Negative customer experiences with AI services may have cost UK retail firms as much as £8.6bn, according to new research.
Analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research on behalf of Trustpilot looked at how poor AI service caused lost revenue among firms over the past 12 months.
It found that negative experiences with AI, including clunky chatbots and unhelpful or even misleading product summaries and recommendations, led to £4.9bn of lost transactions, with the additional £3.7bn reflecting reputational damage.
The research found that negative AI encounters are shared on average with two other people, furthermore, a survey of consumers conducted for the research found that two-thirds of respondents reduced use of a business after a bad experience with their AI.
“AI tools are making it easier than ever for consumers to discover, research and buy new products and services,” said Carrie Ryan, chief strategy officer at Trustpilot.
“But as our research shows, they can just as easily turn people away. In an AI-powered world, trust is the currency that powers every transaction.
“It is vital that businesses invest the time and energy now in getting AI experiences right, using quality data sources and thoughtful design to build trust and reliability in the entire shopping experience.”
Earlier research from Trustpilot found that globally, customer sentiment towards AI as reflected by reviews on its platform was poor, with three-quarters of reviews mentioning the technology doing so negatively.
In the UK, Trustpilot found that there is even harsher consumer sentiment towards AI.
Read more: Are customers ready to trust AI?
