A new report from Verizon (US multinational telecommunications conglomerate) shows that although artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing many benefits to businesses, the majority of consumers still prioritize chatting with real people rather than autonomous systems, according to indianexpress.
In the context of AI being strongly applied to improve customer experience (CX), Verizon's annual CX report shows an increasingly clear gap between the operational efficiency that businesses receive and the actual satisfaction of users.
AI helps businesses, but has not yet conquered customers
The study surveyed 500 executives and 5,000 consumers in seven countries. From a business perspective, more than 70% of leaders said AI has helped improve CX over the past two years.
In contrast, only 60% of customers are satisfied with AI-powered experiences and up to 88% still like human service. Notably, 47% of consumers consider not being able to contact employees as the biggest cause of disappointment.
A field that was once considered the strength of AI in personalization also showed a difference in expectations. Half of executives believe AI has significantly improved service personalization, but only 26% of customers agree, while 30% say the situation is even worse.
AI is currently best supported in areas such as customer support (75%), personalization (71%) and data analytics (69%). However, the above report also points out many barriers such as: poor quality data, privacy concerns, lack of AI skills among staff and difficulty in measuring the real impact.
The role of a human being cannot be replaced
One note is that only 7% of businesses believe that CX will be entirely AI-powered in the future. About half of the female model chose to balance between investing in AI and improving the human factor.
This reflects the trend of AI to support and human resources in making decisions, especially in situations that require empathy and flexible handling.
Many companies are focusing on training employees to:
- Resolve complaints related to AI.
Understand and optimize AI suggestions.
- Ensure compliance with data security principles.
The report from Verizon recommends that businesses need to be transparent about how they personalize and use customer data, while developing a comprehensive AI efficiency measurement method.
AI should be used to predict problems before they occur, not just react when an incident occurs.
Research results show that AI can optimize efficiency and speed, but human presence is still a decisive factor in building customer trust and engagement.
In the digital age, successful strategies will be a blend of technological power and the emotional value that humans bring.
