PwC and Microsoft

Elevate customer experience through integration, AI, and employee empowerment

February 09, 2026

Great products and services attract customers, but they’re no longer enough to secure long-term loyalty and drive business growth. What keeps people coming back is the quality of their experience—how seamless, intuitive, and human every interaction feels.

This might seem straightforward, but delivering consistently excellent CX remains difficult. A few poor interactions can erode trust quickly and, as expectations rise, companies face pressure to respond with greater speed and precision. Digital innovation can help, and nearly nine in ten executives in PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey say they’ve either partially or fully implemented AI in functions such as customer service and marketing. Yet only about half say they’re using measurements such as operational cost savings or improved support effectiveness to gauge impact.

As more companies use AI to increase efficiency, the risk of undermining customer experience grows. What separates leading businesses is the ability to integrate technology, data, and workflows so employees can react more quickly and resolve issues more effectively.

Working with PwC and Microsoft, some companies have developed a framework of connected systems that enable fast and consistent decision-making, helping elevate customer experience at every touchpoint. By operating within unified ecosystems and using smarter workflows to align people and processes, these companies are transforming complexity into clarity.

Why a connected framework matters

Today’s consumers interact with brands across multiple channels, devices, and moments. This fragmentation increases operational complexity but also presents an opportunity to differentiate through consistency and speed. Businesses with highly fluid workflows that extend across sales, service, marketing, finance, and operations are better equipped to act and react at digital speed. This unified customer view can be established through several key elements.

Familiar, cross-application Microsoft tools that lower training requirements and improve adoption
Integrated CX capabilities tied to higher loyalty and stronger business outcomes
A single source of truth—developed through Microsoft Dataverse and Fabric, for example—that replaces silos and makes data more consistent and reliable
Centralized processes that reduce redundancy, eliminate manual reconciliation, and improve cross-team collaboration
Transparent and relevant customer interactions supported by real-time operational visibility
A technology base—which may include Dynamics 365, Microsoft Teams, and Power Platform—built to support continuous transformation and enterprise-grade AI

How AI agents can fuel business value

A new layer of customer experience is emerging, driven by intelligent AI agents that extend the capacity of teams and elevate business performance. These agents can continuously analyze customer interactions, operational patterns, and historical data to identify opportunities for improvement and recommend actions across the customer journey. Instead of merely automating tasks, they can help your enterprise anticipate demand, resolve issues proactively, and unlock value that is often difficult to capture.

AI agents also simplify and elevate daily work for employees. Embedded copilots can summarize conversations, update records automatically, surface insights, and prompt next-best actions in real time. With relevant information instantly available, your employees can spend less time navigating systems and more time engaging customers with confidence, context, and empathy.

The result is a more intelligent and responsive operating model. AI agents act as embedded teammates—streamlining workflows and reducing manual efforts. This frees your talent to focus on the moments that matter, such as solving complex issues and strengthening customer relationships. When applied at scale, AI agents can improve speed, consistency, and personalization, transforming CX from a support function into a strategic advantage that drives loyalty and business growth.

Taking customer relationships to a higher level

A common problem with today’s CX technology is over-automation. While new software and systems can reduce costs and increase productivity, customers often don’t feel the benefits. Companies that build an AI framework atop Microsoft technology can keep humans at the center of CX and help live agents deliver empathy and reassurance to customers. Some benefits of this approach:

AI-driven workflows can automatically interpret intent and update information directly within tools, giving employees more time for high-value engagement.
Predictive and contextual insights from platforms like Dynamics 365 and Fabric help teams personalize interactions and build trust.
Embedded AI agents—including voice-enabled tools—streamline tasks across sales, service, and fulfillment. Employees can get answers faster and respond to customers more quickly and confidently.
Prioritizing employee engagement through intelligent workflows results in meaningful improvements in satisfaction and trust.

Business leaders sometimes miss that employee empowerment and customer experience are two sides of the same coin. A connected, informed, and responsive workforce translates into a more personal brand experience.

Integration is a strategic differentiator

AI is everywhere, and the question isn’t whether to use it for CX but how to do so for maximum value. Integration is critical. Connecting information across functions and departments is at the center of an intelligent customer experience framework. Integration improves agility, helping teams pivot in real time based on customer signals and operational insight.

PwC and Microsoft have developed an integrated strategy that uses AI to unify data, processes, and interactions into a single source of CX truth. The approach leverages Microsoft Dynamics 365, Teams, Fabric, and low-code automation through Power Platform to connect the front office, middle office, and back office in a cohesive ecosystem.

With these capabilities, organizations gain modern collaboration environments, enterprise-grade data intelligence, and customer-facing applications that drive personalization, transparency, and regulatory compliance. Most importantly, this framework can help your company modernize at its own pace—unlocking AI and automation value without disrupting or replacing existing technology investments.

The payoff: faster execution, lower costs, and happier customers. With unified identity, governance, and security, your organization can stay on top of important business issues. As guesswork disappears and a smarter CX framework emerges, operational insights become a competitive advantage.

Next steps for success

Focus on insights and outcomes. AI isn’t the endgame. Make brand experiences feel more personal by offering an experience that’s frictionless, intuitive, and trustworthy.
Know what matters. Three pillars support best-practice CX—connected systems, intelligent automation, and employees working in sync.
Anticipate customer needs. Great CX should identify customer preferences and behavior. This leads to enhanced cross-selling and upselling opportunities, but also proactive engagement and support across the entire customer journey.
Integrate AI into workflows. Intelligent systems eliminate tasks and analysis and lead directly to action. They also can fuel behavioral change as employees must learn to use the new tools and features effectively.
Adopt a unified platform. Simplifying complexity, aligning teams, and connecting data-driven decision-making across the enterprise is essential. Faster responses and meaningful personalization lead to more loyal customers.

Contact us

Shiv T Shenoy

Principal, Commercial and Service Excellence, PwC US

Charlie Hohenshelt