Qualtric Control: Company launches AI Experience Agents to solve customer problems autonomously

Qualtrics is revolutionizing customer experience management with AI agents that can autonomously resolve issues across multiple touchpoints. Unveiled ahead of the company’s X4 2025 Experience Management Summit, these “Experience Agents” represent a significant evolution in AI capabilities by directly interacting with customers rather than merely streamlining internal processes. This development signals a shift in how businesses might handle customer service, combining speed with empathetic engagement that traditional chatbots often fail to deliver.

The big picture: Qualtrics has developed AI agents that go beyond answering questions to actively resolve customer issues by interacting directly with consumers across various touchpoints including surveys, call centers, and online reviews.

• The system aims to “close the customer feedback loop” by providing instantaneous, personalized responses to individual issues.
• “Our approach here was how can we expand on what customers are already using us for, to enable them now to act on every single interaction,” explained Brad Anderson, Qualtrics’ president of products, user experience, and engineering.

Why this matters: Experience Agents represent an evolution in AI customer service by combining immediate responses with empathetic engagement, addressing a key shortcoming in both traditional chatbots and human service representatives.

• The agents can learn specifics about individual customer issues and tailor responses accordingly, creating more satisfying resolution experiences.
• In the future, Qualtrics expects these agents to anticipate client needs based on previous interactions and industry expertise.

Real-world application: Qualtrics demonstrated how the system works with examples including helping sports fans who complained about slow food service at games.

• During a pre-announcement briefing, the author observed the agent’s impressive speed and quality of responses when handling an airline customer’s feedback.
• The system’s ability to deliver empathetic responses—often missing in both AI and human customer service—was particularly notable.

Behind the concerns: When questioned about potential hesitation from companies about letting AI directly interact with customers, Qualtrics emphasized its focus on accuracy and ethical safeguards.

• The company maintains a dedicated team working on AI ethics and implementing appropriate guardrails.
• Qualtrics also operates a Trust Center where clients can explore research findings to help reduce concerns about AI-powered customer interactions.