Research Finds Customers, Business Leaders at Odds Over AI Usage in Customer Service

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Predictive MarketingSales & Marketing

By STS News Desk On Sep 17, 2024

Intradiem’s new research finds 92% of customers say human agents are more helpful than AI agents or call bots

Intradiem, the leading provider of contact center automation solutions for customer service teams, released new research that finds a disconnect between contact center leader priorities and what consumers value in a contact center experience.

“Many contact centers underestimate, or under-value, the impact of the human element of customer service and its role in supporting the customer journey and their satisfaction with the brand as a whole”

When a consumer calls into a contact center, their top desire is to reach a human first, not a call bot. Meanwhile, business leaders are still pursuing the efficiencies promised by AI-powered alternatives to human agents. If this misalignment between business leaders and customers is left unaddressed, businesses will face negative impacts on customer satisfaction and, as a result, business success.

The findings are from Intradiem’s new consumer research, which sought to understand the current state of AI and bots in the customer service process. Throughout these findings, customers offered several warning signs for brands that offer subpar contact center experiences:

89% of customers will cut ties with a brand due to poor customer service
78% will pay more for a product if it has better customer service
60% say customer service is more important than the product itself

“We’ve seen a steady flow of major companies attempting to reduce their customer service team headcounts and replacing those employees with AI, rather than investing in more training and resources to help those teams be more successful,” said Jennifer Lee, President and co-CEO of Intradiem. “Our research indicates that replacing these agents will only lead to unhappy customers, lower brand loyalty and poor business performance down the road.”

Intradiem’s research also found that 90% of consumers are more loyal to brands that invest in customer service. Of the experiences that may stop a consumer from returning to a brand, multiple billing errors and needing multiple calls to resolve an issue rank highest.

“Many contact centers underestimate, or under-value, the impact of the human element of customer service and its role in supporting the customer journey and their satisfaction with the brand as a whole,” said Lee. “But when contact center leaders fail to realize the importance that the human element plays in broader business success, we see a decline in customer satisfaction and, therefore, brand loyalty.”

The Intradiem 2024 Customer Experience Survey, surveyed 1,100 U.S.-based consumers.

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