Study: More Human-Like AI Customer Service Doesn't Always Improve Experience

In Australia, many organizations are using AI customer service. Commonwealth Bank handles over 2 million conversations monthly. Australia Post expects 55% of customer queries to be AI-supported by 2025. But a survey of 1,031 Australians found only 39% are satisfied with automated support.

Research in the European Journal of Marketing found that text chatbots can get more positive feedback than voice bots when solving service issues. Users feel more relieved, possibly because typing is slower and gives people time to cool down.

Another study in the Journal of Business Research showed that when AI accurately identifies emotions, like saying "I understand you're angry," customers respond better and are more satisfied.

So, AI doesn't need to be super human-like. It's about knowing when to give space or show empathy to improve the experience.