AI to manage 41% of Singapore customer service by 2027

Salesforce research suggests artificial intelligence will handle 41% of customer service cases in Singapore by 2027, up from 30% today.

The figures come from a survey of 6,500 service professionals globally, including 100 in Singapore. The study tracks how service organisations plan and deploy AI, and how front-line staff expect their work to change.

Salesforce said AI has risen quickly on the agenda for service leaders in Singapore. It moved from ninth to third place in their stated priorities over the past year, according to the findings.

"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. 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," said Gavin Barfield, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Solutions, Salesforce ASEAN.

The report frames the change as a shift towards "agentic" AI, where systems handle routine tasks and take actions with limited human involvement. In customer service, this often includes triage, information retrieval, and basic case resolution. The survey results indicate that service teams in Singapore expect that model to become more common by 2027.

Revenue expectations

Beyond case handling volumes, Singapore respondents also associated agentic AI with commercial outcomes. Service professionals in Singapore projected that agentic AI would boost upsell revenue by 15%.

The research also points to a shift in how service teams allocate time. Salesforce said representatives in Singapore who use AI spend 20% less time on routine cases. The company estimated this equates to around four hours per week, which staff could reallocate to more complex work.

The study described routine activity as work such as password resets and status updates. It said AI users spend more time on judgement-heavy cases and exception handling. It also said representatives in Singapore with access to agentic AI spend more time on high-complexity cases, with a quarter of their week dedicated to the "thorniest issues".

Workforce impact

Salesforce's findings show that many service representatives in Singapore link AI use to career development. The company said 84% of Singapore service reps using AI reported that it is creating growth opportunities.

Within that group, 75% said they have developed new skills. A further 78% said their role has become more specialised as a result of working with AI tools.

The report also compares AI users with non-users in workplace activities. It said agentic AI-enabled service reps are more likely to mentor colleagues, lead cross-functional projects, and improve processes. It said these staff are also more likely to work with high-value customers and take on leadership roles.

Security concerns

Salesforce's data also highlights obstacles in adoption. Security emerged as the top concern among service leaders in Singapore.

Almost half, or 49%, said security concerns have delayed or limited their AI initiatives. The research also found that 86% of Singapore's service leaders said the obstacles they faced were expected, and in many cases less challenging than anticipated.

The report links service adoption patterns to broader organisational work on AI readiness. It said customer service leaders are building foundations for AI, with improving skills as the top priority, followed by automating processes and workflows, and AI implementation in third place.

Salesforce also referenced findings from a separate security-focused study, which said surveyed security leaders expressed optimism about AI agents and identified areas where they could strengthen security posture. It said respondents pointed to threat detection, anomaly monitoring, and breach prevention as areas where AI agents could play a role.

In Singapore, the survey results indicate that leaders see both operational and governance questions in parallel. The projected increase in AI-handled cases by 2027 suggests wider deployment in customer service, while the security results point to continuing caution in implementation decisions.

Salesforce conducted the survey between late April and early June 2025 across multiple markets, including Singapore. The company said the survey was double-anonymous and included service professionals and decision makers.

Service teams in Singapore expect the share of AI-handled cases to rise over the next two years, with agentic AI gaining momentum across routine service work.