ServiceNow has released new research showing that UK customers collectively lose 445 million hours a year dealing with poor customer service, despite widespread investment in AI. The findings underline a growing disconnect between what organisations think AI is delivering and what customers actually experience.
The study, The CX Shift: Customer Expectations in the AI Era, surveyed more than 34,000 executives, service agents, and consumers globally, including 2,465 respondents in the UK. It found that the average UK consumer loses 9.7 hours a year navigating slow, fragmented service experiences, equivalent to more than a full working day.
That time is not just an inconvenience. It is a productivity tax that customers increasingly refuse to pay.
When Speed Improves but Satisfaction Does Not
Nearly half of UK consumers surveyed say AI has improved customer service. Speed, efficiency, and always-on availability have all seen measurable gains. More than half of respondents say AI has improved after-hours and 24/7 support.
But the same research reveals why those gains are not translating into stronger loyalty. 51% of UK consumers cite a lack of empathy as their top frustration, while 53% say they would switch to a competitor after just one poor or slow experience.
For Shakira Talbot, Group Vice President, CRM EMEA at ServiceNow, the issue is structural rather than technological:
"The root cause isn’t a lack of AI investment. Most CRM systems were built to record interactions, not resolve them."
The result is faster responses that still fail to feel human, connected, or accountable.
Channel behaviour exposes this contradiction. While 82% of UK customers prefer phone support, 76% attempt self-service first. Almost half say current chatbots fail to understand their questions or concerns.
Customers are not rejecting AI. They are rejecting experiences where automation cannot escalate cleanly, share context, or hand over ownership.
Asked what customers really want, Talbot emphasized, "Customers want to feel heard and resolved, not just routed."
That distinction matters. Routing is efficient. Resolution builds trust.
The Hidden Bottleneck Inside the Contact Centre
The research shows the pressure is not only external. UK service agents spend just 49% of their working week actually addressing customer issues. The rest disappears into administration, system-hopping, and information chasing.
Nearly eight in ten agents must log into three to five systems to resolve a single issue. More than a third cite inconsistent customer data as a major challenge.