Global revenues from conversational AI services are projected to rise from £11.5bn in 2025 to more than £18bn by 2027, driven by increased enterprise investment in AI-powered customer interactions. The expansion is expected to be fuelled by the adoption of agentic AI, which enables AI-driven systems to operate independently while learning from past interactions.
Agentic AI is transforming customer service by automating tasks such as handling enquiries and scheduling appointments across messaging channels, reducing the need for human intervention.
Integration of agentic AI to unlock revenue
A new report urges conversational AI providers to integrate agentic AI into their technology stack to help businesses automate customer engagement across multiple platforms. However, to achieve full automation across the customer journey, these AI models must be integrated with business support systems where customer data is stored.
The study also warns that while agentic AI can streamline operations, its autonomy must be carefully managed, with human oversight remaining essential during early adoption.
Molly Gatford, research author, explains: “Conversational AI vendors must carefully moderate the outputs of agentic AI models during early-stage implementations. Issues around liability arising from hallucinations or erroneous communications must be avoided before enterprises’ trust in agentic AI can be established. This will best position conversational AI vendors to capitalise on this substantial revenue growth over the next three years.”
Optiva adopts agentic AI for telecoms
Optiva, a cloud-native telecoms software provider, has announced it will incorporate agentic AI into its business support systems (BSS) and charging engine. The integration, powered by Google’s Gemini models, is designed to improve efficiency, cut costs, and enhance customer experience.
Optiva’s agentic AI-driven BSS platform is already being used in digital transformations by telecoms operators across the Middle East and the Americas, helping providers streamline operations and improve business productivity.
Messaging growth to drive AI adoption
The rise in global smartphone users is accelerating the shift towards conversational messaging between brands and customers, with more businesses adopting rich media messaging channels to enhance customer interactions.
Platforms such as WhatsApp, which has a strong presence in India, Brazil, and Indonesia, are introducing features similar to China’s WeChat, such as WhatsApp Pay. In contrast, the US market remains fragmented across multiple messaging platforms, meaning businesses must adopt an omnichannel approach.
While RCS messaging is unlikely to replace traditional peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging, it offers businesses a familiar format for customer engagement. The report anticipates that demand for RCS business messaging will continue to grow, particularly in the US, where widespread adoption is expected. Conversational AI vendors are advised to support this channel to remain competitive in the evolving digital communications landscape.
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