Building trust in the AI-powered customer experience
AI is reshaping customer service but trust remains fragile, making training, transparency and workforce wellbeing critical to success.
A new MIT Technology Review Insights report, produced with NiCE, warns that trust and transparency will determine whether artificial intelligence fulfils its promise in customer experience. While AI is reshaping customer service, both employees and consumers remain cautious, and organisations will need to invest in communication, training and skills development to unlock its full potential.
Trust and the human edge
One of the report’s clearest findings is that employees’ top concern when faced with AI is job security. “The number one question I was asked was, ‘Am I going to lose my job?’” recalls one higher education leader interviewed. Organisations that respond with proactive communication and training see greater staff confidence, with employees reframing AI as a co-pilot rather than a competitor.
On the customer side, trust is equally fragile. While acceptance of AI in customer interactions has grown: 19% of consumers now prefer AI agents, up from 13% two years ago; 38% still avoid them altogether. More than one in five consumers find “engineered empathy” from bots frustrating, regarding it as insincere. The message is clear: trust cannot be engineered, it must be earned through transparency and authentic human connection.
Why L&D is at the heart of the solution
The report makes the case that learning and development has a central role in building this trust. Training programmes that equip employees with AI literacy, role clarity and new skills help reduce anxiety and reinforce a sense of control. Clear communication about how AI is used, and where human expertise remains essential, reassures staff that their roles are being redefined, not replaced.
Global data reinforces the urgency. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 finds that while 41% of employers expect workforce reductions linked to technology adoption, 85% plan to upskill their employees and 70% plan to hire staff with new AI-related skills. This underscores the dual challenge for L&D leaders: addressing fears of displacement while enabling employees to thrive in AI-augmented roles.
Tackling burnout with AI
The trust agenda is closely tied to workforce wellbeing. The report highlights that 77% of customer service agents handle complex issues most of the time, driving high levels of stress and burnout. AI is increasingly used to monitor sentiment, tone and workload, prompting interventions when agents need support. This reduces attrition and builds trust between staff and employer when AI is positioned as a tool for protection rather than surveillance.
Republic Services, a US-based waste management company, provides an example. Its AI system automatically scores agents on nine soft skill behaviours, cutting repeat calls by 30% and reducing negative customer sentiment by a third. Importantly, the system is framed as coaching and support, a positioning that makes agents more likely to embrace it.
The upskilling imperative
A further challenge for L&D is preparing employees for the new skillsets demanded by AI-powered CX. The report finds that the most effective organisations use AI to free employees from routine tasks so they can focus on higher value, emotionally sensitive interactions. This requires training in empathy, problem solving and consultative skills, alongside technical literacy in AI systems.
Case studies illustrate what this looks like in practice. In higher education, AI-enabled communication tools increased student engagement rates from 14% to 65%, but success depended on employees being trained to handle deeper, more personal conversations with learners. At Lowe’s, AI-supported workflow integration saved $1 million in operational costs within eight months, but equally improved employee scheduling and workload management – outcomes that required staff training to sustain.
The road ahead
The MIT report concludes that the future of customer service lies in orchestrating a partnership between humans and machines. “The most successful organisations treat AI not as a replacement for human agents, but as a collaborative tool that enables employees to focus on high value, emotionally sensitive interactions,” it states.
For L&D leaders, the message is clear. Success in AI-powered CX will not come from the technology alone, but from how organisations build trust, reskill their people and safeguard their wellbeing. Trust, skills and authenticity will be the true differentiators in the age of AI-driven customer experience.