Leading cloud and managed service company, Maintel, recently revealed a new study into the attitudes consumers and businesses share towards virtual assistants. As artificial intelligence and voice-activated bots become more commonplace, the recent research from Maintel highlights why some companies are still hesitating before rolling out this new tech.
Among consumers, data protection is usually the most significant concern linked to AI, with 47% saying they’re worried about being hacked. Additionally, there’s a consistent sense of reluctance among consumers in the UK when it comes to engaging with smart devices. Around 59% of customers don’t have an intelligent device with a virtual assistant. Additionally, about 49% of customers say that they don’t want to use these channels to connect with a service provider. At the same time, there’s still a camp of consumers in the UK that sees the value of virtual assistants and AI bots.
How Do UK Companies Feel about Virtual Assistants?
Although consumers do have some concerns around data privacy and protection, voice continues to be a fast-growing focus area for many businesses in search of new ways to serve customers. There is a portion of UK customers who feel comfortable about the arrival of smart assistants, with about 30% already using a virtual assistant to contact a service provider.
What’s more, Maintel’s study revealed that most companies (61%) plan to offer customer service via virtual assistants within the next 3 years. On the other hand, a little over a third of organisations say that they currently don’t see a need for this kind of service. When asked what challenges prevented them for rolling out virtual assistant channels:
- 27% of senior decision-makers said they struggled to prove the ROI of voice-assisted channels for customer service
- 21% said that selling the need for voice assistants to the board was difficult
- 36% of companies said that they don’t have the right budget available
- 28% of companies said that they didn’t have the right skills in their company to deploy the tech
Exploring the Rise of AI Virtual Assistants
Maintel’s research shows a significant divide in the UK today, between companies and consumers that celebrate the rise of artificial intelligence and virtual assistants, and those who continue to avoid this technology at all costs. According to Rufus Grig, the Chief Technology Officer at Maintel, the growth of virtual assistants is inevitable. However, the research reveals that consumers are still cautious about using smart devices – especially if they think it puts their data at risk.
With so many mixed opinions about the issue, there’s a growing need for companies to be more transparent with consumers on the implications that come with bringing virtual assistants into the marketplace. If businesses can prove to their customers that their data will be protected when smart assistants appear in the customer service space, then they can start to take advantage of this new technology.
