In what may come as a surprise to those who have been ensnared in a never-ending back and forth with a customer service chatbot, a new survey from Comparis has suggested that the majority of people in Switzerland would pick artificial intelligence over a human for a customer service interaction on the internet. 

AI and chatbots are now the norm in Switzerland

According to the study, chatbots, virtual assistants on mobile phones and other artificial intelligence software have now become standard in Switzerland. In 2024, 80 percent of survey respondents said they knew what a chatbot was, up from just less than half in 2021, while the number of people who have actually used one has jumped from 38 to 60 percent.

Chatbots were found to be most commonly used during online shopping, followed by search queries and requests for video results from YouTube and TikTok. Writing in the report, Comparis expert Jean-Claude Frick noted that AI is currently in a positive feedback loop, with increased publicity and contact with the software leading to more people trying it, who then end up relying on it when on the web.

Majority of Swiss prefer AI to humans online

Most dramatically, 72 percent of respondents in Switzerland said that they would rather communicate with an AI chatbot than a human when trying to access a website. 72 percent said they would rather hear from Chat GPT regarding postal and delivery statuses, while 63 percent are more comfortable with AI customer service than systems provided by humans. 

Much of this enthusiasm is down to satisfaction with AI chatbots, with 62 percent of respondents reporting a good experience with the technology. A majority also said they preferred the speed of responses from AI and the fact that they are able to respond outside of traditional working hours - a majority also preferred chatbots to being stuck on hold in a phone queue for customer service.

“Direct voice communication via telephone is not only perceived as stressful by Gen Z. Waiting patterns in call centres annoy many people. And when you contact via a chat window, you usually reach your goal more quickly. The chatbots are available around the clock, which fits perfectly with the ‘always on’ society,” Frick explained.

AI not as highly valued in personal situations, experts find

However, the one area in which AI stumbled was in healthcare, with only 15 percent of respondents preferring to discuss psychological problems with a chatbot over a human. The same was true for discussing physical problems (21 percent) and referrals to doctors and hospital care (26 percent).

“If it becomes personal, trust in chatbots drops rapidly. The technology still has to prove whether it can really be a replacement for face-to-face conversations before more people get involved with it,” Frick concluded. For more information about the study, check out the Comparis website.