The Netherlands is at the forefront of artificial intelligence for customer service. Research by Opinion Matters commissioned by Freshworks has shown that 97% of Dutch senior decision makers surveyed say they already have or are willing to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve their customer service. It is lower abroad, with only 55% of British companies, 81% of German companies and 86% of French companies. The top goals companies hope to achieve through the use of AI are to provide 24-hour service (46%) and to improve operational efficiency (29%).

As enthusiastic as organizations are to expand the use of AI through chatbots and virtual assistants, the Dutch consumer does not see any benefit in it at the moment. According to the research, 88 percent of Dutch consumers have had a problem with chatbots and 37% see no benefits. The biggest frustration when interacting with chatbots to solve customer service issues is pre-programmed, impersonal answers that don't solve the problem (28%).

The preferred method of communication among Dutch consumers is still email (36%), followed by telephone (30%). These numbers underscore the need for AI to support the customer service agent with a XNUMX-degree view of the customer, call prioritization and customized recommendations.

44% of top senior decision makers surveyed in customer service departments in the Netherlands believe that the greatest support AI provides to employees is prioritizing customers with the highest 'risk of loss', followed by recommendations and offering of a total overview of the customer at the first contact (both 38% respectively). Only 3% of survey participants believe that AI does not support customer service agents (compared to 46% in the UK).

It is very likely that the Netherlands will seize the opportunity to improve customer service with chatbots or virtual assistants, as 44% of respondents would like to invest in them. People in the Netherlands are also interested in Natural Language Processing (with 46% the highest percentage in Europe) and RPA (39%). In the Netherlands, these investments are mainly driven by CEOs (49%), closely followed by CTOs (36%). 79% of key decision makers in customer service departments have invested less than $500,000 in customer service AI in the past 31 months. 100,001% have invested between $250,000 and $XNUMX (the most common).

Opinion Matters conducted the survey of business and consumer attitudes to artificial intelligence and customer service in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Respondents included senior decision makers in customer service departments, including chiefs of customer service, the director of customer service, and members of the c-suite involved in customer service. The survey covered the following industries: financial, retail, hospitality, real estate, construction and engineering, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, IT, and administration and support. In Great Britain 200 companies participated, in the Netherlands 151, in Germany 204 and in France 257. Adult consumers were also surveyed in each market: 2035 in the UK, 1000 in the Netherlands, 2016 in Germany and 1004 in France.

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