Study: AI is raising customer expectations faster than companies can deliver on experience

Alchemer's "2026 AI & Customer Expectations Study" surveyed 2,009 U.S. consumers and found that nearly six in 10 expect faster responses when they know a company uses AI, yet 89% say the technology has degraded their experience at least once. The biggest complaint wasn't privacy or inaccurate information—44% cited difficulty reaching a human agent when AI failed to resolve their issue. While 38% want faster issue resolution and 34% want quicker responses, speed alone isn't solving problems; 20% report resolution takes longer and 30% must repeat information already provided. Daily AI users prove toughest to satisfy, more likely than casual users to find interactions impersonal (40% vs. 22%) and 27% willing to pay extra for guaranteed human support, compared with 10% of infrequent users overall.