Despite the rising importance of self-service in enhancing customer experience and lowering operational costs, a new Gartner survey reveals that most customer service agents are failing to actively promote these options. According to the survey, 60% of agents do not bring up self-service at all during interactions. Even more concerning, when agents do reference self-service, one in four offers only neutral mentions, and 12% go so far as to frame it negatively.
“Encouraging self-service isn’t just a tactic to save money—it’s a way to empower customers to resolve issues quickly and easily,” explained Keith McIntosh, senior principal, research, at Gartner’s customer service & support division. “Agents play a pivotal role in shaping how self-service is perceived, and their ability to champion it positively can significantly influence customer behaviour.”
The data clearly shows that when agents actively recommend self-service tools, it has a strong impact on customer behaviour. Customers who receive encouragement from agents are twice as likely to use self-service options in future interactions. This highlights a critical opportunity for organisations: to train agents on the features of self-service tools and how to frame them as helpful, convenient, and effective solutions.
Customer Resistance Amid Strong Phone Satisfaction
As companies continue to explore the capabilities of GenAI in customer service, particularly for automating digital self-service channels, new data suggests a potential roadblock to adoption: customer satisfaction with traditional phone support. While 55% of service leaders plan to implement GenAI-powered customer-facing chatbots in 2025, only 35% of customers who last resolved an issue by phone are open to switching to an AI assistant.
This hesitation largely stems from the confidence and effectiveness customers associate with phone-based service. With many enjoying quick, clear resolutions over the phone, there’s little perceived incentive to migrate to unfamiliar GenAI tools, even if they promise convenience or efficiency.
To address this challenge, Gartner recommends that service leaders avoid positioning GenAI as a full replacement for live interactions. Instead, AI should help streamline tasks, answer common questions, and escalate seamlessly to human agents when needed.