Retail is setting the pace on AI-powered service

There’s a new operating baseline in customer service. Assistance began as a handful of macros, and it has now evolved to comprehensive AI copilots that work hand in hand with human agents to support them in the most complex of interactions. They serve as robust partners helping agents deliver faster, higher quality and consistent support at scale. 

This shift is clear in Zendesk customer teams, where copilots are being used every day. Built into the agent workspace, Zendesk Agent Copilots deliver real-time guidance, suggested replies, and automated actions grounded in each team’s ticket data, knowledge and procedures. They’re designed to sit inside the flow of service, helping agents respond with more consistency and context.

Zendesk benchmark data offers a unique view into just how deeply copilots are being woven into daily service operations of our broad customer base. When we looked at the data across every priority industry, one clear story emerged, and it starts with retail.

Why retail is pulling ahead 

Among all priority industries tracked in the Zendesk benchmark data, retail & CPG customers rank first on Zendesk Agent Copilot adoption, and their agents are using it more than other industries by a significant margin. Retail teams are using Zendesk Agent Copilot more than 2x as much as Healthcare, nearly 2x as much as Manufacturing teams, and 1.4x more than Financial Services.

Retail support is built for speed, volume, and repetition. Customers want answers on orders, returns, shipping, products, loyalty accounts, and delivery issues, often all at once, and often with little warning when volume surges. In that kind of environment, even small efficiency gains can have an outsized effect. Industries with high support volume, complex workflows, or both, are seeing the strongest traction with AI tools because even small efficiency gains compound at scale. That's where Zendesk Agent Copilot earns its keep. 

How Zendesk Agent Copilot supports retail and CPG environments: 

• Volume: Retail and CPG teams handle high support demand year-round, with product questions, order tracking, returns, and peak season surges all driving consistent ticket flow. At scale, Zendesk Agent Copilot's ability to assist across a high mix of ticket types pays off quickly

• Stack depth: High Zendesk Agent Copilot usage tends to show up in complex support environments. For retail teams, a connected stack gives Zendesk Agent Copilot more signal and more chances to assist across every interaction

• Workflow complexity: Retail support often requires nuance, including escalations, policy exceptions, multi-step resolutions. Zendesk Agent Copilot steps in with real-time guidance and suggested actions grounded in each team's knowledge and procedures, helping agents navigate complexity consistently and resolve with confidence

And the gains are not theoretical. According to the Zendesk Nucleus Report, 2026, Zendesk Agent Copilot users report saving an average of 5.5 hours per week. For retail teams, those hours can meaningfully change how work gets done.

The AI and human sweet spot

They also point to something bigger. Retail teams are building Zendesk Agent Copilot into their daily workflows in a meaningful, measurable way. But the deeper story is that retail may be one of the first industries to show what good human-AI balance looks like in practice.

Zendesk Agent Copilot works as a supplementary tool, giving agents proactive support right inside their workspace. It offers real time optimization, with AI suggestions grounded in Procedures and Knowledge, enhancing replies with AI writing tools and even providing step-by-step instructions through complex workflows when required. It also doesn't stop in the moment. Zendesk Agent Copilot learns from every interaction, so as teams resolve more requests it starts surfacing opportunities to improve procedures, workflows, and knowledge. This continuous feedback cycle—our Resolution Learning Loop—helps service get smarter with every resolution.

Shashi Upadhyay, President, Products, Engineering and AI at Zendesk notes that “Zendesk AI customers are routinely achieving 80%+ automation rates.” The remaining 20% is where human support adds critical value, usually when extra care and consideration is required.

“Zendesk AI customers are routinely achieving 80%+ automation rates.” Shashi Upadhyay, President, Products, Engineering and AI at Zendesk 

Luxury retailer Boll & Branch is committed to keeping people at the heart of every customer interaction. Zendesk Agent Copilot helps the team scale great service without compromising the human experience. As Senior Customer Experience Manager Sherry Delia explains, "Zendesk Copilot has been super helpful for our team to work faster and feel more confident in their responses, while still protecting our brand voice."

That’s why retail’s lead matters. It offers one of the first clear signals of how service teams can get the human-AI mix right: using AI to add speed, structure, and consistency, while keeping humans in the loop for the judgment, flexibility, and empathy that still define great service. 

Retail is not alone 

Retail may be out in front, but the benchmark data indicates AI is taking hold across industries through different entry points. The common thread is consistent. Industries with high volume, complex workflows, or both, are finding the strongest traction with AI tools at every layer of service.

The signal is clear. Different industries are entering through different doors, but they are moving toward the same model–one where AI is embedded in the service flow and human agents remain central to the experience.

Any industry can follow retail's lead

Retail's lead is useful because it points to the conditions that make Zendesk Agent Copilot work: real volume, a connected support stack, and workflows where AI assistance compounds across interactions. Those conditions are not unique to retail. They show up across industries, which means retail may be first, but it is unlikely to be the last.

What retail is showing is bigger than a single industry story. It's an early sign of where customer service is heading: a model where AI and humans work together by design, and can redefine what good service means for every industry. The service teams who get that mix right will be best positioned for what comes next.