Customer Service

Consumers love chatbots if live person is back-up option

Photo by istock.com

May 31, 2022

A good many U.S. consumers, 80%, are much more willing to use a chatbot if they know they can easily switch to a live customer service rep.

That's a prime finding of a Simplr suvey that polled 1,000 adult consumers. The study also revealed that if consumers have a seamless transfer from a bot to a human more than half, 60%, will likely continue doing business with the brand, according to a press release.

But if the chatbot fails, and there is no live agent as a backup, 60% are less likely to remain a customer.

"The damage current chatbot vendors are wreaking upon brands is disastrous. It has come to the point that customers expect to leave the interaction having had a poor experience," Daniel Rodriguez, Simplr CMO and co-author of Experience is Everything, said in the release "Why should CX leaders settle for 13-minute wait times when consumers are expecting their issue to be resolved in a fraction of that time? CX leaders and their customers deserve a new way forward, where bots and humans collaborate seamlessly to solve inquiries in the most beneficial and impactful way possible."

The study also revealed that chatbot use has doubled in two years and 18% of those polled have used a chatbot in the past three months — compared to 9% in 2020. According to the study, there are stark generational differences when it comes to desirable customer service interactions. Twenty-percent of Gen Z consumers prefer to start with a chatbot compared to only 4% of Boomers. Meanwhile, 71% of Boomers prefer to start by talking on the phone with a live agent, compared to 41% of Gen Z consumers.

"These results underscore the importance of taking into consideration who your target audiences are when you are designing your chatbot experiences," Rodriguez said in the release. "Those that appeal to younger audiences can afford to be more 'chatbot forward' in their CX approach, while those who sell to Boomers need to make sure there is human assistance easily available."