50% of consumers cite lack of empathy as biggest AI pain point
While 40 per cent of consumers say they have seen improved speed and efficiency as brands bring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into the experiences they deliver, half complain the technology fails to understand their concerns, according to research published by ServiceNow.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based provider of IT service management (ITSM) and customer service software surveyed more than 27,000 customers, 3,500 service representatives, and 3,900 executives globally to produce its report, The CX Shift: A study of customer expectations in the AI era.
ServiceNow’s findings suggest consumers aren’t against brands’ using AI in customer experience (CX), but expect it to perform with higher-quality results.
For example, three quarters of those surveyed said they prefer to use self-service capabilities before calling a service rep, which is what many brands are trying to offer with AI-powered chatbots and intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs). Only 32 per cent said they preferred receiving service from a human being.
At the same time, phone calls remain the most popular channel for connecting with brands, cited by 87 per cent of those surveyed. ServiceNow pointed out that only seven per cent of executives plan to prioritize investments in voice calls over the next three years.
In keeping with similar studies, ServiceNow showed the risk of disappointing customers: 47 per cent said they would switch to a competitor due to poor or slow service.
“While many organizations race toward automation, our research shows customers want more than speed. They want to feel understood,” the report’s authors wrote. “Service reps don’t need replacing; they need empowering. And executives who invest in efficiency alone miss the bigger
opportunity: loyalty.”
360 Magazine Insight
Despite its title, ServiceNow’s report is less focused on CX across every stage of the customer journey and more on what happens post-purchase. This is in keeping with the technology it provides contact centers and support teams to manage their workflow.
This is also why the report highlights the challenges of service reps toggling back and forth between applications, an issue ServiceNow’s platform is designed to solve.
According to the study, only 45 per cent of reps’ time is spent dealing with customer issues, yet elsewhere the survey suggests AI is helping in areas such as summarizing call notes (cited by 58 per cent) and handling admin tasks (48 per cent). If AI is already having that big of an impact, it seems strange they can’t allocate more of their time to customers.
This research boasts an impressively large sample size, yet reading through the ungated 46-page report, you almost feel as though there should be more statistics than what’s been published. Instead, there are multiple “My Take” sections with analysis and recommendations from various ServiceNow executives.
One of the best parts of the report, titled “Rethink How You Measure CX Success,” does a good job of suggesting how brands might use their Voice of the Customer programs and feedback to train AI models to be more empathetic, along with some helpful key performance indicators (KPIs) they could apply.
