Unlocking the power of artificial intelligence in customer relationship management: a comprehensive analysis of critical success factors

This paper addresses the need for comprehensive research on the critical success factors (CSFs) that may facilitate the successful integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for customer relationship management (CRM). While AI offers potential for enhancing CRM strategies, empirical research investigating the factors that support successful AI–CRM integration remains scarce. At the same time, managers face challenges due to uncertainties regarding outcomes, system complexity, and the appropriate use of AI in CRM. Our study contributes to this gap by exploring factors supporting successful AI integration in CRM across multiple industries (primarily service and retail) and application types. We identify 21 CSFs and show how their relevance varies depending on the type of AI application. In particular, we develop a two-dimensional, contingent framework based on two key dimensions of AI applications: the extent of personalized interactions and the degree of user oversight. The identified factors and the proposed framework extend existing theory by providing a nuanced, contingent perspective on AI–CRM integration. This advancement in understanding enables organizations to better leverage AI's potential more effectively, improve decision-making processes, and support continuous innovation in CRM practices, while recognizing that applicability may vary across contexts.