resolve a single issue. This “swivel-chairing” adds up: Simple requests can take an hour, while complex customer problems can span a full working week.

Tellingly, the majority of New Zealanders now opt for self-service before speaking to a human representative. But organizations that see AI as a replacement for frontline teams are fundamentally misreading what their customers value.

Customers are looking for service that’s both swift and personal. When a situation requires judgment or human touch, employees should show up in the right place, at the right time, with the empathy 55% of customers say they’re not getting.

ServiceNow Customer Service Management can help lighten the service rep load by automatically orchestrating routine tasks behind the scenes.

For example, if a customer calls about a billing issue, AI agents can instantly gather their account info, flag recent payments, and suggest the next best action. That frees the live agent to focus on listening and solving the problem instead of shifting between screens.

In a market where customers are making deliberate choices about who earns their trust, the pressure is on for leaders to connect their people, data, and processes.

Replace patchwork with precision

After speed, clarity is the next breaking point. When customers don’t understand what’s happening or what to expect, they escalate or switch. Inconsistent answers only compound the problem.

Palmerston North City Council faced that issue with its critical Land Information Memorandum (LIM) process for property buyers. The highly manual process—email forms, separate payments, multiple handovers between teams, and fixes—meant reports could take staff up to eight days to complete. Fragmented data resulted in frazzled staff.

Adding more tools would only add more confusion. Instead, the council decided to eliminate the patchwork and unify all its data and workflows onto a secure, AI-enabled single system of action.

 Thanks to the council’s use of ServiceNow Public Sector Digital Services, residents can now request a LIM in a few clicks. Property buyers can search for an address, confirm it on a map, and pay instantly by credit card—while connected workflows enable staff to validate and surface key land and property data in seconds.

What once took more than a week is digitally processed in less than 30 minutes. Digital payments, up 90% since implementation, are processed in minutes instead of days, and staff are guided through a clear digital checklist. Reports are generated, confirmed, and stored authentically, strengthening compliance, reducing errors, and building public trust.

After implementing ServiceNow Customer Service Management for its contact center, the council is resolving cases 50% faster and has extended out-of-hours contact center support to 46 local councils and seven businesses.

AI transformation needs decisions, not delays

Kiwis have moved decisively beyond AI hesitation, embracing technology that helps services work faster, smarter, and in service of people.

For leaders, this make-or-break moment isn’t about just customer experience; it’s also about the productivity gains that will shape organizational performance and, in turn, New Zealand’s broader economic momentum.

My advice is to listen closely to your customers and employees, then act with conviction. Park pilots and trials and take action. Be bold and brave because the efficiency you unlock now will determine how strongly you compete—and contribute—in the years ahead.

Find out how ServiceNow can help you put AI to work for customer service.