3 Practical Ways AI Solves Everyday Customer Friction

All businesses want to deliver a seamless customer experience, but sometimes getting there is another story.

In Docusign's 2026 State of Digital Customer Experience survey of 100 U.S. senior business leaders responsible for digital customer experiences, 81% identified improving customer experience as a top organizational priority—nearly on par with revenue growth (82%), and ahead of cost reduction (78%).

At the same time, organizations are under growing pressure to put AI to work across the customer journey, solving the everyday problems that make customer experiences frustrating.

Forty percent of leaders say more than 10% of their customers abandon digital agreement or form processes before completion. Delays in collecting signatures are the most common process challenge, cited by 49% of respondents, while 37% point to fraud and identity verification concerns.

Customers, meanwhile, increasingly expect digital experiences to be fast, intuitive, secure, and easy to complete. They want simple, mobile-friendly forms, easy-to-find information, and help when they need it. 

This is where AI can make a difference. When applied across digital agreement workflows, AI can reduce manual effort, prevent errors, simplify complex processes, and help customers complete transactions more efficiently.

Here are three ways organizations can put AI to practical use across the customer experience.

1. Make forms easier to complete

Forms are often one of the first places where friction appears. For example, a customer may be asked to enter information that an organization already has. Employees may then need to manually re-key that information into another system. Forms that are missing information or contain other errors can require rework, creating an additional delay and an opportunity for the customer to abandon the process.

AI-assisted forms help address these problems before they happen. Known customer information can be used to pre-populate fields, and AI can identify missing or inconsistent data and reduce or prevent common errors before they become an administrative headache. The goal is to make it easier to complete forms correctly the first time.

2. Make agreements easier to understand

Lengthy legal or regulatory language creates uncertainty at a critical moment in the customer journey. When customers can't easily find the information they need, they may leave the process to search for answers, contact a support representative, or simply stop altogether.

AI-generated summaries can help customers quickly identify relevant information and understand key terms without having to navigate an entire document. Natural-language Q&A can take that experience further by allowing customers to ask questions about an agreement and get relevant information directly within the workflow.

That creates a more transparent experience for customers while reducing routine questions for support teams. Instead of forcing customers to choose between self-service and human support, organizations can use AI to handle straightforward questions while preserving access to live assistance for more complex situations.

3. Guide customers through what comes next

Even a fully digital journey can break down when customers aren't sure what to do next.

Our survey found that identity verification and authentication are the stages where organizations experience the highest rates of abandonment (28%), followed by information collection (20%), regulatory disclosure review (20%), and funding or payment (20%).

Which step abandonment rate

AI guidance can help customers navigate these moments by recommending the appropriate next step based on their stage in the process. Embedded AI support can answer questions without requiring customers to leave the workflow or contact a live representative.

That might mean identifying a missing document, explaining why identity verification is necessary, surfacing information about an agreement, or guiding someone toward the next action required to keep a transaction moving. The important part is where that intelligence appears. Rather than asking customers to seek help, organizations can provide contextual assistance right when it's needed.

AI is only as valuable as the experience it improves

AI-powered capabilities are still emerging. While mature technologies such as eSignature and digital forms have been widely deployed, our research found that more advanced capabilities—including AI-assisted forms, AI-powered document summaries, and intelligent guidance—are still being evaluated or implemented by many organizations.

That makes thinking carefully about how AI fits into the customer journey all the more necessary.Organizations should look for the places where customers have to enter information multiple times, often make preventable errors, have trouble understanding what they're being asked to do, or frequently leave a workflow to find help. Those are where AI can have the greatest impact on customer experience.

AI is only one piece of the equation. The next generation of customer experience will be defined by journeys that are intelligent, connected, personalized, secure, and fast. 

Organizations that combine AI with thoughtfully designed digital workflows from Docusign Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) can reduce unnecessary friction while making it easier for customers to understand, trust, and complete important transactions.

Docusign IAM enables companies to handle agreements from first draft to signature to management. Teams can work smarter and faster with an AI assistant and agents that surface potential risks, prioritize renewals, and analyze negotiation terms. 

IAM integrates with tools like Salesforce, Microsoft, Slack, and more, so teams can keep using the tools they rely on to automate workflows. Docusign meets or exceeds stringent US, EU, and global security standards, ensuring that the most sensitive contract data stays private and secure. And IAM converts static PDFs into a searchable database to help surface insights. Each of these things improves the backend experience so customers don’t feel unnecessary friction. 

Download The State of Digital Customer Experience 2026 to further explore our research and learn how leading organizations are using AI and connected digital workflows to improve their customer experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of business leaders prioritize customer experience? According to Docusign's 2026 State of Digital Customer Experience survey, 81% of senior business leaders identify improving customer experience as a top organizational priority, ranking alongside revenue growth (82%) and cost reduction (78%).

Where do customers most frequently abandon digital agreements? Docusign research shows that identity verification and authentication accounts for the highest abandonment rate (28%), followed by information collection (20%), regulatory disclosure review (20%), and funding or payment steps (20%).

How does AI reduce form abandonment in customer onboarding? AI reduces form abandonment by pre-filling known customer information from CRM systems, validating field entries in real time, and dynamically displaying only relevant questions using conditional logic—minimizing manual data entry errors.

Can AI explain complex contracts and disclosures to customers? Yes. AI tools such as Docusign Iris analyze agreement text to generate plain-language summaries and answer specific questions regarding terms, deadlines, and obligations directly within the agreement workflow.

What is Docusign IAM for Customer Experience? Docusign Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) for CX is a purpose-built platform that modernizes customer agreement workflows. It connects forms, AI-assisted contract review, identity verification, and multi-step orchestration into a unified, frictionless digital experience.