The Agentic Era Redefines Customer Intimacy as AI is Set to Become the Primary Brand Interface

Amdocs announced the release of its second annual global study "AI Agent Personality Engineering: From Vision to Value", commissioned by Amdocs in collaboration with Coleman Parkes. This comprehensive research program examines the impact on brand identity as consumers increasingly interact with AI agents for care and sales engagements. Building on last year's study, Rethinking Brand and Customer Experience in the Agentic Era, this year's report outlines high-performing AI agent personality design to increase consumers' acceptance, and assesses communications service providers' maturity and scale approach.

As the telecom industry moves toward a "post-app era" – where autonomous AI agents increasingly replace static applications and traditional user interfaces – the focus on experience is paramount. For years, the industry has focused on delivering personalized experiences in apps and on the web. The next age is about the personalization of the conversation itself between the brand and the customer via AI agents. The strategic design of an AI agent's personality, emotional connection, and ethical guardrails is critical. As AI agents become the primary interface between CSPs and their customers, the next winners will be those who decode the AI agent-customer interaction and intimacy model.

The study, which surveyed approximately 7,000 consumers and 130 telecom decision-makers across 14 countries, indicates that CSP stakeholders expect most customer interactions to be AI-led within the next two years. This expectation positions AI agent personality design and experience orchestration as critical levers for loyalty and long-term growth. Furthermore, it outlines the design requirements for high-performing AI agents, examining how transparency, personality engineering, and conversational personalization directly impact customer advocacy and brand affinity.

The survey highlights immense opportunity, finding that 77% of consumers already have a baseline level of trust in AI agents, and 69% state that highly effective AI agents would positively impact their overall perception of a service provider's brand (up from 60% in 2025). However, to fully capitalize on this, brands must address several notable consumer concerns: 61% worry that the agreed resolution will not be implemented (an increase of 8 percentage points compared to the 2025 study) and 52% fear difficulty reaching a human when needed (an increase of 6 percentage points).  

Consumers make it clear that trust must be earned through transparency, reliable resolution, seamless escalation to a human agent (ideally initiated by the AI agent when limits are reached), and full context continuity across interactions and channels.

Despite this momentum, CSP maturity remains in its early stages. Many deployments are still largely limited to human-agent assist use cases rather than fully autonomous, customer-facing AI engagement – 84% of CSPs described their current AI agents as "co-pilots" or very basic and preliminary. To address these evolving consumer demands and bridge the industry maturity gap, personality engineering and experience orchestration serve as essential modules within the Amdocs aOS Cognitive Core. By embedding these capabilities directly into aOS, Amdocs empowers CSPs to deliver AI-led experiences that drive the next generation of personalization – fostering highly functional, emotionally intelligent interactions perfectly aligned with their distinct brand identity at scale.

"We are entering a defining moment, where AI agents are no longer just tools; they are becoming the living embodiment of the brand," said Gil Rosen, Chief Marketing Officer, Amdocs. "In the Agentic Era, every AI-led interaction is a brand moment. Brands must orchestrate these AI personas with the same rigor and empathy they expect from their best human talent. Achieving true customer intimacy at scale is no longer just a marketing goal; it is a growth imperative."

Additional findings from the research: