Consumers are generally open to AI usage in insurance, as long companies display transparency around accuracy and privacy, according to Sonant's
"We're seeing a shift from curiosity about AI to expectation. Consumers are no longer evaluating whether they want to use these tools. They're evaluating whether the experience meets the standard they've already encountered elsewhere in other product and service experiences. For agencies, that makes execution and trust critical," said Francisco Lopes, CEO of Sonant, in the report.
Sonant's findings show that just over 44% of respondents have had an overall positive experience with AI, about 27% say that their experience is average and 12% have had a negative experience. When reaching out to insurers, most consumers consider accuracy and speed of responses the most important factors.
According to Sonant's survey, nearly 8 in ten consumers are open to using AI-powered voice assistants in insurance: 61% report they are comfortable with the idea, 18% say they are neutral and about 20% say they are uncomfortable. The research emphasizes, though, that consumers are open to the idea when the AI assistant is upfront that it isn't an actual person, as well as when AI is the only availability outside of regular business hours. The top concern with voice AI assistants is the possibility of receiving incorrect or unreliable information at nearly 64%, closely followed by privacy or data security concerns at sixty-three percent.
Overall, most consumers are open to engaging with voice AI assistants, so long as their expectations of trust and transparency are clearly met.
"Every new service experience resets the bar," said Lopes. "When a customer can get an immediate answer somewhere else, waiting on hold or leaving a voicemail doesn't just feel inconvenient–it feels broken. That's the gap AI is starting to close in insurance."
