Study uncovers consumers perception of AI and their attitudes toward AI-powered brand interactions on social media and customer care platforms
Emplifi, a leading customer engagement platform, today released the "AI in Social Media in 2025: What Consumers Want" report to better understand consumer perceptions around AI-powered brand interactions on social media platforms, consumer comfort levels and concerns with the emerging technology, and what consumers expect from brands when it comes to how businesses implement AI technology within social media and customer care strategies. As part of the report, Emplifi surveyed nearly 900 consumers identified as "frequent" social media users and found that 73% use AI tools, like ChatGPT, for brand discovery or product suggestions.
According to the survey findings, 64% of consumers believe AI will improve how they engage with brands on social media, even while 60% have concerns that AI-generated responses may be inaccurate. More than half (56%) of the consumers surveyed say that they prefer a human for customer support issues-only 25% of respondents said that they prefer only AI-powered support. But, interestingly, 71% of consumers surveyed report that they were satisfied or "very" satisfied with customer support experiences that involved AI.
Perceptions around AI are changing rapidly. Since March 2023, the Pew Research Center has tracked public usage of ChatGPT and found that the share of U.S. employees who use ChatGPT for work has jumped from 8% to 28% in the last two years.
"The sharp rise in the consumer's generative AI usage-and the notable shifts we are seeing in consumer comfort levels with the technology-presents a major opportunity for brands to deliver personalized interactions at scale," said Susan Ganeshan, CMO, Emplifi. "Our survey found that nearly 77% of consumers feel positive about AI in shopping. This sentiment means most brands have an opportunity to scale with AI today, you just need the right technical partner."
When asked about AI-powered support within customer care initiatives, 34% of respondents said that 24/7 availability is the biggest benefit associated with the technology, while 26% said that they value faster responses. These findings are especially crucial to a brand's customer care strategy, especially considering that 66% of consumers expect an immediate response online and only 24% of respondents are willing to wait even an hour for a response.
Still, brands need to be aware of consumer comfort levels with the technology. The survey found that 83% of respondents want disclosure when AI is being used and 60% worry about the technology's accuracy. Half the survey respondents said that displaying an "AI-powered" label to consumers when AI is being used would increase trust in the brand.
The survey also covered consumer comfort levels with sharing personal data and information with an AI platform: 48% were very comfortable sharing their gender identity with AI and 40% were comfortable sharing their clothing size, while 32% were comfortable sharing purchase history and 31% with browser history.
"The brands that fail to integrate AI-powered solutions into their social media and customer care tactics will not be able to keep up. It's just that simple. Consumers are expecting more from brands, but fortunately, they are also opening up to the benefits that AI provides-but only when it feels reliable, safe, and relevant to the situation," said Ganeshan. "Today's brands must approach AI with transparency and accountability to create meaningful interactions. Look for technology that allows you to capitalize on AI but also includes the ability to power the AI answers with your brand guides, policies, procedures and previous answers to consumer questions.
To download the full report, visit: "AI in Social Media: What Consumers Want"
About Emplifi
Emplifi is a leading customer engagement platform that empowers brands to deliver meaningful, connected experiences across digital channels. Recognized as a Leader by renowned analysts and celebrated as a customer favorite, Emplifi provides innovative, data-driven insights and AI-powered tools to help brands optimize social media performance, elevate their influencer marketing strategies, and deliver impactful customer engagement across marketing, commerce, and care.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250723774373/en/
Contacts:
Jordan Lukes, Corporate Communications Director
jordan.lukes@emplifi.io
