Survey: AI chatbots best used for cutting wait times
Nearly half of consumers are fond of AI chatbots, according to a new survey.
Generative AI customer support platform Forethought found that 48% of those surveyed said the automated assistance made customer service more helpful. When broken down by generation, 56% of millennials find AI chatbots helpful, compared to just 32% of boomers.
Most consumers (82%) noted that it’s at least somewhat easy to tell if they are chatting with a human customer service agent or AI, with 90% of Gen Z saying so. The vast majority (89%) agree that companies should disclose if an agent is AI.
Forethought found that half of consumers would only be willing to wait up to nine minutes to receive a response from customer support. Not responding fast enough presents a significant risk to brands, presenting a use case for AI chatbots. If they had to wait too long, nearly a quarter (23%) of consumers said they would cancel or return their order, 21% said they would decide not to do business with the company again, and 18% said they would leave a critical review online.
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Most (95%) consumers believe a customer service agent will likely help them if they understand or relate to their feelings or emotions, which Forethought says reiterates the need for companies to strike the right balance between empathy and efficiency when using AI in customer service.
“Using AI for customer experience is a lot harder than most assume it will be, and companies are finally starting to get it right,” said Deon Nicholas, president and executive chairman of Forethought. “However, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Most companies that say they have ‘AI agents’ today use simple bots. There’s a significant opportunity to differentiate and improve customer satisfaction by transitioning to truly agentic AI that can take action, make nuanced decisions, and troubleshoot.”
Forethought conducted two surveys of more than 1,000 American adults.
