While companies increasingly use AI to improve customer experience (CX), Verizon’s annual Insights report revealed there remains a significant gap between the internal efficiency gains and actual consumer satisfaction.
Operators such as AT&T and Verizon are implementing AI and generative AI to improve customer support for tasks including managing upgrades, adding new lines and asking billing questions before the intervention of customer service representatives.
However, the report argued the future of CX lies in combining the technology with human interaction to enhance empathy and address customer frustrations effectively.
Indeed, Verizon’s survey found that 88 per cent of consumers feel satisfied with interactions handled mostly or entirely by human agents, while only 60 per cent share the same sentiment about AI-powered interactions. The study noted that this preference “highlights a fundamental truth: AI’s efficiency cannot replace the empathy and trust that a human provides”.
In addition, 47 per cent of consumers are most aggrieved by the inability to reach a human agent during automated interactions, a concern executives also flagged as the top complaint for AI-enabled services.
Despite personalisation being a key AI use case, 30 per cent of consumers expressed it detracts from their experience, while 26 per cent perceive it as an improvement.
Data privacy also remains a pressing concern as 65 per cent of executives stated that regulations limit their ability to use AI for personalisation. The issue also remains critical for consumers, as 54 per cent reported declining trust in companies using their personal data appropriately.
Daniel Lawson, SVP of global solutions at Verizon Business, stated the future of CX isn’t about AI replacing humans, but “about using AI to make human interactions better”.
The report conducted by Longitude is based on a survey of 5,000 consumers and 500 senior business executives across the US, Australia, Japan, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.