In a study by Accenture Interactive, 62% “love their voice assistant so much they wish it were a real person.” 

Think about the implications of that fact: AI-based apps are more likable than humans. Yes, it could mean the machines are taking over, but what can we learn about how machines answer our queries? Here’s what machines don’t do with a question:

• Respond with “It depends”
• Don’t overcomplicate answers to sound smart
• Don’t start with “Back in (fill in the year the company was started)…”
• Insist on talking in person
• Make you call them back
• Throw attitude into the answer

Machines also don’t jump around when answering. It’s straightforward information and always consistent.

The research also found we want our smartphones to help us navigate and find products in a store (not help from a clerk) by 52%. And that 73% would use Voice Assistants all the time if they better understood and spoke back as well as humans.

More than 60% of those surveyed said they were OK if a computer-based application responded to a query instead of a human. With that approval rating we will see more interactions with our machines.

The problem is not the machines, it is the poor customer service people are receiving from humans that is causing the shift. The survey found that people interacting with a computer-based application over humans was best because the applications were more polite, faster to provide service, faster to engage, less biased and available 24-7.