• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 19, 2022

Consumers accept the role of AI in marketing communications — up to a point. 

Overall, 37% like AI and find it helpful, although that number rises to 58% among people who use AI tools at work or school,  according to Getting Personal: Consumer Perspectives on AI in Marketing and Customer Service, a study released Tuesday by CDP.com. But only 28% of those who do not work with AI say it’s useful. 

In general, 43% feel it depends on the company. Only 19% don’t like AI at all. 

Among all respondents, 23% say AI has a negative impact on the customer experience, while 39% believe it is positive and 38% are neutral. 

Any negativity expressed may be due to privacy concerns. Among all respondents, 82% are concerned about the issue, and 33% say they are very concerned.

Strangely, the percentage is even higher among those who work with AI and understand it at 85%, with 42% saying they are very concerned. People who do not work with it seem less worried, with 80% saying they are concerned and 27% saying they are very concerned.

What do consumers want? Of those polled, 58% prefer product recommendations based on their search history. But only 43% want replenishment recommendations based on past purchases. 

This finding suggests that shoppers are not so eager to get personalized emails based on their purchase history.  

Shoppers  also demand accuracy and relevance and largely seem to be getting them: 58% say personalized product recommendations are somewhat accurate, while 32% say they are very accurate and 10% say they are inaccurate. 

On that score, email marketers are doing a pretty good job.  

Consumers are also reasonably accepting of AI chatbots — 34% say they’re helpful. But 43% feel there’s room for improvement, and 23% find them irritating/time consuming. 

They should know — 53% have communicating with an AI-powered chatbot in the past 12 months. That said, 64% say service would be greatly improved if they could interact with live people. 

Many feel AI is changing the customer experience in these industries: 

• Entertainment — 54%
• Shopping — 51%
• Healthcare — 48% 
• Advertising — 44%
• Customer service — 40% 
• Finance/banking — 40% 
• Sports — 35% 

However, majorities are neutral regarding the latter two businesses: 44% are neutral for banking, and 46% are neutral for sports. None of the industries get a negative rating. 

 CDP.com surveyed 2,502 U.S. consumers.