When it comes to AI, we're the problem. It's us.

AI is everywhere in service right now. It is in our chats, our tickets, our workflows, and our dashboards. It is doing what many of us hoped it would do: making service faster, smarter, and more personalized. It is turning data into insight and automating the work that once pulled people away from customers.

And yet, for all the progress, there is a quiet truth that keeps surfacing in conversations with service leaders around the world. The hardest part of AI is not the technology. It is the people.

Teams are testing, piloting, and scaling AI. They can see the numbers move in the right direction, but belief still lags behind. Agents wonder what this means for them. Managers worry about keeping people motivated through constant change. Leaders question whether they can move fast enough without breaking what makes service special.

At Zendesk, we see this pattern every day. It is not a sign of failure. It is simply what happens when change moves faster than conviction. Technology can evolve overnight. Trust takes time.

That is why we created the guide From change management to change enablement. It is about helping service leaders build the trust, confidence, and rhythm that make AI adoption feel not only possible, but positive.

Because we are not just learning how to use new technology. We are learning how to lead differently.

Change management got us here. Change enablement will get us there.

For years, leaders have relied on change management to move organizations through transformation. It was a solid model for a slower world, when change happened once every few years and came with a tidy project plan. You could announce the change, train people on it, track adoption, and declare it complete.

AI has rewritten that reality.

Change is now continuous. New capabilities appear weekly. Decisions once made by humans are now made alongside machines. The playbook of training and compliance can no longer keep pace with a world that evolves daily.

That is where change enablement comes in.

Change enablement is not a new layer of management. It is a mindset for leadership in a world that does not stop changing. It is about creating the conditions where people want to move forward, not just where they are told to. It builds belief intentionally, so that trust becomes part of how the work gets done.

Where change management focused on control, Change enablement focuses on confidence. Where management tells people what to do, enablement helps them see why it matters.

And that difference changes everything.

Service is where change becomes real

Customer service has always been the place where every innovation gets tested in real time. It is where your technology meets emotion. It is where the systems you build either create connection or expose the lack of it.

It is also where belief becomes visible.

When service teams trust their tools, you can feel it. The work feels fluid, human, and personal. But when they do not, the hesitation shows immediately. The responses get cautious. The tone changes. Customers can sense it in seconds.

Service is emotional work. AI should not change that. In fact, it should make that work easier by removing friction, reducing noise, and creating more time for empathy.

But that only happens if people trust it.

And trust cannot be managed into existence. It must be designed into the culture of change itself. That is the work of change enablement.

The six conditions that help people believe

In our work with service leaders around the world, we have seen six conditions that help belief take root. They are not steps to follow, but forces to strengthen. Together, they turn AI adoption from something that happens to people into something that happens because of them.

1. Clarity creates a shared story. People can handle any change if they understand the purpose behind it. Clarity means everyone — from executives to agents — can explain why AI exists and how it helps both customers and employees.

2. Capability builds confidence through practice. People believe in what they know how to do. Capability comes from learning in the flow of work, not in a classroom. When people can test, fail safely, and improve, they start to trust the process.

3. Community gives people a voice. Change feels safer when people have a say in how it happens. When agents, managers, and admins help shape workflows and write prompts, they become advocates, not skeptics.

4. Continuity gives change a heartbeat. AI evolves fast, but humans build trust at a steady pace. Regular updates, transparent communication, and small, consistent improvements help people stay oriented.

5. Celebration gives change emotion. Recognition reminds people that the effort matters. Progress becomes personal when teams see their wins shared and their success acknowledged.

6. Customer gives change purpose. Service exists to help people. When employees see AI creating faster, better, more empathetic experiences for customers, belief follows naturally.

These six conditions are the foundation of change enablement. Together, they create the trust, capability, and shared purpose that make AI stick.

What this looks like in practice

No one has mastered this yet — and that is the point. Every company is figuring it out in real time. The best ones are learning with their people, not ahead of them.

In retail, AI is helping teams manage holiday surges while keeping empathy intact. The difference is clarity. Leaders show how automation protects the human touch instead of replacing it.

In healthcare, AI is routing patients faster and giving clinicians more time for care. Belief builds because clinicians are part of shaping how it works.

In financial services, predictive AI is identifying risk early and improving accuracy. Continuity is the key — regular updates and transparent metrics make progress predictable.

In hospitality, AI is helping personalize guest experiences while keeping warmth at the center. When employees help shape the messages AI sends, authenticity stays intact.

And in employee service, AI is handling repetitive requests so teams can focus on complex, human challenges. Adoption accelerates because people feel the impact themselves.

Every one of these examples has something in common: progress built through participation.

Belief does not come from a presentation. It comes from inclusion.

How leaders can start right now

The shift from change management to change enablement starts small. It begins in how leaders talk, listen, and build trust day to day.

Start with your story. Ask yourself what people really hear when you talk about AI. Does it sound like efficiency or empowerment? Redefine the story so it feels human — about removing friction, not removing people.

Build learning into the work. Let people test and practice in real scenarios. Give them room to experiment safely. Confidence comes from competence, and competence comes from experience.

Include more voices. Create small groups to shape AI’s role in your organization. Ask the people who use it most what would make it better.

Make change predictable. Avoid massive overhauls that feel overwhelming. Smaller, steady steps build credibility.

Share wins. Celebrate the stories that make change tangible — the customer who got help faster, the agent who used AI to solve something creatively, the manager who found a new rhythm for their team.

And measure belief itself. Track how people feel about AI, not just how often they use it. Sentiment data tells you where belief is growing and where it needs attention.

Change enablement is not about getting everything right. It is about building a culture that learns as it goes.

The moment for service leadership

AI has changed what is possible in service. But it has not changed what service is for. It still starts with people helping people. It still depends on empathy, curiosity, and connection.

The difference now is that leadership must evolve to keep pace with technology. We can no longer manage change as a project. We have to lead it as a practice.

That is what Change enablement offers — a way to build organizations that move as fast as their technology without losing what makes them human.

At Zendesk, we are proud to be in this work alongside our customers. We build the tools that make service more intelligent, but our real focus is helping people believe in what those tools can do.

Because the future of AI in service will not be decided by who has the most advanced platform. It will be decided by who builds the most belief.