New Five9 Research Reveals Consumers Embrace AI in Customer Service, But Trust Still Depends on Having a Person Within Reach

Nearly half of surveyed consumers said they try to use AI as little as possible when seeking customer service.

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Survey of 3,000 consumers finds trust in AI more than doubles when a human option is visible, and 92% give AI less than 10 minutes before asking for a person

SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Five9 (Nasdaq: FIVN) today released its 2026 Consumer CX Report, examining how consumers really feel about AI in customer service. The global study found that while 57% of consumers say customer service has improved over the past decade and 47% already find AI useful, just 20% use AI "most of the time" or "always" when seeking service. The findings underscore a wide gap between how fast AI is being deployed in contact centers and how ready consumers are to engage.

Based on a survey of 3,000 consumers across the U.S., U.K., and Germany, the report explores the important difference separating consumers who are open to AI from those who trust it enough to rely on it. The findings show that most consumers already see real value in AI-powered service, but that value only converts into trust when a human option is visible, when companies are upfront about who, or what, they're talking to, and when the handoff between AI and a human doesn't force them to repeat themselves. The next phase of CX will be defined not by how much AI a company deploys, but by whether it finds the right mix of AI and a human for each interaction.

"This research validates how we see CX evolving: consumers aren't asking companies to choose between AI and people; they're asking for both, done right," said Amit Mathradas, Chief Executive Officer at Five9. "That's the core of Humantic CX, our vision for AI and human agents working as one system, where AI absorbs the routine, so a person is always there for the moments that need judgment and empathy. The data captures the impact of this approach clearly and shows that consumers trust AI to resolve their issue more than twice as often when that human option is visible versus when it isn't. Every interaction where we get that handoff right builds more trust for the next one, and that's smarter CX with every interaction."

The findings also reveal that consumers are placing new expectations on AI-powered customer service. While many are willing to engage with AI for routine interactions, they expect a visible path to a person and honesty about who they're talking to when it matters most. Trust in AI more than doubles when a human option is visible, rising from 26% when no human option exists to 55% when one is reachable. The report also found that 71% of consumers consider it very or extremely important to know when they are interacting with an AI agent, highlighting the growing role of transparency in building trust.

Other key insights include:

• AI has a short runway before consumers want a person: 92% of consumers give AI less than 10 minutes before escalating to a human, and 46% say the top reason they abandon AI is that it repeatedly misunderstood them. Once escalated, roughly a third of consumers say they have to repeat information they already gave the bot.
• Preferences vary sharply by generation: Just 1 in 10 Gen Z consumers say AI has no customer service benefit, compared with 55% of the Silent Generation, a 6x gap.
• There's no one-size-fits-all AI playbook by geography either: Germany is the most open to AI. 52% of German consumers agree AI is useful for customer service, vs. 46% in the U.K. and 44% in the U.S. While the U.K. cares most about transparency. 76% of U.K. consumers say it's very or extremely important to be told they're talking to an AI, vs. 69% in the U.S. and 67% in Germany.
• Many consumers actively avoid AI when they can: 48% say they try to use AI as little as possible when seeking customer service.
• Getting it wrong carries real business risk: 4 in 10 consumers say they're less likely to use a company at all if it uses AI for customer service.

Download the full Five9 2026 Consumer CX Report to see the complete generational and regional breakdowns and where consumers say AI should operate without a human in the loop.

Methodology

Five9 partnered with Hanover Research to conduct the survey online in April 2026 via a recruited panel. The results reflect 3,000 consumers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany, following data cleaning and quality control. Consumers were required to be 18 years of age or older and to have interacted with customer service in at least one of the following industries: healthcare, financial services, travel/hospitality, retail, higher education, sales and telemarketing, customer service, or outsourcing.

About Five9

Five9 is the proven, open cloud platform for customer experience. Cloud-native since 2001 and built by voice experts for the agentic era, Five9 powers contact centers for more than 4,000 customers across 140+ countries, including leading health systems, financial institutions, and organizations across every major industry. The Five9 platform, powered by Genius AI, serves every channel and workflow, together with the governance, control, and ecosystem flexibility that even the most regulated enterprises demand. Practical AI that learns from every interaction, driving real outcomes for customers and the businesses that serve them. Smarter CX with every interaction.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261014399174/en/

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Five9
Tommy Morgan
Director, Corporate Communications
Press@five9.com

Source: Five9