The CX Edge: Retailers Tap Agentic AI and Social Media

The evolution of agentic AI is shifting customer experience (CX) across industries by enabling autonomous decision-making, real-time adaptability, and goal-driven intelligence.

Unlike traditional AI, which reacts to inputs, agentic AI takes the initiative to anticipate customer needs, personalize interactions, and optimize business processes at an unprecedented scale.

When shoppers have an issue, they often contact customer service by phone or write to a chatbot. A better option might be an agentic AI solution. Recent studies found that two in five shoppers are using social media to contact retailers instead.

AI and social media together are enabling autonomous decision-making, real-time adaptability, and goal-driven intelligence. The result turns the combination into a more effective CRM platform.

According to John Yoho, COO at HGS Digital, agentic AI can revolutionize how businesses interact with customers. It transforms customer interactions into brilliant and dynamic experiences.

“Traditional AI-driven CRM tools have helped businesses streamline interactions, but they often hit a wall when it comes to more complex decision-making,” he told CRM Buyer.

Agentic AI Brings New Advantages to CRM and CX

That is where agentic AI steps in. It works autonomously rather than automating routine tasks or working from prompts.

The technology empowers customers to take control of their journeys while the AI works in tandem with them. Yoho explained that it anticipates their needs, makes real-time decisions, and delivers hyper-personalized experiences.

Agentic AI goes beyond simple automation by proactively engaging and making informed decisions, helping businesses work faster, become more intuitive, and stay deeply connected to their customers’ wants.

It creates stronger customer relationships, better decision-making, and a level of personalization that keeps customers coming back.

Yoho noted that it is one of the newest iterations of AI functionality. Agentic AI integrates into CRM systems to elevate customer engagement from static, one-size-fits-all interactions to dynamic, real-time experiences. Traditional CRMs rely on historical data and static customer profiles to personalize interactions.

He added that agentic AI takes it a step further by continuously learning and adapting to real-time behavior across multiple touchpoints, such as website interactions, mobile apps, social media, and chatbot interactions.

“Rather than just segmenting customers based on previous data, agentic AI predicts their next move and fine-tunes recommendations in the moment,” Yoho said.

New Product Puts Agentic AI in Hands of SMBs

Vcita, a technology platform for small businesses, announced an agentic AI upgrade to its BizAI product in late March, designed specifically for SMBs. It assumes essential responsibilities, such as responding to clients, booking appointments, generating estimates, and providing valuable insights.

Vcita CEO and Founder Itzik Levy said this advanced upgrade of BizAI closes the gap between enterprise-grade AI and the realities of running a small business. He suggested that SMBs have much to gain by utilizing agentic AI. It saves them time, uncovers valuable insights, and unlocks untapped revenue potential while protecting their hard-earned reputations and client relationships.

“That’s why our next-gen BizAI balances automation with control, allowing businesses to adopt AI at their own pace while staying in the driver’s seat,” he said.

The updated BizAI platform employs a semi-automated approach designed to enhance trust and reliability. Rather than immediately executing tasks, it identifies, prepares, and validates actions, then seeks user confirmation.

Levy explained that this allows SMBs to ease into automation while maintaining oversight. Over time, as confidence builds, SMBs can unlock deeper automation capabilities.

Social Media Enhances Agentic AI in Retail

Yoho noted that social media, one of several channels that agentic AI taps into, provides real-time engagement and seamless issue resolution. It monitors customer interactions across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X. Agentic AI can identify customer questions, complaints, or purchasing signals and respond autonomously and contextually.

For example, in e-commerce, AI can detect when customers hesitate at checkout. It analyzes their browsing history and instantly offers a personalized discount through a chatbot without the need for human intervention to boost conversions and reduce cart abandonment.

In customer service, AI-powered virtual assistants can independently resolve issues by retrieving order statuses, processing refunds, or scheduling service appointments. This approach significantly reduces wait times and improves customer satisfaction.

“By making these intelligent, autonomous decisions, agentic AI not only optimizes business operations but also creates seamless, highly personalized customer experiences that drive engagement and long-term retention,” Yoho said.

Agentic AI Understands Intent, Urgency

He further explained a key difference: while traditional AI relies on sentiment analysis to detect emotions, agentic AI understands intent and urgency. It does this by analyzing keywords, direct mentions or comments, and comment patterns to identify broader issues, such as multiple customers reporting checkout errors.

Once the issues are detected, agentic AI determines a response based on context and urgency. It will not simply respond but anticipate and resolve problems before the customer has to reach out directly.

For example, suppose a shopper comments on a retailer’s post asking about product availability. In that case, the AI can instantly reply with stock details, direct them to the product page, or even offer a limited-time discount to encourage a purchase. It can also detect urgent concerns, such as delayed shipments, incorrect orders, or service disruptions, and autonomously escalate them to the appropriate support team while providing immediate reassurance to the customer.

Agentic AI serves as the ultimate connector in a retail ecosystem, breaking down silos between different departments to create a smooth, seamless customer experience. Instead of data getting stuck in separate systems, agentic AI synchronizes everything in real time, making sure every touchpoint feels connected.

“By keeping everything connected, proactive, and automated, agentic AI in retail makes the experience feel effortless for customers while streamlining internal processes,” Yoho noted.

Preparing for Agentic AI Risks and Rewards

He emphasized that the customer experience space is already highly competitive. With agentic AI, businesses could gain a significant competitive advantage.

“Brands that can integrate agentic AI seamlessly into their systems will not only enhance customer loyalty but also establish themselves as leaders in their industry,” Yoho predicted.

He cautioned that agentic AI also comes with risks that must be carefully managed to ensure responsible and ethical implementation. As these systems become increasingly autonomous and sophisticated, they pose complex challenges, such as misaligned goals, a lack of transparency, security threats, and unintended biases.

“Similar to general AI usage, to maintain brand consistency and uphold ethical standards, businesses must establish clear AI governance frameworks that define acceptable decision-making boundaries and ensure AI-driven interactions align with the company’s values and voice,” he elaborated.

Yoho said the most crucial factor is keeping humans informed about the technology. While agentic AI can operate autonomously, somebody must continuously monitor it.