In some cases, technology has added to the frustration. Many brands have shifted customers towards digital channels. But too often, they\u2019ve digitised the transaction without digitising the experience around it.<\/p>\n
Banking is a clear example. In our research, more than half (51%) of bank customers say they\u2019re frustrated with their bank\u2019s technology \u2013 surprising for a sector that has pushed customers online harder and faster than most. The feeling is that brands have pushed digital for their convenience, not the customer\u2019s.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, the latest tech wave could be exactly what\u2019s needed to rebuild trust. Agentic AI \u2013 AI capable of proactively completing tasks and solving problems on behalf of users \u2013 has the potential to fundamentally change how customers interact with brands.<\/p>\n
People are already embracing AI in their everyday lives. They\u2019re using it to compare prices, decode complex policies, and translate industry jargon into plain English. We found, for example, that one in four Kiwis are using third-party AI tools to compare providers and search for the best deal.<\/p>\n
Increasingly, they\u2019re expecting brands to do this themselves: communicate clearly, proactively identify opportunities to save customers money, and make navigating products and services far simpler.<\/p>\n
The challenge for brands is that customers aren\u2019t waiting for them to catch up with AI. They\u2019re already moving on without them. And as agentic AI evolves from simply informing decisions to being able to actively execute them, the implications become much bigger.<\/p>\n
If an AI agent, for example, can not only proactively find a better deal but actually complete the switch on a customer\u2019s behalf, brands that aren\u2019t part of that conversation won\u2019t just lose a sale \u2013 they\u2019ll lose the relationship altogether.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t simply a matter of customer experience, it\u2019s a commercial one. Our study measures the difference between what brands \u2018promise\u2019 in their marketing and communications, and what customers say they actually experience. In other words, 69% is the overall Brand Experience Gap this year.<\/p>\n
Storm Day is NZ Lead at Accenture Song.<\/p>\n
For the first time this year, we\u2019ve directly linked that gap to business performance: close the gap by just one point, and a brand\u2019s Net Promoter Score (NPS) increases by two points. But let it widen by five points, and the likelihood of customers switching rises by a staggering 25%.<\/p>\n
What this means is that trust is no longer an abstract concept; it has measurable commercial consequences.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why agentic AI should be viewed as more than another tech trend. It\u2019s rapidly becoming the new interface between brands and customers. If your brand can\u2019t clearly answer a customer\u2019s question, explain a confusing bill, or recommend the right product, a third-party AI tool \u2013 or worse, a competitor \u2013 almost certainly will.<\/p>\n
The organisations that succeed won\u2019t be those that simply deploy more agentic AI. They\u2019ll be the ones embracing it to completely reinvent their customer experience. This means creating their own AI-assisted buyer journeys before third-party tools do, and embedding intelligent, personalised, and genuinely helpful AI experiences.<\/p>\n
For New Zealand businesses looking to rebuild trust, the opportunity is clear. Customers don\u2019t expect perfection. What they do expect is brands keeping promises and making their lives easier, not harder. AI can help with this, strengthening customer relationships and building trust and loyalty long before the insurance renewal email lands in the inbox.<\/p>\n