The paper "GenAI Infused Service Delivery: Micro Level Augmentation Patterns at theService Frontline" by Philipp Reinhard, Mahei Li, Christoph Peters, Andreas Janson and Jan Marco Leimeister has been published in the Special Issue of the renowned Journal of Service Research.

The study examines how the integration of generative artificial intelligence is changing existing service processes, particularly in direct customer contact. Until now, many customer service processes were primarily designed and carried out by employees. However, the new generative and autonomous capabilities of GenAI are fundamentally changing the structure, execution and control of these routines.

Based on the Organizational Routines Theory, the researchers are conducting a longitudinal study from 2020 to 2024 to analyze how customer service routines are developing as a result of the introduction of GenAI. To this end, a total of 41 interviews were conducted with employees, managers and AI experts in two survey phases, before and after the introduction of GenAI.

The analysis shows seven recurring patterns at micro level that describe how GenAI is specifically integrated into service processes. A key finding is that GenAI is initially used primarily in the internal area of knowledge-intensive services. From there, it increasingly influences direct interaction with customers.

The authors describe this process as the penetration of service processes and distinguish between two mechanisms. Firstly, simultaneous penetration: Employees use GenAI in real time and integrate its answers and recommendations directly into the customer conversation. Secondly, sequential penetration: New routines of documentation and the systematic provision of information to the AI emerge so that it can continuously improve both internal and customer-facing processes.

By identifying these patterns and mechanisms, the study makes an important contribution to research in the field of collaboration between humans and AI in the service context. At the same time, it offers concrete pointers for organizations on how generative AI can be meaningfully integrated into existing service processes and how new forms of collaboration can be designed.

The Journal of Service Research is one of the leading international journals in the field of service research and publishes pioneering work on service management and service innovation.

The full article has been published in the journal's Special Issue and can be viewed at the following link: https://doi.org/10.1177/10946705251414283

Reinhard, P., Li, M. M., Peters, C., Janson, A., & Leimeister, J. M. (2026). GenAI-Infused Service Delivery: Micro-Level Augmentation Patterns at the Service Frontline. Journal of Service Research, 0(0).