Observed Signal · Jul 14, 2026 · Research Report · Source: https://martechseries.com/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Majority Prefer Avoiding Customer Service, Genesys Study Finds
Genesys released the fifth edition of its "State of Customer Experience" report, reporting high consumer dissatisfaction with customer service and rising expectations for AI-enabled experiences. The survey of 5,811 consumers and 1,560 CX/business leaders (conducted March–April 2026 across more than 20 countries) found that more than half of consumers would rather do anything else than contact customer service and 85% said poor service caused them to spend less or stop doing business with a brand. Most consumers expect AI to improve quality, speed (76%) and personalization (75%), and place equal value on efficiency and empathy. Organizations face operational challenges—aging infrastructure and data/connectivity gaps—that limit CX continuity (95% expect cross-channel memory; 48% of organizations don’t pass info between virtual and human agents). The report highlights broad adoption expectations for "agentic AI," with 82% of CX leaders expecting autonomous AI agents to orchestrate experiences within three years and 40% already using agentic AI.
Large-sample industry survey from a major CX vendor reveals consumer intolerance for poor service and strong expectations for AI-enabled CX; relevant to CX/MarTech vendors and brands but not a platform-level policy or technical overhaul.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Genesys released the fifth edition of its "State of Customer Experience" report.
- The survey included 5,811 consumers and 1,560 CX and business leaders across more than 20 countries, conducted in March–April 2026.
- More than half of consumers say they would rather do anything else than contact customer service.
- 85% of consumers reported that poor service caused them to spend less or stop doing business with a brand.
- 82% of CX leaders expect autonomous (agentic) AI agents to orchestrate customer experiences within three years; 40% of organizations are already using agentic AI.
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Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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