Cutting through the noise: How AI transparency is changing CX for good

Love it or hate it, AI is here to stay. It’s become a must-use tool in both personal and professional capacities with the ability to make or break an experience. Integrating Generative AI into customer experience (CX) platforms is just beginning and is quickly moving from being the exception to the rule.

While AI has massive potential to redefine exceptional CX, its success hinges on transparency. If users don’t understand the ’why’ behind the responses they receive, skepticism will prevail, and trust will be lost. Creating AI-powered customer experiences that users can trust is all about providing visibility into the path to resolution.

Historically, customers viewed automated support with suspicion, often preferring human interaction for complex tasks. Calls to support or chat bot questions were quickly followed by pressing ‘0’ or repeated pleas for ‘operator’ to bypass unhelpful, and unreliable response menus. It was clear to users that the responses they received from these mechanisms were based on a static script. Unless your needs aligned to the predetermined happy path, it was simply easier and more efficient to talk directly with an agent, and if needed, their supervisor, to find a resolution.

Consumers are now accustomed to using AI-powered support mechanisms, and confidence in these tools is growing. Gone are the days of static scripts and answers to a set number of questions. The knowledge bases behind these tools contain nearly limitless information with the ability to resolve almost any inquiry. The speed and ease of these tools appeal to those who know precisely what they need, don’t have time to wait on hold, or just don’t love making a phone call. Automated interactions have become routine, and familiarity with what a great AI-powered customer experience looks like fundamentally raises expectations for any customer service interaction.

Accuracy builds credibility, explanation builds trust

As AI capabilities continue to evolve, there is a risk of assuming these tools are infallible. However, there are some high-profile errors, like ChatGPT’s inability to correctly identify how many ‘r’s are in the word ‘strawberry,’ that demonstrate gaps in AI vs human understanding. It’s not enough for AI to simply provide information, users need to be able to trust the answers they receive and visibility into the supporting data. Transparency is critical in maintaining customer trust in AI-powered interactions. According to Zendesk’s 2026 CX Trends Report, demands for greater AI-transparency have risen 63% from just last year. Organisations not only need to provide visibility into how decisions are made, but they also require strong guardrails and controls for these engagements.

If we bring this to life in the context of AI governance, organizations can no longer treat these tools as “black box” solutions. Instead, they must implement controls that allow the business to define exactly what logic the AI uses. This ensures that when an automated decision is made, it is based on verified policies rather than a hallucination or statistical guess. Giving visibility into the ‘why’ behind the response is how trust is earned and maintained.

Providing clear explanations of AI-powered responses empowers both agents and customers. Understanding the reasoning behind any response is critical in identifying the right path forward, be it asking additional questions, seeking additional support for more complex issues, or feeling confident in moving forward with the answer given. It’s been said that knowledge is power, but it’s clarity that drives trust and loyalty in CX engagements.

Trust as the true differentiator

At Route 101, we see the future CX landscape being defined by a brand’s ability to stand behind their AI agents as if they were human. With 95% of consumers now expecting to understand the ‘why’ behind an automated decision, organizations must ensure their systems are rigorous enough to explain their reasoning clearly and accurately. Those who do will ultimately be able to leverage this as a competitive advantage.