TELUS International Survey For National Customer Appreciation Day Reveals Consumer Sentiment About the State of Customer Experience

Imagine a world where customers literally didn’t have to lift a finger to engage with their favorite brands. Many consumers already use basic voice commands with their phones or home assistants, but voice tech in the age of GenAI is poised to revolutionize customer experiences (CX). By replacing texting and click-based navigation with voice-activated apps that feature the ease and fluidity of natural conversation, brands have the opportunity to provide consumers with low-effort and more personalized interactions while simultaneously driving efficiencies within their CX operations.

Recent insights from a TELUS International (NYSE and TSX: TIXT) survey, conducted for National Customer Appreciation Day on April 18, highlighted the importance of this opportunity for brands. When asked if they would rather have a more personalized customer experience or one that took less time, 62% of survey respondents chose personalization. But, when survey respondents weren’t limited to a single response, they said that CX should be more personalized (44%), faster (44%) and make you want to purchase again (45%). And although 60% said they would “suffer through'' a bad customer experience rather than pay one or more paychecks to guarantee a good customer experience, 55% said that “nothing excuses a bad customer experience.”

Considering the fact that more than half of survey respondents (54%) also said they would rather get stuck in a slow-moving traffic jam than endure a poor customer experience, it is obvious that consumers want brands to do better. This underscores both an opportunity and a challenging reality for today’s brands: how to balance the provision of timely, high-quality, personalized CX while delivering it in a sustainable, cost-efficient way amid a challenging macroeconomic environment. This is where AI-powered voice technology is a game changer.

“Advances in conversational AI and voice technology are revolutionizing how consumers are interacting with devices and the world around us. Brands adopting voice tech is about them leading the charge in a market that values speed, accuracy and above all, personalization,” said Tobias Dengel, President of WillowTree, a TELUS International Company. “What better way to show your appreciation to customers than by incorporating voice-activated and AI-supported technologies to elevate customer experiences in order to not only meet, but also anticipate their needs. Businesses have a small window of opportunity to be among the first to adopt voice tech and prepare their CX ecosystems for a voice-first future that will position them to lead the competition for years to come.”