“Human! Human!” Americans Declare War on AI Agents

Americans are increasingly losing their cool with artificial intelligence-powered customer service agents, with some resorting to shouting “human” into their phones and others swearing at chatbots in a bid to escape automated support systems, according to a new survey.

The findings offer a glimpse into growing consumer frustration as companies race to replace or supplement human customer service representatives with AI agents.

More than half of Americans surveyed said they had actively tried to circumvent a chatbot, according to a poll commissioned by customer service AI company Parloa. Among those respondents, 43.9% said they had yelled “human” or “person” in an attempt to reach a real customer service representative, while 17% admitted they had used profanity to try to break free from an automated system.

The survey of 1,001 U.S. adults suggests that consumers may be willing to abandon brands if customer service interactions become too automated.

More than half of respondents said they were willing to spend only three minutes dealing with an automated system before giving up.

The results present an awkward challenge for companies promoting AI-powered customer support as a cheaper and more efficient alternative to human workers.

“When four out of every five consumers say service directly impacts their brand loyalty, that should sound alarms for experience strategists — especially those tasked with revenue goals,” said Parloa Chief Marketing Officer Latané Conant.

The survey found that “talking to a bot that doesn’t understand me” ranked as the leading customer service complaint for 25.9% of respondents.

That frustration outranked more traditional annoyances, including long hold times, cited by 22.8%, and being transferred multiple times, cited by 13.4%.

The findings suggest consumers may dislike waiting on hold, but many appear even less enthusiastic about immediately reaching a machine that misunderstands them.

The irony is that the survey was commissioned by a company that develops AI customer service agents.

Parloa’s results also contained a note of optimism for the industry. About 85% of respondents said they would be very or somewhat likely to embrace an automated system capable of resolving issues correctly nine out of ten times.

The challenge for AI companies is that many consumers do not believe current systems are anywhere close to that standard.

Only 13.6% of respondents said they trusted AI to handle complex customer service requests today. Meanwhile, 30.4% said they had no trust in such systems at all.

The findings align with broader signs of public skepticism toward artificial intelligence. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that only 16% of Americans believe AI will have a positive impact on society.

“Ultimately, what consumers are signaling is utter exhaustion,” said Conant. “They’re rejecting systems that don’t listen, don’t adapt and don’t resolve problems when it matters, and these reactions are escalating impatience.”

“Plain and simple: they’re fed up,” she added.

The results suggest that while businesses may view AI agents as a path to lower costs, many consumers still prefer dealing with humans when something goes wrong.

For now, customer service may remain one of the few places where people are willing to spend several minutes navigating menus, waiting on hold and listening to repetitive music if it increases their chances of eventually hearing the two words they appear to value most:

Human agent.

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