SAP’s AI in Customer Experience Report 2027, based on a survey of 4,800 consumers, business buyers, and CX decision-makers in the US and Germany, finds the customer journey has bifurcated. Discovery, research, and shortlisting increasingly occur inside AI tools before any brand contact. Purchase, fulfillment, and service remain the business’s responsibility. This creates the hybrid AI buyer who moves fluidly between AI and brand channels. Nearly all business buyers surveyed have used AI for purchasing or vendor selection. Half of US consumers now use AI in at least some purchase journeys. SAP Customer Experience chief product officer Balaji Balasubramanian said if offerings are not known to the AI engine, they will not be surfaced. Ninety-three percent of US CX decision-makers feel prepared for AI-enabled customers, yet only six percent report all relevant systems connected end-to-end.
SAP’s AI in Customer Experience Report 2027, based on a survey of 4,800 consumers, business buyers, and CX decision-makers in the US and Germany, finds the customer journey has bifurcated. Discovery, research, and shortlisting increasingly occur inside AI tools before any brand contact. Purchase, fulfillment, and service remain the business’s responsibility. This creates the hybrid AI buyer who moves fluidly between AI and brand channels. Nearly all business buyers surveyed have used AI for purchasing or vendor selection. Half of US consumers now use AI in at least some purchase journeys. SAP Customer Experience chief product officer Balaji Balasubramanian said if offerings are not known to the AI engine, they will not be surfaced. Ninety-three percent of US CX decision-makers feel prepared for AI-enabled customers, yet only six percent report all relevant systems connected end-to-end.