A new survey from Gartner, the global technological research and consulting firm, has discovered that 64% of customers would prefer companies not use artificial intelligence (AI) in their customer service.

Further, just over half (53%) of customers would consider switching to a competitor if they found out a company was going to use AI for customer service.

Conducted in December 2023 on a pool of 5,728 customers, Gartner’s survey revealed that while customer service leaders are eager to adopt AI, the people who would be directly interacting with it remain concerned about AI’s usage within customer services.

“Sixty percent of customer service and support leaders are under pressure to adopt AI in their function,” said Keith McIntosh, senior principal, research, in the Gartner Customer Service & Support practice. “But they can’t ignore concerns about AI use, especially when it could mean losing customers.”

What Are Customers’ Top Concerns?
According to the survey, the top concern that customers have about AI in customer service is that it will get more difficult to reach a person (60%), followed by AI displacing jobs (46%), and AI providing the wrong answers (42%).

Customer data being less secure (34%) and AI biases not treating customers equally (25%) were also highlighted as concerns by the respondents.

“Once customers exhaust self-service options, they’re ready to reach out to a person,” explained McIntosh. “Many customers fear that GenAI will simply become another obstacle between them and an agent. The onus is on service and support leaders to show customers that AI can streamline the service experience.”

“Service organizations must build customers’ trust in AI by ensuring their GenAI capabilities follow the best practices of service journey design,” stated McIntosh. “Customers must know the AI-infused journey will deliver better solutions and seamless guidance, including connecting them to a person when necessary.

“For example, AI-infused chatbots must communicate to the customer that they will connect them to an agent in the event that the AI cannot provide a solution. It must then seamlessly transform into an agent chat that picks up where the chatbot left off. This way, the customer can trust that they will be able to efficiently find their solution while using the AI-infused channel.”

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DIGIT last reported on AI and customer service last month, after the CCMA (Call Centre Management Association) published its related findings.

It found that less than one third (30%) of consumers believe AI will have a positive impact on customer service overall; in fact, 44% thought AI might negatively impact the customer experience due to a lack of human interaction.