Artificial intelligence may be transforming customer service dashboards and call routing systems, but when things go wrong in the real world—no heat, a flooded basement, a medical concern—most consumers still want to talk to a person. And they want that option immediately.

That’s the central takeaway from ServiceForge’s newly released research report, “Keep Service Human,” which digs into how consumers actually feel about AI-driven customer service. The answer, based on original survey data, is blunt: speed alone doesn’t equal satisfaction, and automation can cost businesses real revenue when it replaces human interaction too aggressively.

For home services, skilled trades, and other high-stakes service industries, the findings land as both a warning and a strategic opportunity.

Consumers Are Clear: Don’t Replace Humans When It Matters

According to the report, 85% of consumers prefer speaking with a real human when contacting a local service business. Even more striking, one in three respondents said they would hang up immediately if they reached an AI bot.

That’s not a mild preference—it’s active resistance.

For service-driven businesses that rely on inbound calls to book jobs, that behavior translates directly into missed appointments, lost revenue, and damaged brand perception. An unanswered call is one thing; a call that ends in frustration is worse.

ServiceForge frames this as a growing disconnect between how companies deploy AI and how customers experience it.

Speed Isn’t the Priority—Resolution Is

Much of the hype around AI in customer service focuses on faster response times, lower costs, and always-on availability. But the data suggests consumers are optimizing for something else entirely: getting the problem solved.

Key findings from the Keep Service Human report include:

• 73% say resolution matters more than how fast the call is answered

• 54% describe AI-powered customer service as frustrating

• 83% have actively requested to speak with a human instead of AI

These numbers challenge a common assumption in CX strategy—that faster equals better. For essential services, customers appear willing to wait a bit longer if it means empathy, clarity, and confidence that someone understands the situation.

Why This Hits Harder for Local and Essential Services

ServiceForge focuses on software for skilled trades and home service businesses, and that context is crucial. When a customer calls a plumber, HVAC technician, or electrician, the situation is often urgent, emotional, or disruptive to daily life.

In those moments, AI’s strengths—efficiency, consistency, scale—don’t fully match the customer’s needs.

“When a customer is calling because their heat is out or their basement is flooding, they want things AI can’t deliver: empathy, understanding and reassurance,” said Jane Blanchard, head of brand and marketing at ServiceForge.

That insight aligns with broader CX research showing that emotional intelligence and trust play an outsized role in service satisfaction, particularly in crisis or high-cost scenarios.

This Isn’t Just a Home Services Problem

While the report centers on skilled trades, the implications stretch much further.

Respondents expressed similar discomfort with AI-led customer service in healthcare, real estate, legal services, and other relationship-driven industries. In other words, this isn’t about pipes and furnaces—it’s about contexts where decisions feel personal, urgent, or risky.

That distinction matters as AI adoption accelerates across industries. The data suggests that blanket automation strategies may work for transactional interactions, but fall apart when customers need guidance, reassurance, or nuanced explanations.

The AI Paradox: Efficiency vs. Experience

None of this means AI has no place in customer service. ServiceForge is careful to draw that line clearly.

The report acknowledges that AI can be highly effective in back-office automation, scheduling, data entry, and internal efficiency. Used correctly, it can free up human agents to focus on the conversations that actually require judgment and empathy.

The problem arises when AI becomes the front door instead of the support system.

For businesses chasing cost savings, it’s tempting to push customers toward bots by default. But the data suggests that approach may erode trust—and ultimately revenue—especially in competitive local markets where reputation and reviews carry outsized weight.

Human Support as a Competitive Advantage

One of the more strategic insights from the report is how human-led service correlates with brand outcomes.

ServiceForge found that customers are significantly more likely to:

• Leave positive online reviews

• Express trust in the company

• Recommend the business to others

In crowded local markets, those signals can be decisive. Star ratings, word-of-mouth, and perceived responsiveness often matter more than price alone.

“For home service businesses, the human touch isn’t just nice to have; it can be a major competitive advantage,” Blanchard noted.

That framing positions human customer service not as a cost center, but as a differentiator—something AI-first strategies risk undervaluing.

What This Means for CX and MarTech Leaders

The Keep Service Human report lands at a moment when AI is being rapidly deployed across customer engagement stacks, often under pressure to “do more with less.” For MarTech and CX leaders, the findings suggest a need for more nuanced design choices.

Key implications include:

• Hybrid models outperform AI-only approaches in high-stakes interactions

• Customer intent should dictate automation levels, not cost targets alone

• Human availability needs to be visible and accessible, not hidden behind bots

• Trust and empathy remain core CX metrics, even in AI-powered environments

In other words, AI works best when it amplifies humans—not when it replaces them outright.

A Reality Check for AI-First Customer Service

As generative AI and conversational bots continue to improve, the temptation will be to assume customer resistance is temporary. ServiceForge’s data suggests otherwise.

Consumers aren’t rejecting AI because it’s new—they’re rejecting it because, in certain moments, it feels insufficient. And no amount of speed can compensate for the absence of understanding when something important is on the line.

The message from the research is straightforward: keep service human, especially when it counts.

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