Uncover how AI and human-centric strategies can help transform customer engagement

EN | TH

• 69 percent of global leaders surveyed have at least two front office transformations underway, outperformers are investing in customer-centric strategies powered by AI and data.
• Agentic AI is poised to transform customer interaction, enabling insight-driven decisions with less human oversight while enhancing the role of human touch.
• Seamless cross-functional collaboration across marketing, sales, and customer service is becoming a key differentiator to drive performance excellence.

Bangkok, Thailand, 21 August 2025 – KPMG in Thailand released findings from its comprehensive "Future of Front Office" report, revealing how leading organizations are successfully balancing advanced AI technologies with human-centric approaches to achieve competitive advantage. The research demonstrates that outperforming companies are moving from traditional omnichannel customer engagement to hyper-personalized, analytically driven strategies that inform decision-making and customer interactions. As businesses face rising customer expectations, expanding digital channels, and economic headwinds challenging traditional value delivery models, the front office of the future will likely be powered by agentic AI while remaining fundamentally human-centric.

KPMG’s “Future of Front office” report is based on a survey of 500 global C-suite and senior subject matter experts across diverse industries and regions. The survey respondents represent organizations from financial services, technology, media and telecommunications, energy, natural resources, chemicals, healthcare and life sciences, consumer and retail sectors, with their headquarters spanning across regions including Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, North and Latin America. Given that front office functions — such as sales, marketing, customer service, and relationship management — serve as the face of the organization and directly shape the customer experience, the study aims to uncover how leading enterprises are leveraging advanced technologies and customer-centric strategies to transform these critical areas for sustained business performance.

The report highlights three key capabilities separating leaders from laggards: Digital Maturity, Strategic Orchestration, and Trust and Ecosystem Partnerships.

There are noticeable differences between industry leaders and laggards in front office transformation. Leading companies demonstrate higher digital maturity built on four pillars: customers, products, technology and operations. These digitally mature enterprises transform data into insight-driven strategies and actions across their business, enabling them to develop innovative products and services, forge predictive supply chains, and build aligned workforces. The gap continues widening as 81% of digitally mature organizations run at least two transformation initiatives compared to just 51% of lower-maturity peers. Without meaningful action, laggards risk falling further behind over the next three to five years, potentially losing customer trust and seeing revenue erosion.

Outperforming companies excel through seamless and strategic collaboration of front, middle, and back-office functions to consistently deliver intended customer experiences. Their marketing, sales, and service functions operate in sync, enabling better customer engagement across channels while reducing customer friction. These organizations recognize that every department influences customer and employee experience, adopting an enterprise-wide customer-first, front-office mindset. The effective collaboration requires shared goals, integrated processes, and coordinated execution across all functions.

The front office is also playing a central role in shaping the customer value proposition and experience agenda — ultimately driving stronger brand value, loyalty, and long-term relationships. Leading companies create experiences grounded in reliability and transparency, offering customers clear and consistent information about products and practices. To deliver on this promise, they also design ecosystems thoughtfully from an enterprise perspective, selecting partners whose technologies, services, and strategic goals align with their own.

1. Holistic data strategy
   treat data as a strategic asset, Use Gen AI & analytics to deliver insights, align data strategy with business goals, Categorize data for strategic use (customer, operational, market)
2. Organizational alignment & digital maturity
   break down silos across functions, align metrics across marketing, sales, service, invest in cross-functional digital maturity, Use agentic AI for personalization
3. Strategic ecosystem design
   build partner ecosystems aligned to strategy, use cloud platforms & APIs for integration, Establish governance for data sharing, design ecosystems from enterprise perspective
4. Trust & transparency
   embed trust by design in IT & data strategies, be transparent in data collection & use, use AI ethically to build loyalty, Ensure security & compliance
5. Workforce transformation
   equip teams with AI & digital tools, promote continuous learning & agility, redesign roles for advisory functions, foster resilience & adaptability

To read or download its full report, please visit Future of front office.

KPMG is a global organization of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. KPMG is the brand under which the member firms of KPMG International Limited (“KPMG International”) operate and provide professional services. “KPMG” is used to refer to individual member firms within the KPMG organization or to one or more member firms collectively.  

KPMG firms operate in 142 countries and territories with more than 275,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. Each KPMG member firm is responsible for its own obligations and liabilities.  

KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.  

For more detail about our structure, please visit kpmg.com/governance.

KPMG in Thailand, with more than 2,500 professionals offering Audit and Assurance, Legal, Tax, and Advisory services, is a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee.

Sasiphim Koodisthalert
Email: sasiphim@kpmg.co.th