Bridging to the Future: How Conversational AI Prepares Retailers for Agentic Systems
Retailers are under growing pressure to automate customer interactions and deliver faster, more responsive service. Agentic artificial intelligence, a new class of AI tools that can act independently and adapt to real-time signals, offers the opportunity to improve customer experience (CX) without constant human oversight. However, many brands still operate with systems and budgets tied up in operational essentials.
To capture the benefits of agentic AI, retailers need practical steps they can take today. The good news is that implementing conversational AI serves as a practical and strategic on-ramp to more autonomous customer experiences while generating timely returns on investment.
The Evolution of Retail AI
Retail’s first wave of automation focused on predictability — think chatbots that answered FAQs and rigid workflows that followed simple scripts. These tools provided some relief for high-volume customer service teams, but they weren’t built for nuance. Today’s customers expect more: personalized recommendations, contextual help, and support across channels. They want to feel understood.
That’s where conversational AI comes in. By understanding natural language and intent, these systems handle routine tasks, answer questions, resolve issues, suggest products, and even complete transactions. They don’t replace human employees, but their capacity to adapt to real-time context enables them to take over high-volume, repeatable tasks that once required full-time staffing.
Conversational AI’s ability to bridge voice, SMS, and digital channels delivers near-immediate value. But more than that, it generates structured data and lays the foundation that agentic systems will require to thrive in the future.
What Makes Agentic AI Different
Many retailers have already automated parts of the customer experience, but much of that automation is static. Agentic AI represents a leap forward. Instead of waiting for commands, these systems interpret signals, take action, and seamlessly escalate human handoffs when needed.
Crucially, agentic AI systems aren’t replacing people. Rather, they’re handling the repetitive, transactional interactions that drain human resources, allowing staff to focus on complex problem-solving and high-touch customer relationships where human judgment adds distinctive value.
Agentic AI sounds ambitious, but retailers don’t have to wait for the technology to mature before they move toward agentic AI. They need to invest in systems designed to evolve. These platforms should capture real intent and adjust to context, learn and improve from every interaction, prioritize seamless human handoffs when needed, and deliver natural, fluid engagement.
The Practical Path Forward
Agentic AI may feel futuristic, but the path to get there starts now. Conversational AI provides an accessible entry point that delivers immediate operational benefits while building the technical infrastructure for future advancement. It generates the structured data, real-world training scenarios, and operational flexibility that agentic systems will rely on in the future. In a landscape where 80 percent of budgets are still tied up in operational essentials, conversational AI delivers measurable value today while setting up retailers for the smarter, faster service of tomorrow.
The transformation toward more autonomous retail experiences isn't an all-or-nothing proposition — it’s an evolution that savvy retailers can begin today. Strategic investments in conversational AI satisfy evolving customer expectations while building capacity for tomorrow's innovations.
Rebecca Jones is president of Mosaicx and chief operating officer of TeleVox, complementary brands under West Technology Group.
Rebecca Jones is the general manager of Mosaicx, a leading provider of customer service AI and cloud-based technology solutions for enterprise companies and institutions. Rebecca joined the West Technology Group, owner of Mosaicx, in January 2021, after a 25+ year career focused on growing businesses, people and client success. Rebecca also serves as a member of the board of the Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT) of Louisville, KY, is an executive sponsor for Women of West, actively volunteers for The Molly Johnson Foundation that supports children with special needs, and champions causes promoting women in technology, including the IWL Foundation (Integrating Women Leaders Foundation), Tech Up for Women, and CCWomen.
