Customers favor third-party AI tools over brand chatbots

Customers are three times more likely to use a third-party generative AI tool than a brand-owned chatbot for customer service, according to a Gartner survey of more than 3,500 B2B and B2C customers. Consumer use of third-party generative AI tools has doubled in the past year alone, while use of company-provided chatbots has not shown a statistical increase since 2022.

Gartner analyst Eric Keller said the trend should challenge assumptions that customer service will center on company-owned AI chatbots. Consumers increasingly rely on tools such as ChatGPT and Claude across their lives and trust their responses, making them more likely to turn to those familiar tools when a service issue arises.

Brands may be missing where chatbots can add the most value. Well over half of customers, 58%, have used generative AI to complete a task, and nearly three-quarters of B2B customers have used it to accomplish a task. Keller said brand chatbots are better positioned to take action inside a company’s systems, but many still only answer questions before sending users elsewhere. More advanced companies are moving toward conversational digital experiences that function as a single intelligent front door rather than a small pop-up chatbot.