AI was supposed to make customer service easier. Faster answers. Less friction. Fewer headaches.
But when we surveyed more than 600 U.S. consumers, a very different story emerged:
34% of customers told us that AI customer support actually makes things harder. And 87% said they’re unlikely to stay loyal to a company that eliminates human support.
That gap between promise and reality isn’t accidental. It points to a quiet but powerful problem in modern CX design.
The real AI bias isn’t technical. It’s strategic.
And it’s biased against customers.
Most AI customer support systems are built primarily to reduce costs, rather than to help customers.
That doesn’t mean teams have bad intentions. It does mean systems are optimized for deflection, containment, and avoidance of escalation. When those priorities shape design decisions, the experience shifts in subtle but damaging ways:
Bots that only handle surface-level issues
Loops that repeat “I didn’t understand”
Escalation paths that are buried or delayed
Human support treated as a last resort
From an operational lens, these are cost controls. From a customer’s perspective, they feel like barriers. And customers notice.
In our survey, people consistently described AI support as frustrating, manipulative, or intentionally obstructive.
One respondent said: “Most of the time you can’t get away from the AI circle of help.”
Another was even clearer: “Stop with the AI information gathering. It frustrates us.”
When AI is designed to avoid escalation, customers quickly sense it.
They feel pushed away instead of helped.
They feel managed instead of supported.
They feel like the company is optimizing against them.
That perception creates a trust gap. Once trust erodes, speed and accuracy stop mattering.
Our survey found that nearly 90% of customers show reduced loyalty when human support is eliminated. That’s a staggering number, especially for organizations that justified AI investment on long-term efficiency gains.
The irony is hard to miss: AI meant to improve CX often ends up damaging the very relationships it was supposed to protect.
Many CX teams still treat escalation as something to avoid. A sign the system did not work. A cost spike. A miss.
Customers see it differently.
When people ask for a human, it usually means one of three things:
Their issue is complex
They’re not being understood
The stakes feel high
In those moments, escalation isn’t a breakdown – it’s a signal.
One survey respondent captured this perfectly: “When I ask the AI for a human representative, I want a human representative. I don’t want to keep asking over and over again.”
Escalation done well builds confidence. Escalation done poorly destroys it.
Forward-looking CX teams are reframing escalation as continuity, not failure. AI gathers context, identifies intent, and prepares the handoff. Humans step in with full visibility and authority to resolve.
That shift turns AI from a gatekeeper into a guide.
On paper, deflection improves metrics. Handle time goes down. Bot containment goes up. Dashboards look healthier. But underneath, something else happens:
Customers disengage quietly.
Repeat contacts increase.
Loyalty erodes.
Lifetime value drops.
In our survey, customers were clear that efficiency metrics alone don’t earn trust. What they want is resolution, understanding, and the option to reach a capable human when it matters.
If AI reduces cost but drives customers away, it’s not a win.
The next phase of AI-driven CX isn’t about more automation, it’s about better alignment.
AI should:
Resolve issues, not deflect them
Escalate cleanly, not reluctantly
Support humans, not replace them
Optimize for outcomes, not optics
The strongest CX strategies emerging now treat AI as a co-pilot. It prepares, predicts, and supports. Humans handle nuance, reassurance, and decisions that shape trust.
When that balance is right, customers stop fighting the system. They feel guided instead of blocked. And loyalty follows.
This blog only scratches the surface. Our 2026 trends report breaks down:
Where AI-driven CX broke down in 2025
What customers actually value in support interactions
How leading organizations are resetting, rehumanizing, and refocusing their CX strategies
Download the full report to see the data, insights, and path forward: 2026 CX Trends:the Backlash and the Bounceback.