The majority of customers prefer human-to-human interaction over AI.
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If you want to anger your customers, make them do something they don’t want to do.
Up to 66% of U.S. customers say that when it comes to getting help, resolving an issue or making a complaint, they only want to speak to a live person. That’s according to the 2025 State of Customer Service and CX annual study. If you don’t provide the option to speak to a live person, you are at risk of losing many customers.
But not all customers feel that way. We asked another sample of more than 1,000 customers about using AI and self-service tools to get customer support, and 34% said they stopped doing business with a company or brand because self-service options were not provided.
These findings reveal the contrasting needs and expectations customers have when communicating with the companies they do business with. While the majority prefer human-to-human interaction, a substantial number (about one-third) not only prefer self-service options—AI-fueled solutions, robust frequently asked question pages on a website, video tutorials and more—but demand it or they will actually leave to find a competitor that can provide what they want.
This creates a big challenge for CX decision-makers that directly impacts customer retention and revenue.
Why Some Customers Resist AI
Our research finds that age makes a difference. For example, Baby Boomers show the strongest preference for human interaction, with 82% preferring the phone over digital solutions. Only half (52%) of Gen-Z feels the same way about the phone. Here’s why:
Lack of Trust: Trust is another concern, with almost half (49%) saying they are scared of technologies like AI and ChatGPT.
Privacy Concerns: Seventy percent of customers are concerned about data privacy and security when interacting with AI.
Success—Or Lack of Success: While I think it’s positive that 50% of customers surveyed have successfully resolved a customer service issue using AI without the need for a live agent, that also means that 50% have not.
Customers aren’t necessarily anti-technology. They’re anti-ineffective technology. When AI fails to understand requests and lacks empathy in sensitive situations, the negative experience can make certain customers want to only communicate with a human. Even half of Gen-Z (48%) says they are frustrated with AI technology (versus 17% of Baby Boomers).
Why Some Customers Embrace AI
The 34% of customers who prefer self-service options to the point of saying they are willing to stop doing business with a company if self-service isn’t available present a dilemma for CX leaders. This can paralyze the decision process for what solutions to buy and implement. Understanding some of the reasons certain customers embrace AI is important:
Speed, Convenience and Efficiency: The ability to get immediate support without having to call a company, wait on hold, be authenticated, etc., is enough to get customers using AI. If you had the choice between getting an answer immediately or having to wait 15 minutes, which would you prefer? (That’s a rhetorical question.)
24/7 Availability: Immediate support is important, but having immediate access to support outside of normal business hours is even better.
A Belief in the Future: There is optimism about the future of AI, as 63% of customers expect AI technologies to become the primary mode of customer service in the future—a significant increase from just 21% in 2021. That optimism has customers trying and outright adopting the use of AI.
CX leaders must recognize the generational differences—and any other impactful differences—as they make decisions. For companies that sell to customers across generations, this becomes increasingly important, especially as Gen-Z and Millennials gain purchasing power. Turning your back on a generation’s technology expectations puts you at risk of losing a large percentage of customers.
What’s A CX Leader To Do?
Some companies have experimented with forcing customers to use only AI and self-service solutions. This is risky, and for the most part, the experiments have failed. Yet, as AI improves—and it’s doing so at a very rapid pace—it’s okay to push customers to use self-service. Just support it with a seamless transfer to a human if needed. An AI-first approach works as long as there’s a backup.
Forcing customers to use a 100% solution, be it AI or human, puts your company at risk of losing customers. Today’s strategy should be a balanced choice between new and traditional customer support. It should be about giving customers the experience they want and expect—one that makes them say, “I’ll be back!”
