Survey2026-08-25
A Gartner survey of more than 3,500 business and consumer customers found that nearly nine in ten say companies using generative AI in customer support must also keep a human agent available. About half said AI makes their support interactions easier, so views on the technology remain divided. Gartner's analyst recommends that support tools state clearly that they are AI, explain their answers, and offer an easy handoff to a person.
What changed
Customer preferences have been split roughly half and half between self-service and speaking to a person for some time.
What it unlocks
Designing support flows with a clear, easy route to a human agent rather than maximising automated containment.
- 87% want access to a human agent
- 3,500+ B2B and B2C customers surveyed
- 50% say interactions are easier with AI
- 1,000+ consumers in PolyAI survey
- customerexperiencedive.com2026-08-25