Automated Voice Agents Are Leading to Customer Turnover, According to New Report from Tenyx

Tenyx, a leader in voice AI systems, today released findings from its first “Voice AI Consumer Report*.” The report highlights the need to improve automated voice agents to meet user requests, including the impact that poor AI voice agent interactions can have on customer loyalty.

According to Gartner, conversational AI deployments in contact centers will lower agent labor costs by $80 billion by 2026 as human agents indicate that AI agents make their jobs easier and allow them to be more productive. Yet, when speaking to customers on the other end of the line, many are not impressed with the bots they interact with.

“Our latest report reveals that most customers would trust AI voice agents if they could match human performance,” said Itamar Arel, Tenyx CEO. “But as it stands today, most customers are still more comfortable interacting with human agents. So much so that a vast majority would think twice about their loyalty to a company based on their past experiences with AI voice agents.”

AI Bots Risk Customer Loyalty; Human Agents Still Preferred to AI Voice Agents

As reported by Market and Markets, the market for conversational AI is expected to grow from $13.2B in 2024 to more than $50B by 2030 as companies integrate new technologies to improve human agent efficiency and customer support. Yet, according to Tenyx’s Automated Voice Agents Data Report, challenges with automated voice agents can lead to a loss of customer loyalty.

The report found that only 20% of respondents would be a returning customer based on their recent experience with a company’s automated voice agent, while approximately three out of ten (29%) said they would be less inclined to buy products or services from that company. One in four (25%) said they would consider going with a different company, and 13% said they would never do business with that company again.

The report also revealed that 67% of respondents prefer talking with human agents over automated voice agents. The main reason behind this sentiment is that users feel the bots need to transfer them to the right human agent faster. Other key data points from the report include:

• 67.9% of individuals said they felt annoyed when interacting with automated voice agents, and 59.4% stated they felt frustrated with these interactions

• Almost 30% of respondents said that they would always prefer to speak to a human agent, compared with only 3% who would always prefer to talk to an automated voice agent

• Respondents say that their biggest complaint with automated voice agents is their “inability to handle complex issues”

• When it comes to human agents, respondents say their biggest complaints are long wait times on hold (39%) and the agent having difficulty understanding accents or speech clarity (39%)

• If automation worked perfectly, 74% of respondents would like to see it used to connect them faster to a human for help, and 46% would like to see it answer questions

Airlines Have Poorest Customer AI Voice Agent Experience; Healthcare Has Best

When it comes to different industry performances with AI voice agents, respondents say their best AI voice agent experiences were with those in healthcare, and their worst experiences were with those in airlines. Here’s how industries ranked overall from 1 to 7 (with 1 being the best and 7 being the worst):

Average Industry Score

• Healthcare: 3.42

• Cable / Telecomms / phone services: 3.65

• Restaurants: 3.75

• Roadside assistance: 3.96

• Hotels: 4.07

• Booking sites (Airbnb, Expedia, booking.com): 4.44

• Airlines: 4.68

Tesla Seen As the Voice Technology Leader Among Car Owners

As car technology continues to evolve, we expect to see new developments that will further enhance the in-car experience for drivers and passengers. When asked which car brand consumers trust the most to deliver the best voice assistant experience, Tesla was the clear leader, followed by Ford, while Audi ranked last among car manufacturers. Here’s how they ranked overall:

1. Tesla (25.7%)

2. Ford (21.8%)

3. Mercedes-Benz (14.2%)

4. BMW (9.5%)

5. Audi (7.8%)

6. Volvo (4.1%)

7. Other (16.9%)

The Future of Automated Voice Agents

Although many respondents opted to engage with humans when given a choice, the report revealed that if AI voice agents could match human performance, most people would use the technology. According to the data, two-thirds of respondents would use automated voice agents often (27%), very often (21%), or always (18%). This sheds light on the opportunity to meet consumer interest despite evidence that current satisfaction with automated voice assistants is subpar.

To view the full report and learn more about Tenyx, visit https://www.tenyx.com/.

* Tenyx’s Voice AI Consumer Report surveyed 514 individuals across the country, ages 18-65+, to better understand their sentiments toward AI voice agents.

About Tenyx

Tenyx delivers AI voice agents that automate voice customer experiences and services for the enterprise. By harnessing our market leading LLM, available on Hugging Face, and other voice-related AI elements, Tenyx allows customers across multiple industries to dramatically increase conversions, qualify leads, and reduce operating costs, all while vastly improving revenue, service levels, and overall customer experience. Tenyx creates services that are naturally engaging, capable of understanding context, and able to offer the sense of immediacy found in human interactions. Learn more at www.tenyx.com.

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