Australia customer service spotlight: The power of AI

Australia has a customer service problem. The nation is stuck on hold. Wait times skyrocketed to more than 107 million cumulative hours in 2023, an 11% increase over 2022 (96.5 million hours), according to the annual LIKE.TG Customer Experience Intelligence Report.

The friction is driving more consumers to demand better customer experiences. The majority (82%) of Australians say that because of rising costs, they have less patience to deal with bad service.

This isn’t just frustrating; it’s hurting the economy—to the tune of $1.28 billion in lost productivity, according to the research. Meanwhile, Australians are forced to manage their service issues during work hours because 24/7 service support isn’t widely offered by businesses. That means employees are taking time from their jobs to sit in customer service queues.

Why are businesses losing customers?

According to our research, 94% of Australians say they’ll change their spending habits as a result of sky-high prices and poor service. Three in five Australians will spend less (60%) or search for better offers (55%).

When a transaction goes wrong, Australians are giving businesses less time to make things right. More than half (59%) of survey respondents say they’ll take their business elsewhere after waiting two to three days to have their issues resolved.

It’s currently taking businesses one workweek (5.1 days) on average to resolve customer issues.

What does good customer service look like?

Good customer service comes down to three things, according to the research: speed, ease, and accessibility.

More than half of Australians rank quick issue resolution (66%), fast human connection (58%), and a single agent (56%)—rather than multiple people—as the most important factors in good customer service.

Can AI help improve productivity?

Achieving good customer service takes effort. Today’s customer journey is highly fragmented, with disconnected systems, multiple platforms of engagement, disparate information, and siloed front, middle, and back-office teams. Organizations are under pressure to remove process bottlenecks and connect every customer touch point.

Analyst firm IDC predicts that “by 2026, to differentiate and drive loyalty, 30% of organizations will undergo structural and technological changes to deliver value outcomes, shifting focus from providing experiences to value parity.”¹

AI can help reduce wait times by contributing to a consistent and unified customer experience. Nearly two-thirds of Australians believe AI will improve customer service speed and efficiency, and 70% expect AI to help bring about the added benefit of after-hours service.

What about the human element?

Some organizations are wary of losing the human element of customer service. They need not fear. One of the major advantages consumers see with AI is its potential to serve deeper insights, context, and solutions to human service agents so they can resolve issues faster.

Automation, better self-service options, and increased digital customer services can help augment the workload for human service agents, freeing them to focus on providing empathetic interactions and solving more complex issues.

“Reliability, empathy, and responsiveness are critical areas of customer service quality where automation can be employed to great effect in closing gaps with customer expectations,” says Linus Lai, vice president of digital business, trust and services, at IDC Asia/Pacific.

Digital platforms can help organizations make their teams more effective, reconnect with customers, and grow their businesses. AI-powered digital transformation is the key to delivering 24/7 customer service and outstanding self-service and boosting first-touch resolution.

Gain more insights in the LIKE.TG Customer Experience Intelligence report.

¹ IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Customer Experience 2024 Predictions, October 2023, Doc #US50111423

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