Generational gap in perceptions of AI

The survey of 5,000 people across the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, found that only 12% of consumers said they prefer chatbots over humans, even if the customer service from the chatbot is faster and more accurate.

Meanwhile, 63% of respondents are worried about AI making decisions that will impact their lives without their knowledge.

However, the study also highlighted a generational gap in use of and perceptions towards AI. A greater proportion of those aged 55 and over strongly agreed that they prefer human to AI interaction ( 57%) compared to a third of younger consumers ( 18- 34-year-olds).

Meanwhile, almost half ( 49%) of 18- to 34-year-old respondents say AI is making their lives better – twice as many as those aged 55 or over ( 24%). Two-thirds of younger consumers say they use AI at least once a week, with more than one-quarter ( 27%) using it daily, compared to one in 10 respondents over 55.

Sanjay Srivastava, chief digital officer, Genpact, said: “AI is a game-changer to improve the customer experience, yet real challenges remain regarding trust and privacy. To encourage adoption, the key is to have visibility into AI decisions, and be able to track and explain the logic behind them.”

He added: “The generational differences with AI adoption are critical to understand, especially as demographic shifts continue, and millennials and Gen-Z have greater impact on business decisions."

Genpact partnered with YouGov to survey 5,179 people ( 2,189 in the United States, 1,749 in the United Kingdom, and 1,241 in Australia) on how artificial intelligence impacts their personal and professional lives, with fieldwork conducted online in August 2017.