⚡ In short
- Customers want speed and 24/7 answers, but they don’t want to lose access to people.
- 95% of consumers expect explanations for decisions made by AI (Zendesk CX Trends 2026).
- About half of customers are open to generative AI assistants (Gartner, 2025).
- In India, 44% of internet users have used AI features like chatbots (IAMAI–Kantar 2025).
What customers expect
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 74% of consumers expect 24/7 customer service availability because of AI. | Zendesk CX Trends 2026 |
| 95% of consumers expect explanations for decisions made by AI. | Zendesk CX Trends 2026 |
| 80% of CX leaders agree transparency will be non-negotiable for customer-facing AI. | Zendesk CX Trends 2026 |
| Only 37% of CX leaders currently offer the reasoning behind AI decisions. | Zendesk CX Trends 2026 |
| 83% of CX leaders say memory-rich AI agents are key to personalised customer journeys. | Zendesk CX Trends 2026 |
What customers worry about
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 64% of customers would prefer that companies didn’t use AI for customer service (December 2023 survey). | Gartner (July 2024) |
| About half of customers are willing to use a generative AI assistant; the top concern is not being able to reach a person (4,800+ customers). | Gartner, via CX Dive (June 2025) |
| 76% of customers who last used social media for service are open to AI assistants, compared with 35% of phone-first customers. | Gartner, via CX Dive (June 2025) |
India
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| About 958 million active internet users in India in 2025. | IAMAI–Kantar, via tele.net |
| 44% of them have used AI features such as voice search, image search, chatbots or AI filters. | IAMAI–Kantar, via tele.net |
What to do with these numbers
- Be open that it’s AI. Name your bot and label it as an assistant. Chatbot names.
- Always offer a person. A “Talk to a person” button answers the biggest worry.
- Answer only from your own content, so the AI can point to where an answer came from. Train your AI chatbot.
- Keep context so customers don’t repeat themselves when a person takes over. The AI Agent hands the chat over with a note.
- Cover nights and weekends with AI, and turn anything unresolved into a ticket.
More in AI customer service and live chat statistics.
FAQ
Do customers like AI customer service?
Opinions are mixed. Many like fast, 24/7 answers but worry about not reaching a person. Offering both works best.
Are these statistics global?
Zendesk and Gartner survey customers in many countries; the IAMAI–Kantar figures are for India.