AI gave us an unusual insight about our customers

We've been solving the wrong problem in customer experience for decades.

Customers said they hated waiting. So we took their word for it. We threw technology at the wait time. Self-help. Automated responses. Chatbots.

Then AI arrived and gave us exactly what we thought customers wanted instant everything, and customers still asked for a human.

Were customers being dishonest?

Well, not really.

What customers actually hated waiting for was not resolution, but reassurance.

The anxiety begins the moment something goes wrong, not the moment they're put on hold. Those first 30 seconds after a problem hits is where trust is won or lost.

Customers don't necessarily want faster fixes. They want their panic neutralized immediately. They want to feel seen before they feel solved.

The most valuable thing AI has given CX leaders isn't speed. After seeing the results of AI implementation, CX leaders have (hopefully) learnt that we optimized for closure when customers needed comfort.

I’ve worked with so many startups who just want support automated. Now they are coming around. Now, they want people there. They ignored the emotional architecture underneath every support interaction.

This is the most overlooked lever in CX.

Script your AI's response around ownership language - "I've got this, here's exactly what happens next" instead of answer language. This drops customer anxiety faster than anything I’ve seen.

Speed closes tickets. Reassurance kills anxiety.

Build for the second one.