New Smart Communications Report Finds Nearly 80% of Consumers Want
Companies to Disclose Generative AI Use
Study also finds consumers are growing tired of poor
communications, with two-thirds saying they’d switch to a
competitor if expectations aren’t met – an increase of nearly 30%
compared to 2023.
LONDON, July 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smart
Communications, a leading technology company focused on helping
businesses engage in more meaningful customer conversations,
released its 2024 “State of Customer
Conversations” research reports today,
revealing how consumers feel about Generative AI (GenAI) in
customer communications. The report also analyses the link between
personalised, clear communications and customer experience, trust,
and loyalty, highlighting how consumers have less patience than in
past years when their expectations aren’t met.
Smart Communications’ research, which surveyed
2000 consumers worldwide regarding their opinions on customer
communications from financial services, insurance and healthcare
companies, shows that most consumers want businesses to employ
human oversight and establish guardrails for GenAI use. Over
three-quarters (77%) of consumers feel it’s important for companies
to explicitly call out when GenAI is used in their communications,
and four in five (81%) say that a human should constantly be
checking content that GenAI models suggest.
Consumers also have doubts and concerns about
GenAI in customer communications. Two-thirds say they have ethical
(63%) and security concerns (66%) about the use of GenAI in
customer communications, while fewer than half (47%) agree that
GenAI has the potential to improve the communications they are
receiving.
“The reality is that while customers have
concerns about GenAI in customer communications, there is
significant value in using it to enhance operational efficiency and
effectiveness,” said Leigh Segall, CEO of Smart
Communications. “It's more important than ever to choose a CCM
solution provider that safeguards these critical interactions and
guides companies in the proper, high-value use of GenAI to drive
superior customer engagement. Our Benchmark research reinforces our
dedication to staying attuned to ever-evolving customer preferences
and ensuring our solutions equip our customers for the future.”
Consumers are tired of complex
communications
Beyond GenAI, The State of Customer
Conversations report found that the risk of losing customers
through poor communications and complex form processes is higher
than ever. Compared to 2023, customers are 30% more likely to
switch from a company if their communications did not meet
expectations (51% in 2023 vs. 66% in 2024), and 26% more likely to
end an interaction with a company if their information collection
processes are too difficult (53% in 2023 vs. 67% in 2024).
This is especially true for younger generations,
who are at higher risk of churning over poor customer
communications as their market share grows. Three-quarters of
Generation Z (74%) and Millennials (75%) said they would likely
switch from a company if its communications did not meet
expectations, increasing from 49% and 62%, respectively, from the
previous year.
The report also found that good customer
communications can be a driver of business, as Gen Z and
Millennials are more likely than older generations to make a
recommendation if the communications they receive exceed their
expectations. More than four in five Gen Z (83%) and Millennials
(81%) are likely to give a recommendation, compared with 64% of
Silent Gen.
Overall, over three-quarters (77%) of consumers
said they would likely recommend a company to a friend if its
communications exceeded expectations, underscoring its ability to
retain customers but also its role in driving referral
business.
Clear, accurate and timely: consumers
make their communications preferences known
The State of Customer Conversations asked what
consumers value in the communications they receive from their
institutions. A majority of respondents (71%) said that customer
communications need to be straightforward and easy to understand,
while over half (55%) valued accuracy and over a third (38%) valued
timeliness.
Older consumers, 88% of Silent Generation and
79% of Baby Boomers, prioritised ‘clear and easy to understand’
communications in significantly greater numbers than their younger
peers, 65% of Generation Z and 63% of Millennials.
For younger consumers, personalisation and
delivery on a preferred channel ranked higher than their older
counterparts. Over a quarter of Generation Z (28%) ranked
personalisation as the most important compared to 23% of all
respondents. Meanwhile, 25% of Millennials said that delivery on a
preferred channel was their chief concern compared to 22% of all
consumers surveyed.
Smart Communications’ research shows the rising
stakes of CCM for organisations, and the importance of delivering
best-in-class customer communications. Kaspar Roos, founder and CEO
of Aspire CCS confirms that “the CCM market is at an inflection
point, driven by a changing demographic makeup of the customer base
and an increasing focus on digital channels for customer
engagement. While many CX leaders have been espousing the value of
AI in meeting these new demands, there is a clear need to be open,
honest and respectful of consumer attitudes towards this
ground-breaking new technology.”
For more information, view the full reports for
financial services, healthcare, and insurance here.
About the research
Smart Communications commissioned Harris
Interactive, a Toluna company, to conduct consumer research. Across
all markets, a nationally representative audience (on age and
gender) was targeted. To qualify, all respondents must be a
customer of healthcare, insurance, banks, and/or other financial
companies. The survey was compiled from a sample of thousands
of consumers in the UK, US, APAC (Australia, New Zealand, China,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore) and German-speaking markets
(Austria, Switzerland, Germany). All fieldwork was completed in
February and March 2024.
About Smart Communications
Smart Communications provides the platform that
leading organisations trust to deliver personalised, consistent and
compliant conversations across all touchpoints and channels. The
Conversation Cloud™ consists of SmartCOMM™, for enterprise-scale
customer communications, SmartIQ™ for digital forms transformation
and SmartDX™ for trade documentation. Over 650 enterprise
organisations across the globe rely on Smart Communications to
simplify and automate complex processes and deliver highly secure,
frictionless experiences across the customer lifecycle. To learn
more, visit http://www.smartcommunications.com
Media Contact:
Smartcommunications@rlyl.com