Nearly three in four consumers abandon AI support over poor memory

About 4% cut ties with brands after failed interactions. 

Nearly three in four, or 73%, Hong Kong consumers have abandoned an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered customer service interaction because the system lacked basic information about them or their account.

This was higher than the Asia-Pacific (APAC) average of 70%, a Twilio report showed. Amongst those who abandoned the interaction, 4% ended their relationship with the brand entirely.

About 78% had to repeat information when dealing with an AI agent, despite 89% of local brands believing their tools could recognise returning customers and their interaction history.

Moreover, 82% of consumers said they had to repeat themselves or fill in missing information after being transferred from a bot to a human, compared with 65% across the region.

 “AI is only as helpful as the context you feed it,” said Billy Chan, Director, APAC, at Twilio.

“To stop driving customers away, brands must connect their fragmented data so that every interaction, whether with a bot or a human, picks up exactly where the last one left off,” Chan added.

The report showed 74% said AI agents should identify themselves at the start of an interaction, whilst only 11% of local businesses currently do so.

Consumers also wanted easier access to human agents, with 73% saying they should be able to switch to one on request. 

Another 57% wanted AI actions to require human approval, whilst 47% wanted visibility into the customer data accessible to AI systems.

Meanwhile, surveyed Hong Kong businesses expect AI agents to handle 75% of customer service interactions by 2027, up from 62% currently. 

The Twilio report covered 352 consumers and 35 business leaders in the city as part of a wider study of 7,652 consumers and 660 business leaders across 18 markets conducted from 9 April to 1 May.