Why shoppers are turning against AI customer service

Retailers rushed to replace human customer service agents with AI chatbots, hoping to cut costs while keeping response times fast. According to the Qualtrics 2026 Customer Experience Trends Report, however, nearly one in five consumers who used AI for customer service said they saw no benefit at all from the experience.

A separate survey of more than 600 US consumers by Glance found that 75% had received a fast AI-driven response that still left them frustrated. About a third said the AI support actually made their problem harder to solve, not easier.

Many shoppers describe the same experience: being stuck in a loop, pointed back to the same FAQ page again and again, or told no without any clear way to escalate the issue to a human who could actually help.

The consequences go beyond a single bad interaction. Nearly 90% of consumers in the Glance survey reported reduced loyalty towards a brand once human support was removed entirely, and some shoppers say they now boycott retailers that lean too heavily on automation after repeated bad experiences.

Even the companies pushing hardest for AI are starting to notice. In June 2025, research firm Gartner predicted that half of the organisations planning to significantly cut customer service headcount because of AI would abandon those plans by 2027, as the cost of eroded trust becomes clear.

Adapted from Qualtrics, Glance survey and Gartner research, 2025 – 2026