44% Of American Consumers Say They Prefer Chatbots for Customer Service

According to new research from the 2016 Aspect Consumer Experience Index, the desire for automated interaction is real. 44 percent of the respondents to the company’s annual survey said that if a company could get it right they would prefer to use a chatbot or an automated assistant for customer service interaction, up 4 points from the 2015 survey. Half of them said that they would rather conduct all brand interaction via text/messaging, with 39 percent saying the digital-first methods are more effective than talking.

• The Aspect Consumer Experience Index shows 65 percent of consumers feel good when they resolve a customer service issue without a live person – up from 57 percent in 2015
• 70 percent of respondents prefer to use chatbots to interact with companies for simple to moderate interactions and transactions
• 69 percent say they use a chatbot or automated assistant at least once a month

“The accuracy and interaction quality of intelligent assistants such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Echo are driving consumer interest for similar experiences with the brands they do business with. This is no longer just a way for companies to reduce costs by handing simple and repetitive queries over to automated assistants,” said Joe Gagnon, Aspect’s Chief Customer Strategy Officer. “This is an opportunity for companies to satisfy a growing customer demand. But even though a large number of consumers now prefer using chatbots, they aren’t going to tolerate a substandard experience. The important thing is that companies who deploy automated interaction must provide an experience that is connected to the rest of the customer experience ecosystem.”

A key survey finding is that brands that deliver automation in isolation risk alienating customers. An overwhelming number of consumers (88 percent) expect the context of their interaction on a chatbot to follow them as they transition to a live person. Delivering on this is essential because a good number of respondents think automated assistance will end up giving them the same frustrating experience that antiquated interactive voice response solutions did.

To see the Aspect Consumer Experience Index findings, click here.

For more information, visit www.aspect.com.