Consumers have used AI for years, starting with basic (but let’s face it, not-so-great) chatbots. As more sophisticated AI agents have entered the scene in recent years, consumer skepticism was understandable, based on past performance.
But that’s changing. Metrigy’s<a href="https://www.metrigy.com/product/the-ai-consumer-experience-index-2/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>2Q AI Consumer Experience Index, a research project in partnership with NiCE, shows a profound shift in consumer AI adoption—and more broadly, improvements in customer experience overall.
The index tracks 1,000 U.S. consumers and documents a healthy improvement in CX overall, with an increase from the first quarter baseline of 100 up to 104.6 in the second quarter. The index comprises eight sub-indexes, including two that focus on AI, with AI satisfaction posting the strongest gain (11.8%) of any metric, followed by trust in AI (7.6%).
Demographic differences drive diverging sentiments
Those gains are significant in just one quarter. The research also finds that consumer preferences are fragmented, based on factors such as age, gender, income levels, education and regions. This fragmentation introduces new challenges for businesses, but it also provides more opportunity to differentiate themselves.
Ironically, AI analytics will help companies deliver personalized AI services to consumers. Successful businesses will leverage interaction analytics to identify customer preferences and add those to their data profile. They also will rely on agent assist to coach human agents to ask questions that will help round out that customer profile.
Customer experience leaders continue to search for the ideal balance between automation and live agents, assuming there would eventually be a formula that worked for everyone. But the Metrigy study shows that isn’t a realistic goal. Successful companies will leverage AI analytics to serve multiple customer segments, each with different expectations, with the experience they want. And keep in mind that “ideal experience” will change based on the issue at hand, time of day, preferred channel and more.
For example, among the most significant findings are our AI personas. The “AI Superstars” are consumers between the ages of 35 and 44 who have crossed an important threshold. For the first time in Metrigy’s tracking, a majority (55.7%) says the technology experience is more important than the human interaction in creating a positive customer experience.
That doesn’t mean this generation suddenly prefers technology over people. But they have found success in using AI agents to accomplish their goals quickly. If AI shortens the effort required to resolve an issue, preserves context across channels, or enables a human agent to solve a problem faster, it enhances the overall experience.
As a group, older consumers, dubbed the “Human Loyalists,” see the world differently. Among those 65 and older, nine out of 10 still say people matter more than technology and nearly 95% would choose a human agent even if an AI system guaranteed resolution. Their expectations have not changed simply because AI has improved, and organizations that make human assistance difficult to reach risk alienating an important customer segment.
Other customer profiles emerged in the research include the “Silent Multitaskers,” men aged 18-24 who prioritize text over voice. If companies force them to resolve an issue over voice, they create immediate dissatisfaction. well. And none of the groups are wrong. They simply define a successful customer experience differently. That distinction is forcing enterprises to rethink long-held assumptions about standardizing customer journeys. Moving forward, it’s important for companies to essentially “market” AI’s value to their customers and not just assume they want or will accept it.
AI, done well, changes consumer preferences
Another notable finding is that speed is no longer the defining characteristic of great customer service. For years, companies invested heavily in reducing average handle time and hold times. Those metrics still matter, but consumers increasingly prioritize accuracy, trust and overall time savings over simply reaching someone quickly.
The distinction is subtle but important. Customers would rather spend an extra minute reaching the right answer than receive an immediate—but incorrect—response. Accuracy is now the leading reason consumers choose a service channel, particularly for voice interactions (though it’s notable that time savings will result from eliminating transfers, repeated contacts and unnecessary effort).
And speaking of channels, voice continues to be the preferred way to communicate, over text or video. That historically has led customers to human agents. But AI voice has gotten so good that 59% of consumers are willing to accept a proactive call from an AI agent, provided an escalation path is available. Additionally, more prefer voice agents over text agents for the first time.
This evolution reflects how quickly enterprise AI has matured. Early automation often focused on deflecting contacts away from human agents. Today’s AI is increasingly successful because it helps customers complete tasks correctlythe first time. Consumers are rewarding successful outcomes rather than automation itself. That may be one reason Metrigy’s research shows a 28.9% increase in those who prefer AI agents over human agents from December 2025 through June 2026.
Human vs. AI debate is becoming moot
The continuing debate over whether AI will replace human agents overlooks what is really happening inside most contact centers. Increasingly, AI works alongside employees rather than instead of them. It summarizes conversations, surfaces knowledge, recommends next actions and preserves customer context, enabling agents to resolve issues more quickly and with greater accuracy.
Customers may never realize AI played a role in those interactions, but they experience the benefits nonetheless. That helps to explain why every consumer experience sub-index increased in the second quarter. Consumers see improved CX, but they don’t always know AI is helping to improve human-led service behind the scenes.
Looking two years out, consumers expect AI to play a big role: 42.2% see the ideal customer service including a mix of AI and human agents, switching automatically based on complexity. Another 25.4% see the ideal experience being AI-led with humans available only as needed. (Already, 36.3% of all contact center interactions start with an AI triage agent, according to Metrigy’sAI’s Role in Customer Experience 2026-27global study of 769 companies.)
Doing the math may raise some eyebrows: only 32.3% say their ideal experience is human-led with AI supporting in the background.
Regardless of who (or what) is solving the customer’s issue, business priorities must align with the fact that 89.6% of consumers sayserviceis a criterion when deciding whether to do business with them. Framing customer service as a competition between humans and AI no longer reflects reality; the reality is that customers ultimately care about good service, no matter where it originates. Yes, AI still messes up — and so do humans. But we’re at the cusp of AI truly improving CX at all levels.
