--- title: "The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Consumer Behaviour: Topline Research Results" description: New research report released exploring the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on consumer behaviour including current usage, fears and aspirations. image: https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/991021-the-impact-of-artificial-intelligence-on-consumer-behaviour-topline-research-results.png --- close ## Ready to level up your insights? Get ready to streamline, scale and supercharge your research. Fill out this form to request a demo of the InsightHub platform and discover the difference insights empowerment can make. A member of our team will reach out within two working days. close ## Cost effective insights that scale Quality insight doesn't need to cost the earth. Our flexible approach helps you make the most of research budgets and build an agile solution that works for you. Fill out this form to request a call back from our team to explore our pricing options. 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[Read more](https://blog.flexmr.net/workshops-beacons-customer-salience) 9 MIN READ #### Ed Hill - [Events (1)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/events) - [Insights Empowerment (38)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/insights-empowerment) - [Practical Application (178)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/practical-application) - [Research Methods (285)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/research-methods) - [Strategic Thinking (232)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/strategic-thinking) - [Survey Templates (7)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/survey-templates) - [Tech & Trends (397)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/tech-trends) Artificial intelligence – ‘What a time to be alive’? or ‘The biggest manmade crisis since the atom bomb’? From a consumer standpoint, I tend towards the former – it is after all totally within our control and who doesn’t want an R2-D2 or a KITT car? But the childlike excitement associated with the perfect fictional concept is of course a world away from the commercial reality. It’s not all fun and games. The technological disruption of this imminent industrial revolution is unprecedented. And as weak AI products gain mainstream traction and developers advance steadily towards the realms of general AI business would be wise to monitor the impact of this ground breaking tech on customer behaviour. FlexMR ran a consumer research project exploring the effect of artificial intelligence on consumer behaviour, perception and aspirations. The report looks at the overall UK population as well as the attitudinal differences between the genders and generations. ### 1. Consumer Perception - Virtual Personal Assistants The popularity of AI powered Virtual Personal Assistants has boomed in recent years. Not surprising when you consider that 33% of the UK population believe AI today to be *very* intelligent. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [1/3 UK consumers believe that AI available today is *very* intelligent](http://ctt.ec/0803J) | | Millennials are championing the Virtual Personal Assistant movement. Nearly half of this generation agree that they are the best technological development to date. Gen Z however is not quite so taken. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [44% of Millennials see Virtual Assistants as best tech development to date](http://ctt.ec/eurET) | |   ### 2. Consumer Aspirations - Robotic (Physical) Personal Assistants A formidable number of the UK population would like an AI robotic assistant to take over at least one routine lifestyle task but the confidence interval between want and trust currently stands at 25%. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [95% of consumers want to pass routine tasks to AI robotics but only 70% trust it](http://ctt.ec/y9PED) | | Tasks that require social and emotional intelligence will remain in the human domain for the foreseeable future with only 9% of consumers prepared to trust their clothes shopping to AI robotics and only 4% prepared delegate babysitting to it. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [Only 9% of consumers are prepared to trust clothes shopping to AI](http://ctt.ec/H9PL1) | | ### 3. Consumer Emotions - Robotic Friends and Pets Was it inevitable? Babysitting aside a sizable proportion of Gen Z sees themselves having an AI friend in the future. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [40% of Gen Z sees themselves having an AI friend in the future](http://ctt.ec/x1Uc0) | | UK pet owners are not adverse to AI either. 37% of dog owners and 39% of cat owners would like a furry AI companion. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [Over 1/3 of UK pet owners see themselves having an AI robot dog or cat](http://ctt.ec/3Rb9Q) | | When recreational emotional intelligence is ready, so are UK consumers. ### 4. Consumer Fears - An Artificially Intelligent Workforce  Be it in terms of AI robotics or AI software, 1/3 of UK consumers fear for their jobs in the wake of tech advancements and over half of these consider that their AI replacement could happen within the next ten years. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [34% of UK consumers fear AI will replace them at work](http://ctt.ec/R1z50) | | The majority of Millennials believe that AI will replace them due to enhanced speed and accuracy whereas the majority of Boomers believe that their AI replacement will be due to cost savings. ### 5. Consumer Experiences - Commercial Virtual Assistants Good news for the online commercial chatbot developers - Consumers are more open to online AI assistance than telephone AI assistance. A marked percentage don’t mind whether the customer service agent is human or machine online as long as they receive the answer to their query. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [29% of consumers don’t care whether online customer service is human or AI if query answered](http://ctt.ec/rXL97) | | The younger generations are more intrigued by commercial AI than the older generations. Just over a 1/4 of Gen Z and just under a 1/4 of Millennials are interested to see how online AI customer service agents deal with their queries. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [27% of Gen Z intrigued to see how online AI service agents address queries](http://ctt.ec/4PhG8) | |   ### Outake - An Artificially Intelligent Prime Minister A little tongue-in-cheek but projectively a definite nod towards the political dissatisfaction of the UK population, just under a 1/4 of UK consumers claim that they would trust an AI Prime Minister over Theresa May, just over a 1/4 Jeremy Corbyn. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [23% UK voters would trust AI Prime Minister over Theresa May. 27% over Jeremy Corbyn](http://ctt.ec/KPDUt) | |   ### It's An AI Future Like it or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay and the speed at which its applications are adopted by the consumer will only continue to rise. In terms of behavioural impact, there are lifestyle considerations, spending shifts, motivational movements and value adjustments to name but a few all of which differ from generations to generation and on occasion between the sexes. A business strategy equipped to deal with the technological disruption brought by AI is key to success, both today and tomorrow. Organisations that put the consumer first across every department will undoubtedly minimise risk and benefit from the commercial opportunities. #### About FlexMR We are The Insights Empowerment Company. We help research, product and marketing teams drive informed decisions with efficient, scalable & impactful insight. #### About Alison Little Alison supports the FlexMR marketing team with a creative mind, expertly crafted copy and an organised outlook. #### Stay up to date ## You might also like... ![Blog Featured Image Header](https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Marketing_Files/Blogs/Headers/retaining_human_touch_customer_salience_cx_ai.png) ### [Retaining a Human Touch with Custom...](https://blog.flexmr.net/customer-salience-cx-ai) In recent years, companies have embraced artificial intelligence (AI) at pace, swept up in a technological momentum that promises efficiency and cost savings. However, in their rush to pursue quickly ... 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Whilst the increased prevalence of generative AI has provided a range of benefits to market research process... 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