A Verint study has revealed that US customers no longer view telephony as the most convenient channel for raising queries.
The State of Digital Customer Experience Report surveyed 1,500 American customers, who placed digital channels above voice for the “first time in the history” of Verint’s reports.
Digital channels encompass companies’ websites, social media pages, and/or private messaging capabilities, with 72 percent of respondents confirming that they had used this method to contact a company in the last 12 months.
In addition, when asked specifically how they prefer to contact an organization, 61 percent of those surveyed said digital, leaving 39 percent opting for phone.
Verint described the survey results as a “watershed moment” for the contact center space, where phone has historically been the king of customer service channels.
But what other CX trends did the report reveal? And what lessons can organizations and leaders learn?
Chatbot Shortcomings
Despite digital channels proving more popular, there were still some familiar issues revealed in the findings of Verint’s report.
Although chatbots and automated telephone systems (IVRs) possess the ability to deliver the speed that customers desire, too often, these solutions fail to adequately handle issues.
68 percent of respondents admitted to receiving a bad chatbot and IVR experience in the last 12 months, with the inability to understand and/or answer a question listed as the biggest problem for chatbot users, while IVR customers noted a mixture of usability issues.
Even with these shortcomings, customers still believe chatbots are capable of saving them time and resolving queries more quickly, as seen in the below graphic:
With customers now more willing to use automated channels, Verint believes that in order to maximize the potential of the tech, organizations should invest in more sophisticated virtual assistants.
The company claims that its own Intelligent Virtual Assistants can understand the reason behind a customer’s inquiry, which allows the solution to resolve issues more efficiently, increasing containment rates.
Additionally, AI-powered routing can direct the interaction to the most appropriate human agent, enhancing first contact resolution.
The benefits of using AI-powered assistants were also discussed by Matty Kaffeman, Vice President of North Asia and Korea at Verint, who said:
Companies today are striving to provide the best customer service experience where the customer won’t need to be put on hold amid rising volume of queries and higher expectations for customer service.
“AI-powered bots are a big part to alleviating companies’ stress in this, but they need to be used effectively and hand-in-hand with human agents.”
Preferred Channels
Interestingly, Verint’s findings follow a recent CX debate surrounding customers having preferred channels.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Simon Harrison, Founder and CEO of Actionary, questioned the concept of a “channel of choice” in customer engagement.
He argued that the idea that customers have a single preferred channel for contacting companies is misleading.
Instead, Harrison believes that the choice of channel depends on the specific circumstances of the query or issue, as each channel provides different levels and types of support.
He suggests that for a true “channel of choice” to exist, all channels would need to offer identical customer service experiences, which they do not.
While several CX professionals and leaders disagreed with Harrison’s premise, it does provide context to Verint’s findings.
The report admits that while digital channels have grown in popularity, on average, respondents still used two of the three channels in the last year – suggesting that customers frequently shift between channels depending on the query/scenario.
In this regard, the findings of Verint’s report appear to both support and refute Harrison’s claim.
When asked about the most important aspects of good CX, speed (87%) and ease of query resolution (74%) proved to be the most popular answers, supporting the idea that customers just want results and do not care how they are achieved.
However, the third most important aspect listed by customers was the ability to contact a company on their preferred channel, which implies that while customers are willing to try different solutions if it means a quicker and more sophisticated response, they do still favor certain channels over others.
More News from Verint
Last week, Verint announced a significant expansion of its Interaction Wrap Up Bot for a major healthcare provider.
The provider plans to scale up the use of Verint’s Generative AI (GenAI) Bot from 300 to 30,000 contact center agents.
Initially implemented earlier this year, the bot automates the call wrap-up process, generating quick and accurate summaries of customer interactions.
Verint reports that the bot has already delivered measurable business benefits by addressing the challenge of time-consuming and inconsistent manual call summaries, streamlining the process for agents.
Elsewhere, back in June, Verint outlined plans to raise its financial guidance due to the increased adoption of its AI-powered bots.
During the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call, CEO Dan Bodner announced that Verint exceeded its revenue and non-GAAP diluted EPS expectations, reporting $221 million in revenue – $7 million above guidance – and an 11% year-over-year increase in non-GAAP diluted EPS.
Bodner credited this success to the Verint Open CCaaS Platform and the widespread adoption of AI-powered bots, which have driven significant business results.
Notable achievements include a $14 million contract with a major global retailer and $7 million deals with both a Fortune 500 brand and an insurance company.
The CEO described the company as “better than any other contact center vendor” when it comes to turning AI tech into tangible business outcomes.
