Representative imageA recent survey conducted by Capture CXA AI-powered customer experience platform, explored customer preferences in support interactions. The survey found growing demand for hybrid support systems combining human agents and AI-based bots, reflecting evolving customer expectations for faster, more efficient solutions and the empathetic touch of AI. human interaction.
The survey results show that 64% of respondents prefer the involvement of AI in their customer service journey, indicating that businesses need to invest in automation to meet these growing demands. Customers increasingly expect the best of both worlds: rapid responses from AI-based systems for simple queries and personalized assistance from human agents for more complex issues.
According to the poll, a mix of human agents and robots is the preferred approach, garnering 53% of the vote. This hybrid approach helps businesses effectively meet customer needs without sacrificing quality, which is crucial in a landscape where customer experience is a top priority for most consumers when choosing a brand.
The survey highlights the growing comfort with digital self-servicedriven by the need for rapid and efficient problem resolution. However, while 64% of customers expect interactions with bots at some point, 53% favor a combination of human and AI support, indicating that hybrid support is the future. Businesses must ensure seamless transitions between automated systems and human agents to deliver the personalized, empathetic interaction customers want when faced with more complex issues.
Human agent-only support was selected by 30% of respondents, showing that even as AI has gained ground, a large segment still values human interactions exclusively. This is particularly relevant for industries such as healthcare or financial services, where customers expect high levels of empathy and understanding, and where the nuances of human communication are key to building trust and loyalty. Businesses in these industries must have robust human support teams alongside AI solutions to meet these preferences.
The fact that 30% of respondents prefer to interact only with human agents indicates that it is essential to improve the capabilities of robots. For AI-based assistance to meet customer expectations, bots must evolve to handle more complex queries, understand industry-specific jargon, offer contextual and personalized responses, and express empathy when needed . As bot sophistication increases, businesses will see greater acceptance and satisfaction from customers using AI-based tools.
“The results reinforce the idea that even as AI transforms the customer experience at scale, human agents remain essential to ensure empathy and personalization. We see companies balancing automation and human support, which ultimately improves the quality of customer interactions and builds long-term loyalty,” said Vikas Garg, co-founder and CPO of Kapture CX.
AI-only support, favored by 11% of respondents, highlights that while a minority of customers are fully on board with AI-based bots handling their queries, there is still room for improvement. progress in AI adoption. As AI technologies such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning continue to evolve, customer trust in these systems is likely to increase. Bots equipped with conversational AI are already reducing ticket volumes by handling basic customer queries, and as these technologies become more sophisticated, their role will likely expand to cover more complex tasks.
Indifference to support type, expressed by 6% of respondents, indicates that a small but significant portion of consumers are more concerned about the speed and effectiveness of resolution than the nature of the resolution. interaction. This suggests that businesses need to focus on optimizing both their AI systems and human agents to provide consistent, timely, and high-quality support, regardless of channel.
As businesses continue to evolve their customer support models, AI-powered tools such as intelligent routing, self-service chatbots, and automated ticketing systems will become essential for improving operational efficiencies while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. With AI capable of analyzing customer sentiment, understanding the context of queries, and providing personalized responses, the future of customer support lies in seamless collaboration between AI and human agents.
The survey results highlight the growing role of AI in enhancing customer experiences, improving operational efficiencies, and meeting growing consumer expectations for fast, accurate, and empathetic support. For businesses to remain competitive, integrating AI technologies into their customer support processes is not only beneficial, it is essential. Balancing AI automation and human touchpoints will be key to delivering superior customer experiences that drive satisfaction, loyalty and long-term success, the study notes.
