Tech and turnkey support services firm Support.com recently released a new report uncovering consumer expectations for more personalized and automated technology support in the near future. The survey found that while tech support is improving, consumers have high expectations and want more intelligent solutions in the next five years.
The survey report, The Future of Tech Support, tapped consumer sentiment on emerging artificial intelligence-driven customer service and support technologies like chatbots and self-healing products. Nearly a quarter of consumers (22%) said they are aware when these automated customer service representatives are providing tech support, and are comfortable with the experience.
The report also found generational differences in consumer sentiment about the future of tech support. Millennials are driving the information-sharing trend with the understanding that data in context helps create a better, more personalized customer support experience. Data also shows that millennials prefer and are more open to using automated, intelligent tech support options than older generations of consumers.
Key findings include:
57% think tech support is better now than it was five years ago
70% expect the quality and convenience of tech support to improve over the next five years
31% of Millennials think chatbots provide better, more efficient tech support; only 13% of older consumers agree
33% are willing to pay a premium for tech support rather than troubleshooting issues on their own
42% are comfortable sharing user data from devices and products if it enables companies to provide better tech support; 49% of millennials agree
“Technology support is at an inflection point. In fact, consumers believe tech support is actually improving and it’s better than it was five years ago,” said Alex Poulos, VP of marketing and customer success at Support.com, in a news release. “And consumers are optimistic about tech support experiences in the future. Technology brands that understand where customers will be in the future and start testing and deploying intelligent technology support solutions today can stay one step ahead of their customers—and their competition.”
Types of advanced support experiences consumers are expecting in the future include:
Concierge support: products that include dedicated customer support representatives available to assist through any communication channel
Automated or virtual assistants: chatbots or voice-activated virtual assistants that provide answers to tech support questions
Proactive support: products that notify consumers in advance about potential issues
Self-healing products: products that fix issues automatically without any user interaction
“As the era of artificial intelligence in customer service and support begins to emerge, the near-term solutions have great potential to drive more productivity in the fielding and resolution of customer inquiries,” Poulos continued. “The real power of artificial intelligence in the future will be to use machines to learn from even the most complex technical issues and to integrate data from multiple sources to deliver a personalized, relevant and one-to-one support experience.”
Read the complete report here.
Support.com surveyed over 2,000 U.S. consumers in August 2016 about their experiences interacting with technology products and customer support.
Source: Business Wire; edited by Richard Carufel