Majority of Customers Prefer Human Interaction Over AI in Customer Service, Survey Reveals

In an era of rapid technological advancement, a recent survey has uncovered a surprising trend: the majority of the customers admittedly prefer person-to-person real-life conversation over AI customer relations. This revelation comes at a time when many firms have started adopting the AI solutions to help solve their operational challenges.

Customer Resistance to AI in Service Interactions

Participants’ attitudes towards AI in service interactions were revealed based on the results of a global survey of 5,728 participants conducted by Gartner in December 2023. The study shows that as many as 64% of customers prefer businesses not to utilize AI in customer service at all.

But even more revealing is that majority of the customers surveyed (53%) said they were ready to switch to a competitor should they find out that a company was using AI in delivering customer service. This statistic points to the self-generated business risk that can result from precipitated adoption of AI without regard for the customers.

Top Concerns Driving Customer Hesitation

Source: Gartner (July 2024)

Slower response rates and less availability of human representatives 

Employment loss due to the use of AI in workplaces 

Perceived risk of AI giving wrong information 

These observations signal the need to retain the human element in customer relations as organizations consider the adoption of AI.

Bridging the Gap: AI Implementation and Customer Trust

However, 60 percent of customer service heads are under pressure to integrate AI in their operations despite customer concerns. To address this disconnect, experts recommend a balanced approach:

Integrate AI solutions in a way that enables a smooth transfer of interaction if required

Ensure that customers are informed that help from a real person is just around the corner 

Make it possible for consumers to easily transfer from the AI chatbot to the human agent without losing previous conversation details 

Adopting the context outlined above ensures that customers trust intelligent service experiences while also having the discretion to interface with people.

Conclusion

In the middle of the AI evolution, corporate policies should not forget that the customer remains supreme. Thus, despite AI’s enormous prospects for optimizing service productivity, companies need to consider technology adoption within the context of customers’ expectations regarding human non-replaceable touchpoints to enhance loyalty and trust in an increasingly saturated market.

FAQs

Q1: How many customers participated in the survey? 

A: The survey included 5,728 customers.

Q2: Are customer service leaders still interested in adopting AI despite these findings? 

A: Yes, 60% of customer service and support leaders report feeling pressure to adopt AI in their function. 

Q3: What are some other concerns customers have about AI in customer service? 

A: Other major concerns include AI displacing jobs and AI providing incorrect answers. 

Q4: What do experts recommend for companies wanting to implement AI in customer service?

A: Experts suggest ensuring AI capabilities follow best practices of service journey design, clearly communicating that human assistance is available when needed, and designing AI systems to seamlessly transition to human agents. 

Q5: Does this mean companies should avoid AI in customer service altogether? 

A: Not necessarily. The findings suggest companies need to carefully balance AI implementation with maintaining human interaction options to meet customer preferences and build trust.