Dive Brief:
- AI is transforming how consumers expect brands to interact on social media, an Emplifi report released Wednesday found. Emplifi, a social media and customer engagement platform, surveyed nearly 900 frequent social media users.
- Over half of surveyed consumers still prefer human support, and one-quarter say they prefer AI-powered support.
- However, when asked about their experiences with AI-powered support, 71% of consumers surveyed said they were somewhat or very satisfied with their experiences.
Dive Insight:
More and more consumers are interacting with AI when they reach out to brands on social media. As the technology becomes more mainstream, people are more comfortable using it for customer support.
“If they are a person who's played around with ChatGPT and various AI platforms, they're more likely to trust that consumer affairs, customer care data,” Susan Ganeshan, CMO of Emplifi, told CX Dive. “If they aren't someone who's done that, they're a lot less likely to trust it.”
Nearly three-quarters of AI users are comfortable with AI answering basic product questions. Only 2 in 5 consumers who don’t use AI are comfortable with the technology answering basic product questions.
They also have different expectations for AI. The top benefit of AI is 24/7 availability followed by fast responses. Two-thirds of respondents said they expect an immediate response from AI. Only one-quarter are willing to wait up to an hour for a response from AI.
Among those who prefer human support, 3 in 5 cite the value of personalized interactions.
Clearer disclosure also builds trust, Ganeshan said. More than 4 in 5 social media users want brands to disclose AI usage in customer care.
It’s also important to balance AI use and human support. Ganeshan urges brands on three steps. First, “always telling people that this is powered by AI, two, giving them the option to opt out, to talk to somebody, and then, three, suggesting to them other avenues they might take. So for example, you could say, ‘Here's a number to call us, here's an email, here's a way to chat with us.’”
