By 2030, cost per resolution for generative AI (GenAI) will exceed $3, higher than many B2C offshore human agents, according to Gartner, Inc, a business and technology insights company.

Rising data center costs, a pivot from subsidized growth to profitability for AI vendors, and increasingly complex use cases that consume more tokens and require expensive talent, will lead to soaring AI costs for customer service organizations.

“Customer service leaders are determined to use AI to reduce costs, but return on those investments is far from guaranteed,” said Patrick Quinlan, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Customer Service and Support practice. “Full automation will be prohibitively expensive for most organizations; instead, leading organizations will use AI to drive customer engagement rather than to cut costs.”

Further predictions include: