Two In Three People Prefer Companies Didn’t Use AI For Customer Service: Survey

Nearly two in three, or 64%, of the customers would prefer that companies didn’t use artificial intelligence in their customer service, according to a survey by Gartner Inc. Furthermore, 53% of customers would consider switching to a competitor if they found out a company was going to use AI for customer service.

The survey showed that while customer service leaders are eager to adopt AI, customers remain concerned about its use within the customer service function. While 60% of customer service and support leaders are under pressure to adopt AI in their functions, they can’t ignore concerns about AI use, especially when it could mean losing customers.

The top concern that consumers have about AI in customer service is that it will get more difficult to reach a person (60%), followed by AI displacing people’s jobs (46%), AI providing the wrong answers (42%), data becoming less secure (34%), and AI biases not treating customers equally (25%).

According to Gartner, once customers exhaust their self-service options, they’re ready to reach out to a person. Many customers fear that generative AI will simply become another obstacle between them and an agent, and the onus is on service and support leaders to show consumers that AI can streamline the service experience.

Service organisations have to build customers’ trust in AI by ensuring their generative AI capabilities follow the best practices of service journey design. Furthermore, customers must know that the AI-enabled journey will deliver improved solutions, including connecting them to a person when necessary.

AI-powered chatbots must communicate to the customer that they will connect them to an agent if AI cannot provide a solution. It must then transform into an agent chat that picks up where the chatbot left off. This way, the customer can trust that they will be able to find their solution while using the AI-enabled channel.