There are many helpful uses for artificial intelligence, but it sounds like customer service is one in which the customer is getting a little fed up with the bots. Identity and access management company Okta has concluded that the majority of people prefer human interaction.
The company’s research found that 70 percent of consumers would rather interact with a human than an AI agent for customer service, while only 16 percent said they would take the AI. This is especially true among older generations, with the ratio of baby boomers preferring humans to AI coming in at 41.5 to 1. That number drops to 9.8 to 1 for Gen X and 3.2 to 1 for millennials, while Gen Z had the lowest ratio at 2.3 to 1.
As for their reasons for preferring humans, 64 percent of respondents said it was because “a human understands my needs better.” Thirty-eight percent responded that frustration when dealing with AI was their reason for preferring real people. “Don’t overlook the value of human agents — if one thing is clear from the survey, it’s that users still value that human connection,” the report said.