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NiCE has published research suggesting more US consumers will choose AI for customer service if a successful resolution is guaranteed. The study also found that trust remains the main factor shaping how people judge those interactions.
Conducted with Metrigy and based on responses from 1,000 US adults, the research found that preference for an AI agent rose to 28.8% from 23% when respondents were told their issue would be resolved. Trust was named by 41% of consumers as the most important factor in dealings with businesses, ahead of issue resolution at 35.4%.
Accuracy was the main reason consumers chose a service channel, cited by 54.7% of respondents. The findings suggest willingness to use automated support depends less on novelty than on confidence that it will work.
Hybrid preference
A blended support model emerged as the most popular option. Some 39.4% of respondents said they preferred a service model in which AI and human agents switch automatically depending on the complexity of the issue.
Another 37% wanted human-led service supported by AI, while 23.6% preferred AI-led service with people available when needed. The results point to a preference for flexibility rather than a full handover to automation.
Consumers also valued having a choice over who or what handles their enquiry. Nearly two-thirds, or 63.9%, said they would pay more for better service, and the most popular premium feature was the ability to choose between an AI agent and a human, cited by 37% of respondents.
Among those willing to pay more, trustworthiness ranked above both speed and issue resolution as the most important service attribute. That adds to evidence from the study that reliability and confidence now sit at the centre of customer expectations.
Sector shifts
Retail recorded the strongest improvement in perceptions of AI among the sectors tracked, which also included financial services and healthcare. Its AI Index reached 108.1 against its own Q1 baseline, the largest gain among the three sectors.
Retail's broader customer experience score remained below its baseline, indicating that stronger views of AI in the sector have not yet translated into wider service improvements. The survey measured performance against expectations using a diffusion index method, with Q1 2026 set at 100.
Across the eight dimensions tracked, AI Satisfaction rose to 109.4 and AI Trust reached 106.9. Those were the largest gains since the baseline quarter.
Younger adults stood out as the most receptive group. Among consumers aged 25 to 34, 74.4% said they expected AI to improve customer service over the next two years, compared with 49.5% of respondents overall.
That age group also reported higher usage. Some 39.7% said they had used an AI text agent, compared with 26.2% across the full sample.
Loyalty pressure
The research also points to lower tolerance for poor service. Consumers said they would put up with an average of 2.78 bad experiences before leaving a company, down from 3.24 in Q1.
That decline suggests businesses may have less room for error as they introduce more automated tools into customer operations. Customers are becoming more open to AI, but only when they believe the systems can deliver dependable outcomes and hand over smoothly to staff when needed.
Arun Chandra, Chief Operating Officer at NiCE, said the commercial case for AI in service depends on performance in individual interactions.
"AI adoption is earned every time a customer gets the help they need. The next wave of adoption depends on AI agents that understand the customer, take action and carry the context forward when a person needs to step in. NiCE brings together NiCE Cognigy and NiCE CXone to help enterprises connect AI agents, workflows and human expertise, turning AI innovation into customer experiences that build trust," said Chandra.
Metrigy said trust has moved beyond a qualitative measure of sentiment and now plays a direct role in retention. The firm said the results show customers are assessing automated service in practical terms, especially whether it resolves issues and whether escalation to a person is straightforward.
"Trust isn't a soft metric anymore. It's the one that decides whether a customer comes back. Consumers are more open to AI when they can count on a resolution, and they're now sending personal AI agents to negotiate, escalate, and decide for them. Those agents will recommend the brands they can trust. The opportunity for businesses is to earn that trust consistently, with every customer and every agent, and make it easy to reach a person when the situation calls for one," said Robin Gareiss, Chief Executive Officer at Metrigy.