Customer Success (CS) is no longer just a department—it’s a company-wide growth strategy that drives retention, efficiency, and revenue. Gainsight’s latest report, The Customer Success Index (CS Index), conducted in partnership with Benchmarkit, reveals the trends reshaping CS in 2025.
While our robot overlords aren’t taking our jobs anytime soon, the report found that AI is transitioning from a nice-to-have experiment to an essential driver of customer engagement and scalability. Let’s examine the key trends that will define the future of CS in 2025.
1. AI: From Experimentation to Essential
For years, AI in Customer Success was experimental. However, the 2024 CS Index revealed that AI has become essential. More than half (52%) of companies surveyed are now integrating AI into their workflows. Here’s how AI is transforming the field:
- Early Warning Systems: AI enables teams to predict churn months in advance, providing the time and insights needed to intervene effectively.
- Time Saved: By automating tasks like data entry and churn detection, AI saves CS teams more than 10 hours per week. It helps teams uncover deeper customer insights to predict churn months in advance and enable proactive, scalable customer engagement. Gainsight customer Launch Potato, for example, saved 25% of their CSM’s time with AI.
- Deeper Insights: AI-powered analytics uncover actionable trends and patterns in customer behavior, making engagement more personalized and impactful.
2. The Rise of Digital CS
Digital Customer Success (DCS) is no longer a side project. It is a cornerstone of modern CS strategies. According to this year’s CS Index, Digital CS continues to grow as a prominent strategy to engage customers at scale, increasing 15% annually, driven by AI and automation. The adoption of digital tools to deliver customer success continues to grow, including online customer communities and self-service portals, which surged from 42% last year to 73% this year. Additionally, Europe showed an even stronger trend in digital, with a 2x+ increase over last year’s 27%. So what’s driving this growth?
AI and automation are fueling the expansion of Digital CS, allowing organizations to:
- Engage Customers at Scale: Automated workflows and self-service tools simultaneously provide consistent, tailored experiences to thousands of customers.
- Focus on High-Value Activities: By offloading routine interactions to digital channels, teams can dedicate more time to strategic planning and relationship-building.
3. CS Expands Beyond B2B Tech
For the first time, this year’s report also includes data from industries other than B2B tech. What started as a strategy for B2B tech companies is now finding a home across industries like healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. According to the CS Index:
- 95% of B2B tech companies have established CS functions, with over half employing dedicated CS Ops teams.
- 62% of organizations in industries outside of B2B tech are adopting CS principles to meet customer needs and improve outcomes.
This broader adoption signals that CS is becoming a universal business strategy. Brent Krempges, Chief Customer Officer at Gainsight, states, “Organizations across industries increasingly recognize CS as central to the customer lifecycle, driving collaboration across departments. This has made CS indispensable for recurring revenue models and extended its influence beyond traditional B2B enterprise tech boundaries.”
4. Retention Remains King
Net Revenue Retention (NRR) has long been the benchmark for subscription companies. However, this year’s data shifted from relying on NRR alone. Findings show that organizations increasingly prioritize Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) as a key performance metric, with 55% of companies using GRR as a top measurement. 76% of companies indicated customer retention as another primary revenue metric utilized.
Interestingly, regional differences are also emerging:
- North America: GRR leads the way, with 89% of organizations focusing on this metric.
- Europe: 95% of companies prioritize logo retention as a key performance metric.
As companies refine their retention strategies, AI and digital tools will be crucial in identifying at-risk accounts and enhancing customer loyalty.
The Future of Customer Success: A Unified Approach
As we head into 2025, one thing is clear: Customer Success is no longer siloed. The CS Index found that 94% of organizations have cross-functional collaboration at the core of their customer strategies. Marketing, Product, and Operations teams work alongside CS to deliver seamless, impactful customer experiences.
AI and automation are key enablers of this unified approach. Tools like Gainsight’s Staircase AI help organizations connect the dots across every customer interaction, ensuring no opportunity is missed, and every customer feels valued.
The trends outlined in the Customer Success Index offer a roadmap for CS professionals looking to thrive in 2025. Whether embracing AI, scaling with Digital CS, or adopting a company-wide mindset, the future of CS is full of opportunities to drive growth and retention.
Learn More
To explore the full findings and insights, check out the Customer Success Index 2024.
