The worlds of Customer Success (CS) and Customer Education (CE) are undergoing seismic shifts, with AI, personalization, and strategic alignment driving innovation. Top industry voices share 13 predictions that highlight what 2025 has in store for these fields. 

 

1. CS + Marketing: A united front

Daphne Costa Lopes, Global Director of Customer Success at HubSpot, and Emma Lampert, Fractional Leader for SaaS Customer Growth, highlight the growing integration between CS and marketing. Shared success metrics, joint expansion campaigns, and personalized customer journeys will blur the lines between the two functions, making collaboration essential for growth. 

2. Digital scaled success balances technology and human expertise

Dave Derington, Co-Founder and Co-Host at CELab: The Customer Education Laboratory, emphasizes the integration of education into Digital Scaled Success strategies. While scalable digital content will dominate, live instruction will remain crucial for certifications and complex programming. Blending these approaches ensures organizations meet diverse learner needs.

3. Personalization moves beyond the basics

Heather Wendt, Senior Community Strategist at Higher Logic, foresees a leap in AI-driven personalization. She predicts teams will use behavioral insights to predict churn risks, suggest interventions, and proactively engage customers. This hyper-personalized approach will redefine how CS and CE teams operate.

4. LMS systems go skill-centric

John Leh, CEO & Lead Analyst at Talented Learning, predicts a fundamental shift from course-centric to skill-centric designs in LMS solutions. He predicts that AI will power competency mapping, skill gap analysis, and adaptive learning, helping organizations deliver tailored training at-scale. Imagine AI analyzing a new product, mapping required skills, and creating personalized, real-time learning experiences for each user.

5. Customer Education becomes a revenue generator

Kristine Kukich, former CE practitioner for companies like Oracle, and Conference Trustee at the Customer Education Management Association (CEdMA), envisions CE transforming from a cost center into a revenue-generating powerhouse. Tiered programs, from onboarding to advanced certifications, will drive both customer engagement and new revenue streams, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem. 

6. AI enables "Just-in-Time" interventions

Emma Lampert and Roger Mendez, Global Leader of Customer Success Strategic Programs at Cisco, emphasize the role of AI in enabling "just-in-time" customer interventions. By analyzing product and engagement data, CS teams can act proactively at critical moments, ensuring better outcomes and stronger customer relationships. 

7. CS operations become highly strategic

Roger Mendez, Global CS Leader at Cisco, predicts that CS Ops will shift from a supporting role to a strategic function, driving scalability and efficiency. Automating workflows and enabling cross-functional collaboration will help teams do more with less while delivering greater value. 

8. Balancing efficiency with empathy

Roger also stresses the importance of empathy in customer interactions as automation and AI enhance efficiency. Balancing the two will be key to maintaining strong customer relationships in a tech-driven landscape. 

9. Customer Success enters the AI-first era

Dave Blake, CEO of ClientSuccess, envisions a new era of customer success, which he terms "Customer Success 5.0" (CS5.0) – the AI-First Era. AI will alleviate “non-value-add” tasks, empowering CSMs to focus on consultative, high-value customer interactions. This transformation will foster deeper relationships and enable customer success teams to deliver more tangible value to their customers. 

10. Learning aligns with business goals and diverse formats

Evan Hall, a Customer Education Strategist (formerly at Bill, Karbon, and Xero), predicts a sharper focus on aligning learning programs with top-level business goals, driving measurable outcomes and enhancing go-to-market strategies. Sallie Gamboa, Head of Customer Success at Redis, adds that meeting diverse audience needs will require balancing short, consumable content favored by modern learners with traditional formats like live workshops and in-depth e-learning, ensuring both engagement and depth. 

11. AI drives content creation innovation

Dave Derington and Evan Hall see AI revolutionizing content creation. Tools like ChatGPT and LLMs will enable educators to produce and adapt content at scale, feeding AI systems that deliver personalized, impactful learning experiences. 

12. Open research validates CE's impact

Michele Wiedemer, a Learner-Centered Design and Customer Education Consultant, calls for more open research on the efficacy of CE programs. Demonstrating the tangible impact of education on business and learner success will solidify CE’s role as a strategic business function. 

13. The demand for CS and CE innovation grows

Markus Rentsch, Customer-Led Growth Advisor, warns that many CS teams will struggle to meet revenue goals without addressing internal skill gaps. Successful organizations will adopt innovative practices and technology while focusing on value creation for their customers. 

Key takeaways for 2025

The future of Customer Success and Customer Education will focus on using AI to personalize experiences, improving operations, and finding creative ways to drive revenue. Success will depend on leveraging technology to work smarter and faster while preserving the personal touch that fosters trust and loyalty. Teams that focus on delivering clear, measurable results while combining automation with genuine, empathetic interactions will lead the way and excel in this era of transformation.

Want to stay ahead of 2025's customer success and customer education trends? We can help.

 

Contributors: 

Daphne Costa Lopes:

Emma Lampert 

Dave Derington 

Heather Wendt 

John Leh 

Kristine Kukich 

Roger Mendez 

  • Role: Global Leader, Customer Success Strategic Programs
  • Organization: Cisco
  • LinkedIn Profile: Roger Mendez 

Dave Blake 

Evan Hall 

  • Role: Customer Education Strategist (Past: Bill, Karbon, Xero)
  • Organization: Independent
  • LinkedIn Profile: Evan Hall 

Sallie Gamboa 

Michele Wiedemer 

  • Role: Learner-Centered Design and Customer Education Consultant; PhD Student
  • Organization: Graduate Research Assistant
  • LinkedIn Profile: Michele Wiedemer 

Markus Rentsch