The world of call centre management is at a tipping point. Getting to speak to someone in person is no longer a primary concern for customers. Instead, they want their enquiry handled as quickly, efficiently and accurately as possible — with the option to speak to someone if needed.

That’s just one of the key findings from Kore.ai’s Customer Experience (CX) Benchmark Report 2024, a deep dive into the world of customer service and the evolving role of Al chatbots. The report surveyed 1,200 respondents across Europe (Germany and the UK), America, and APAC.

It’s one that signals a major shift in an industry where the ability to speak to a live person handling enquiries was once deemed to be the gold standard in customer service.

But thanks to the rapid advancement of an intelligent automated frontline and the growing acceptance of AI-driven applications, the customer service sector is changing forever.

According to the report, two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed said they would prefer to get their order status in 30 seconds from an automated assistant compared to three minutes waiting for a live person.

While three-quarters (76%) of consumers agreed that when an organisation uses the latest automated assistant technology, it means their request is handled faster and more accurately.

In the UK, intelligent virtual assistants are preferred by 74% respondents over basic bots or chatbots and are frequently interacted with across multiple industries, with the top 3 including banking and financial services (81%), healthcare (80%) and retail (78%).

This sheds light on the dynamic shifts in consumer behaviour and expectations within customer service. Natural language interactions, seamless transitions between support channels and round-the-clock availability must be embedded in organisation’s customer service solutions.

Other key takeaways provide yet more evidence that consumers increasingly trust automated services to handle their enquiries.

Closing the gap between an automated and live frontline

According to the report, customers are increasingly viewing AI-powered systems as being as good as live frontline colleagues. The report found that the gap is closing between an AI frontline and live frontline colleagues, as both the expected and rated performance of service with an intelligent automated frontline (71% for both) and the aggregated expected performance of service with a live frontline (76%) was increasingly rated as similar.

And this decline in importance of access to a live frontline is driven primarily by GenZ, who placed having access to a human at the bottom of their priorities when compared to effectiveness, accuracy, security and trust. And Millennials follow, with live frontline colleagues access placing in 4th.

This change in perception underlines the growing confidence in AI-driven solutions that is matched by the growing experience of delivering exceptional customer service.

Even those areas thought to be unattainable by automated systems — what might be described as the ‘human touch’ — are becoming less of an issue. This is thanks, in part, to recent advancements in AI technology that have blurred the lines between human and machine interactions making them much more empathetic and life-like.

Much of this is down to their ability to understand and interact in natural language, interpret context and provide personalised responses. As a result, consumers are increasingly comfortable interacting with automated systems, particularly when it comes to routine inquiries or transactions such as checking account balances or searching for product refund and exchange information.

How do consumers in the UK feel about AI?

In fact, leveraging AI-powered automated assistants could lead to an increase in brand love and loyalty, especially when it comes to Gen Z. A huge 87% of UK Gen Z respondents said that companies that use the latest automated assistant technology show they value their time and 75% that it shows they respect them as a customer.

Although expectations are high too with 76% of UK respondents saying that when they decide to be transferred to a live frontline colleague they will immediately expect that they have all the relevant information to assist them. Moreover, the majority (73%) agreed that they like the idea that automated assistants are available 24×7 so they can get questions answered when it’s convenient for them.

Top use cases for UK consumers are checking travel and hospitality check-in assistance (74%), banking transactions and spending (72%) and product or brand search and information on retailer websites (69%).

There is no doubt that AI adoption will continue to grow across the UK (and Europe) and these results show that customers are becoming increasingly open to AI, if it answers their questions as efficiently, accurately and quickly.

Embracing AI

The blistering pace at which AI has been adopted shows that it is a game-changer. Across sectors such as banking, retail and telecommunications, businesses worldwide are leveraging AI to enhance operations and customer interactions.

Central to its adoption is personalisation and the ability to transform interactions into positive customer experiences. By analysing vast datasets, businesses can derive actionable insights to anticipate customer needs in real time based on the information they have provided and/or historical transactions.

It’s not just about efficiency. AI enhances the quality of interactions, making them more relevant and meaningful for customers, eliminating the need to repeat any information and understand urgency or emotion. By harnessing the power of personalisation and AI technology, businesses can stay ahead of the curve, delivering exceptional experiences in the digital age.

In essence, AI isn’t just a novelty — it’s a fundamental shift in how businesses engage with customers and start to exceed their expectations.

* To find out more about the changing consumer behaviour and the impact it is having on the call centre industry — as well as a step-by-step guide that explains the dos and don’ts of transitioning to AI-driven customer service you can download the report below.

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