New survey shows GenZ is more brand loyal than GenX

It’s been a transformative year for customer service, primarily driven by the rise of GenAI and its potential to revolutionize customer interactions. But how do consumers feel about this AI-driven future? Our Morning Consult survey, commissioned in February 2024, aimed to answer this question and more, examining how consumer expectations have shifted and how these expectations differ across generations. What we found was a fascinating divergence in attitudes between GenX and GenZ, providing valuable insights for customer experience (CX) leaders looking to navigate this dynamic environment.

While we discovered that overall consumer expectations have increased since our last survey (26% of consumers in 2024 would leave a brand after one poor interaction, compared to 16% in 2022), the most striking findings were the generational differences in reactions to poor customer experiences. 

GenX shows the least brand loyalty, with 65% likely to switch brands after one or two negative experiences, compared to 58% of GenZ. Older generations, including GenX and Boomers, also have less patience, with 65% expecting issue resolution within 20 minutes or less, versus 42% of GenZ.

Long wait times are no doubt influencing these results as this issue is still the top frustration for all generations, followed by inaccurate or unsatisfactory resolutions.

The survey shows that GenZ and Millennials generally have more positive views on AI’s benefits than GenX and Boomers. However, Boomers’ positive sentiment toward AI significantly increased after they reviewed information on its potential benefits (16 percentage points on the overall sentiment of AI in customer support, 20 percentage points on the sentiment towards a company after introducing AI).

The data illustrates that there is an understanding across generations that AI is used mainly in customer experience to enhance 24/7 self-service or chatbot functionality rather than improve personalization (58% vs 13%). This makes sense, as consumers can’t see how AI is applied behind the scenes.  

As Metrigy CEO and principal analyst Robin Gariess noted in a recent CX Today webinar with Michelle Couture, CX product marketing lead at Zoom: “The reality is that the top reason for increased AI spend among CX leaders is to improve employee collaboration so agents can better serve customers. Other areas beyond chatbots include improving agent assist knowledge systems, workforce engagement, and voice of the customer programs to understand their customers better.”

Boomers still prefer phone support (83%) over other channels, while GenZ is more open to using social media and live video for customer service.

In the survey, we examined video as a communications method and discovered that it’s growing significantly in popularity. All listed advantages for live video chat ranked high, with over half of respondents identifying that showing the issue on camera is a “major” advantage.

As Robin Gariess backed up in the CX Today webinar: “There is pent-up demand out there for video and screen sharing. 97.2% of those surveyed would use either video or screen sharing, or both, in troubleshooting or consultative calls.”

These insights only scratch the surface of the valuable data we uncovered in our survey. Download our full report to gain a more in-depth understanding of how consumer expectations and behaviors are evolving and key takeaways that will help improve your CX strategy as we move into a new era of customer care.

In the full research report, you’ll find:

• Detailed generational insights and analysis of their implications for CX strategy
• Data-driven takeaways that can enhance brand loyalty and customer satisfaction

Get your contact center on the right track to deliver the kind of service consumers of all ages seek with the innovative and reliable Zoom Contact Center, Zoom Virtual Agent, and Zoom Workforce Engagement Management, all built on the familiar Zoom Workplace, our open collaboration platform with AI Companion.

Report Methodology

This survey was commissioned by Zoom and conducted by Morning Consult among 2,147 adults in the general population in the United States from February 29 to March 4, 2024. The data were weighted to reflect the makeup of the U.S. adult population demographically. The margin of error for this study is +/- 2 percentage points.