Gartner surveyed 3,566 B2B and B2C customers in February and March 2026. 27 percent said they would be willing to try a chatbot again after a negative experience. 49 percent said they would have been willing to use a chatbot if the company had provided one, yet only 7 percent used a chatbot or digital assistant in their most recent service interaction. 87 percent said access to a human agent is essential when companies use generative AI in customer service. Gartner's advice to service leaders: prioritize reliability over reach.
- Would try a chatbot again after a bad experience: 27 percent
- Would have used one if offered: 49 percent
- Used one in their most recent service interaction: 7 percent
- Say access to a human is essential when generative AI is used: 87 percent
Gartner's release is about chatbots and digital assistants, not phone agents, and the sample is customers in general, not trades or clinics. Gartner sells advice to service leaders. The numbers still set the bar for any software that answers on a business's behalf: one bad exchange costs the second chance.
That is why every system ProxMedia installs does a few jobs and does them the same way every time: say what it is, take the details, book the visit, hand off to a person the moment the caller asks. It does not improvise, it does not quote prices you have not approved, and it does not try to be clever. Reliability over reach.
What ProxMedia does about it: AI systems with a short, approved script and a visible way to a human on every call and every chat.
Source: Gartner press release, September 2, 2026, "Gartner Survey Finds Only 27% of Customers Would Try a Chatbot Again After a Negative Experience" (3,566 customers, February and March 2026).