Survey: Consumers growing open to AI customer support agents
High-quality customer support goes a long way for consumers, and they are open to artificial intelligence being used to achieve it.
That’s according to a new report from AI-powered customer experience firm Decagon, which revealed that 70% of consumers say they would pay more for a product if they knew the brand offered exceptional customer support. Furthermore, almost six-in-10 (58%) said that a single negative experience would stop them from buying from a brand again.
AI-powered customer service agents are becoming increasingly favorable for consumers, according to the survey. More than half (56%) of those in the Decagon survey agree that brands that use AI agents for customer support are more modern and innovative than those that don’t. Among adults aged 18 to 44, 86% say they would prefer AI over a human if it met certain criteria, such as delivering faster, more accurate, and more available support.
Of the same age cohort, 55% feel more comfortable sharing personal details with AI than with some of their friends, while 53% say AI chatbots can listen better than a spouse or partner. Consumers aged 18 to 44 are twice as likely than those over the age of 45 to agree AI agents are capable of demonstrating emotional intelligence when delivering customer support.
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“We’re seeing a real inflection point with the next generation of consumers,” said Jesse Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Decagon. “A speedy response has become table stakes. They also want intelligence, empathy, and personalization at every touchpoint. This new standard of concierge-level service is quickly becoming a non-negotiable, and the brands that still treat support like a cost center will fall behind.”
For its AI and the Next Generation of Customer Experiences survey, Decagon surveyed 2,077 U.S. adults.
