Australians ‘wary of AI in Customer Service’: trust, and human touch remain top priorities
As Australian businesses are ramping up investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation, aiming to deliver faster, more efficient customer experiences across sectors, new research from Sinch – a global leader in cloud communications – reveals that most Australian consumers still don’t trust AI-powered customer services.
Released today, Sinch’s State of Customer Communications report shows that Australians are among the most cautious in the Asia-Pacific region when it comes to engaging with AI in customer-facing roles, preferring personal service over the efficiencies of AI. The research is based on responses from over 600 consumers across Australia, India and Singapore, providing a comprehensive assessment of the current state, and future of, consumer communications.
Despite widespread adoption of new technologies, the findings highlight that trust, accuracy, and genuine human connection remain non-negotiable for Australian consumers, especially in retail, healthcare, and finance. In contrast, consumers in other regional markets, such as Singapore and India, are more open to AI-driven communications.
Trust and accuracy: the deciding factors for AI adoption
The data paints a stark picture: two-thirds (66%) of Australians say they do not trust the accuracy of AI-powered answers, particularly in sensitive sectors like healthcare and finance.
More than four in ten (41%) are worried about privacy, while nearly half (45%) say AI feels “too impersonal” for meaningful customer support. As a result, fewer than one in three are open to AI-powered customer support, and in healthcare, just 16% would consider using an AI chatbot provided by their doctor or hospital.
“Australians are sending a strong signal to brands: trust and accuracy are non-negotiable,” said Wendy Johnstone, EVP APAC at Sinch. “No matter how advanced the technology, if customers doubt the reliability of AI, they’ll disengage. Brands must be transparent about how AI is used and always provide easy access to human support. That’s how you build confidence and loyalty in a digital-first world.”
Human support remains the gold standard
Despite the rise of digital convenience, Australians overwhelmingly want the reassurance of human interaction for complex or sensitive issues. For urgent matters such as fraud, more than half (51%) prefer to speak to a person by phone, and when it comes to communications from financial institutions, 34% opt for email while only 1% would use messaging apps. AI-powered chatbots are the least preferred channel for both pre- and post-purchase support, with only 4% choosing them in a retail setting.
Johnstone added: “The human touch simply can’t be automated when the stakes are high. But there’s an opportunity to blend digital efficiency with genuine empathy. The brands that succeed will be those that use AI for routine tasks, like appointment scheduling or order tracking, while ensuring customers always have a direct line to a real person for anything more complex.”
Australians more cautious than other regional consumers
The findings show that Australian organisations still have some way to go in convincing consumers of AI’s benefits. To look at one use case, only 36% of Australians are open to receiving real-time order updates from an AI, compared to 56% of Singaporeans and 79% of Indians.
Australians are unsurprisingly more sceptical of AI-driven personalisation as well, with 28% saying they are happy to receive recommendations that are relevant, non-intrusive, and delivered via trusted channels. This is well behind consumers in the other markets surveyed (47% of Singaporeans and 79% of Indians), demonstrating that brands need to educate and build trust with Aussies first.
“While Australian consumers are rapidly adopting AI in their own lives, they are cautious about businesses using it to engage with them versus their regional counterparts. This has consequences for how local organisations should adopt and roll-out new technologies.” said Johnstone
She continues “Not adopting AI is not an option - Aussies need to be taken on a journey and their trust has to be won. This is a critical journey for Australian organisations because how and where you communicate with customers shapes whether they believe you’re acting in their best interests. The lesson for Australian brands is it’s imperative to build trust first and only then can you turn attention to innovation.” said Johnstone.
