AI Solves More, Wins Less: 2026 Report Exposes the Loyalty Gap

AI Resolves Issues, but Quietly Breaks Loyalty

AI is winning on speed. It's losing on trust.

A new 2026 Customer Expectations Report from Gladly and Wakefield Research shows the split clearly: 88% of customers say AI or AI-to-human interactions resolved their issue, yet only 22% say the experience made them prefer the company. AI isn't the problem. Wasted effort is.

Here's the kicker for support leaders: 59% prefer starting with AI, but 45% drop that preference the moment the handoff to a human feels hard. And 57% expect a clear path to a human within five exchanges. Block that path and 40% will give up or buy elsewhere.

Why this matters to support leaders

Resolution without loyalty is a leaky bucket. You "close" the case, but you lose future orders, referrals, and patience.

Most teams optimize for deflection, handle time, and containment. Few measure the customer's effort to get there. That's the gap.

The loyalty gap, explained in plain terms

• Loops and blocks: AI that repeats, stalls, or hides a human option burns trust-even if it solves the problem later.
• Bad handoffs: Forcing customers to repeat information erases goodwill fast.
• Context loss: If history doesn't follow the customer across channels, it feels like starting over.
• Probation mindset: Customers will try AI first, but only while it saves time. One friction spike and they bail.

What to change this quarter

• Make AI the starting point, not a gatekeeper: Always show a visible "talk to a person" path from the start.
• Set a hard cap: Escalate by the fifth exchange if intent isn't resolved or confidence drops.
• No-repeat rule: Pass full context, transcript, and customer inputs to the agent automatically.
• Intent + risk routing: Auto-escalate high-risk intents (billing disputes, fraud, travel disruption) to humans.
• Explain capabilities up front: Tell customers what the bot can do in one sentence and offer the human path right below.
• Let customers choose channel, keep the thread: Maintain one conversation timeline across chat, email, SMS, and phone.

Design a handoff customers actually trust

• Warm transfer: "I'm connecting you to Sara, who sees our chat so far and your order details."
• Pass everything: Transcript, history, identity, verified fields, and predicted intent with confidence score.
• Show progress: Display queue position or callback time; offer immediate callback for high-risk intents.
• No restart: Agents open with confirmation, not re-qualification-"I see you're asking about the double charge on order #1843."

Measure what predicts loyalty, not just resolution

• Customer Effort Score (post-interaction) and a simple "Did this make you prefer us?" pulse.
• Time-to-human and % of escalations within five exchanges.
• Abandonment before human, repeat contact within 7 days, and sentiment delta from first to last message.
• Revenue at risk: % who threaten to cancel, churn within 30 days, or defect during blocked escalations.

Guardrails that prevent quiet trust erosion

• Dead-end protection: If the bot repeats or fails to extract new info twice, escalate.
• Safety switch: Immediate human route for fraud, account lockouts, travel changes in-progress, medical, or life-impacting issues.
• Re-ask filter: Detect repeated customer inputs; apologize once, summarize, and escalate.
• Accessibility first: Offer phone and live chat options prominently; don't bury them in the flow.

One size does not fit all-match support to task and age

Tolerance for AI varies by use case and demographic. Treat fit as the benchmark, not channel bias.

• Low-stakes, high-volume (order status, basic returns): AI-first with instant human out.
• High-stakes or emotional (billing disputes, travel disruptions, cancellations, fraud): Human-first or rapid escalation.
• Technical troubleshooting: AI guides diagnostics; human owns interpretation and fixes above a set threshold.

Agent playbook for AI-supported service

• Scan the bot transcript first; don't re-ask. Confirm, then solve.
• Use quick summaries: "Here's what I'm seeing and what we'll do next."
• Offer options: "I can fix this now, or schedule a callback at 3 PM."
• Close cleanly: Confirm resolution, share what's documented, and set expectations for next time.

Level up your team's AI skills

Frontline teams need more than macros. They need to read AI intent, spot failure patterns, and run a clean handoff. If you're building that capability, here's a useful starting point for role-based upskilling.

Explore role-based AI courses for support and CX leaders

Download the full report

For the full methodology, data cuts, and recommended principles, see the 2026 Customer Expectations Report from Gladly and Wakefield Research.

Visit Gladly

About the study

Wakefield Research, in partnership with Gladly, surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults in January 2026 who actively use AI-powered customer support. All respondents made an online purchase in the past 12 months, contacted customer service at least twice, and experienced at least one AI-driven support interaction.

About Gladly

Gladly is customer experience AI built to engage customers, not deflect them-pairing cost savings with customer devotion that compounds long-term value. It's trusted by brands like Crate & Barrel, Breeze Airways, and Ulta Beauty, and was named a Leader in Constellation ShortList for Digital Customer Service and Support.

Bottom line for support leaders

AI can resolve. Loyalty depends on how you handle the moments it can't.

Give customers a fast start, a clean exit to a human, and zero repetition. Measure effort, not just closure. That's how you close the gap.