Introduction

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For several months, Intuiti notes a growing distrust on the part of users towards online conversational tools. At the same time, Artificial Intelligence technologies are increasingly emerging among the general public (press, media, politics...). In this context, many companies are positioning themselves on this technology, testing its various applications and beginning to put them into practice.

However, to date, no barometer exists on this subject to assess the confidence of French people in AI and its impact on the relationship between brands and customers. Intuiti launched the first barometer with Discurv: 1047 French were questioned, representative of the population in terms of gender, age, socio-professional category and regions. The survey was conducted using our targeting methodologies on facebook and instagram from May 26 to June 6, 2023.

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The French and AI: what use & perception in a broad sense

This investigation reveals that 2 out of 3 French Consider Artificial intelligence suchlike something useful for society (66%). At the same time, the vast majority of French people (78%) believe that the evolution and constant improvement of Artificial Intelligence systems can, in the long term, To prove dangerous for society.

The use of Artificial Intelligence is a habit that is already well established in the daily lives of French people: 51% say they have already tested a tool powered by an AI, And the half of these users Make one positive feedback...

... at the same time, 53% of French people say they are not ready to use products or services that integrate informational AI into their daily lives.

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The French and AI: customer relationships, online interfaces and chatbots

To date, the chatbots offered on websites have failed to deceive the French: when they use them, 9 out of 10 French people generally know how to differentiate by themselves even if the answer offered to them is generated by a human or by a robot. However, the website chat is far from always specifying this.

When they notice that the cat is managed by a robot and not by a human, their reaction is very rarely positive :

• 49% are disappointed or don't like it at all
• 34% are indifferent/neutral
• 17% respond positively

And in fact, when they realize it, Only 18% of those who are disappointed still continue the conversation, while...

• 37% are looking for another way to find their answer
• 29% stop using the chatbot
• 23% consider it unethical not to announce it from the start
• 22% consider that this is blocking them from making a purchase
• 21% are disappointed with the brand that offers this chatbot

The French are therefore very reluctant to use chatbots as currently offered on websites, and 84% prefer human interaction.

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Perception of AI and level of acceptability

Today, most of the tools used by businesses to communicate with their customers do not incorporate the latest innovations in Artificial Intelligence.

Faced with chatbots that are disappointing for French people, half of them (47%) believe that integrating the latest technological advances in AI could overcome the problems of imprecision or lack of comprehensiveness of the responses of these chatbots.

Concretely, if businesses integrated these latest advances in AI into their tools to communicate with their customers, 45% of French people would have more confidence in the answers offered to them.

But some French people remain convinced that humans remain more efficient than AI in brands' customer relationships because...

• Humans provide more personalized/adapted answers (60%)
• Humans can respond to more complex requests (59%)
• Humans better understand/identify customer needs (50%)
• Humans arouse more trust in exchanges (35%)

In fact, the trust placed in AI-generated content varies according to the company's expertise and its value proposition.. Thus, French people are more likely to trust this type of content if it is offered on an e-commerce site or a travel booking site. Conversely, when the site relates to the legal or pharmaceutical sectors, the French are much more skeptical.

But in detail, regardless of the expertise of the site, it is in reality the proposal of a a truly personalized response that brings the greatest added value to an AI, compared to more traditional content (content, article...)

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What impact does AI have on brand perception?

Brands are seizing the power of tools using AI and the majority of French people are aware of it: 52% of them have already noticed that a brand is using AI.

Among these French people who have already noticed the use of a brand by an AI, if 4 out of 10 detect this use thanks to the speed/the instantaneity of the proposed response, it is especially the lack of humanity in exchanges that aroused their suspicions:

• 49% mention a question misunderstood by the interlocutor
• 45% evoke an impersonal/automated response
• 44% evokes a repetitive response, repeated over and over again

Concretely, When they realize that a brand uses AI, the French are quite unenthusiastic.

Finally, if the use of AI as such does not boost the brand image positively, It is above all the transparency of brands in this respect, which has a positive impact on the perception of French people.

Polarized on the subject of Artificial Intelligence, the French clearly express a need for transparency, which is intended to reassure them in this regard.. 8 out of 10 French people actually share concerns about ethical issues related to AI (privacy protection, data security).

You want discover the results of this study in more detail conducted by Discurv on AI and the impact on the relationship between brands and customers?

‍Download the infographic for free clicking hither, or on the image below:

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