Consumers overall prefer faster responses, but desire for human support still present
Time is money, and when it comes to customer support, AI could save both while maintaining customer satisfaction. Chatbots have historically landed on the 'clunky' side of support interactions, but improvements from generative AI models have the chance to push chatbots into a higher realm of customer satisfaction. 159 AI users were asked: If you were trying to communicate with a customer service agent at a company for a product or service you bought, what would be your preference? For most, speed reigns supreme.
- 52% of users prioritized fast responses, showing indifference to whether the response was from an AI agent or a human.
- Among Gen Z users, there was a slightly higher inclination towards preferring human interaction (36%) for their support needs compared to Millennials (21%) and Gen X (19%).
- Women (28%) were twice as likely as men (14%) to want the option to choose between AI and a human agent upfront
- Although many would rather use a chatbot than wait, one out of four users prefer a real person even if it means waiting a few minutes.
Implications
- Businesses can create significant cost savings and customer satisfaction by creating chat flows to thoroughly answer users' questions and solve their problems real-time. However, customers are looking for a speedy resolution not just a fast initial response.
The more time it takes users to get complete answers to their questions, the more likely they are to get frustrated or seek a human for help. According to Zendesk's CX trends report, 54% of customers said their biggest frustration with chatbots is the number of questions they have to answer before being transferred to a human agent.
- One out of four consumers want to talk to a real person, even if this means waiting a few minutes longer. While more research and segmentation should be done here, if 25% of your customers want a human and are willing to wait a bit, then your company should give people a choice upfront.
Getting 75% of customers to take the AI automated route may make your costs go down while potentially speeding up wait times for those who prefer human support.
- When it comes to support, one size does not fit all! There are statistically significant differences in preferences between men and women, and between Gen Z and older generations. Savvy businesses can leverage demographic data to allow users to choose between a human and a chatbot, tailor AI responses, or even make better decisions around when to hand off from chatbots to human agents.
