68% of US Customers Prefer Live Agent Support to Self-Help

NewVoiceMedia has found that while self-help options continue to advance, 68 percent of US citizens would still prefer a live agent to handle their customer service queries.

Are businesses ready to replace agents with bots?

Recent media coverage has tunnelled into the chatbot developments of companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Apple. Many are hailing AI as the future of customer service, and companies are quickly jumping on the bandwagon, eager to deploy their own smart communication solutions. However, NewVoiceMedia’s poll of more than 1,000 US citizens shows that customers may not be ready for a complete AI service overhaul.

• 68 percent of respondents claim they would prefer to interact with a live agent rather than automated self-help (FAQs/guided support, dial directories, chatbots, etc.) when dealing with customer service
• 9 percent prefer the self-help option and 24 percent feel they appreciate both options equally

Below is a breakdown of customers’ preferences for automated self-help or live agent help in different customer service situations:

• Technical support – 13% self-help VS 86% live agent
• Financial reporting – 22% self-help VS 56% live agent
• Returns/cancellations – 28% self-help VS 60% live agent
• Appointment booking – 41% self-help VS 52% live agent
• Purchase inquiries – 24% self-help VS 64% live agent
• Complaints – 13% self-help VS 77% live agent

When asked in which areas customer service should improve, 63 percent of respondents indicated personalised service, 66 percent availability, 71 percent response time, 29 percent do-it-yourself options, 40 percent number of communication options and 3 percent none.

“It’s not that technological advancements cannot improve the customer experience. They absolutely can. But companies must first have a foundation of good support built on fundamentals that include phone functionality and in-depth customer insights,” comments Jonathan Gale, CEO of NewVoiceMedia. “Many companies have much to improve within their existing policies and procedures. Our survey shows the number one complaint in customer service continues to be response time, and that is a simple infrastructure issue.”

For further information about NewVoiceMedia, visit www.newvoicemedia.com.