AI not meeting nearly half of UAE consumers’ expectations

More than half (54 per cent) of UAE consumers say that failing to understand emotional cues is more of an AI trait than human, a study showed.

- Somshankar Bandyopadhyay [e-mail]

According to research by ServiceNow, the AI platform for business transformation, despite rapid advancements in AI and its widespread use in customer service, UAE consumers overwhelmingly (at least 68 per cent) prefer to interact with people for customer support.

ServiceNow’s Consumer Voice Report 2025 shows that the perceived lack of AI’s general emotional intelligence (EQ) is a critical factor in shaping consumer sentiment in this regard. Fifty one per cent feel agents having a limited understanding of context is more likely to be AI; and an equal number say misunderstanding slang, idioms and informal language is more likely AI. Meanwhile, nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of UAE consumers feel repetitive or scripted responses are more of an AI trait.