Survey Shows Consumers Want Transparency When Interacting With AI
Every day more and more companies implement artificial intelligence to handle customer service calls, often without revealing its use. That practice can cost them, according to an Answering Service Care (ASC) survey of 2,000 American consumers and 250 small- and medium-size U.S. business owners. The consumer survey measured perceptions of AI in customer service, from trust and disclosure preferences to industry-specific concerns in banking, healthcare and emergency services. The survey examined risks tied to call abandonment, compliance and customer confidence.
“We compared perception and performance by analyzing over one million calls handled by Answering Service Care in three months,” says Logan Shooster, vice president of strategic growth for 51-year-old ASC. “During this time, the abandonment rate averaged 4.04% across industries. We contrasted these results with projected abandonment rates near 25% when users received disclosure about AI usage. Additional desk research covered state and international laws, including California’s SB-942, the EU’s AI Act, India’s telecom disclosure rules, Canada’s AIDA proposal, and the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025. Expert commentary from media and political figures added qualitative context, highlighting both regulatory urgency and the human importance of transparency in customer service.”
Findings from ASC’s survey serve as a warning for companies that secretly deploy AI in customer interactions. For instance:
- More than a third of respondents (37%) said they would lose confidence in companies that hide AI use, and 81% believe that companies are in fact hiding it. More than two-fifths (41%) of respondents suspect there’s undisclosed AI in banks’ interactions; 27% felt health care companies use AI on the sly; and 16% believe AI answers 911 emergency calls.
- 22% said they would hang up rather than interact with AI, but 40% indicated they’re likelier to trust companies that are transparent about AI.
- Nearly 80% of respondents said AI use should be revealed at the start of a customer service call. (Gorgias.com cites research indicating 85% of consumers want full disclosure on AI.)
- One in four consumers in ASC’s survey labeled nondisclosed AI a “betrayal.”
- 43% of the business owners surveyed were worried that AI use would result in long-term damage to trust.
“The solution is simple,” says Shooster. “Just start phone interactions by saying something like, ‘You’re speaking with an AI assistant today. I’ll do my best to answer your questions quickly.’ These two brief statements maintain honesty while reducing consumers’ impulse to abandon the interaction.”
A Call for Mandatory Disclosure
ASC, whose employees field calls, texts, live chats and sales leads 24/7/365 whenever its clients are away from the office, advocates for mandatory disclosure of AI in customer service. New legislation could be modeled on existing state laws that protect consumer communications, Shooster says. “As new technologies emerge, lawmakers historically have responded by enacting protections for American consumers so there already are legal precedents. There are call-recording laws, privacy laws, and regulations on telemarketing and robocalls that can be blueprints for AI regulations. State attorneys general could enforce such laws, and fines could be imposed for infractions. For example, the California Privacy Protection Agency adopted new regulations, sometimes referred to as a ‘mini-TCPA,’ with fines up to $7,500 for AI disclosure violations.”
The European Union and India legally require AI disclosure, and regulations have been proposed in Canada. California law also mandates AI disclosure in telephone call interactions, and a half-dozen other states regulate various uses of AI. ASC’s Change.org petition provides a map showing where states stand on AI protections for their residents.
“It’s time for the whole nation to catch up on the issue,” Shooster says. He and other ASC leaders support The Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress to discourage companies from moving call center jobs overseas and to increase AI disclosure in customer service. The bill would penalize companies that outsource call centers abroad, and it requires businesses to reveal whether customers are speaking with a live, U.S.-based agent or with an AI system.
‘Old-School’ Support
For sure, Shooster’s stance promotes his company’s human interactions over AI, but he’s not alone in his reservations about the technology. Representing the everyman and everywoman, New York radio host Sid Rosenberg has wielded his megaphone on the issue. “100% there need to be both federal and state laws to regulate AI,” he says.
“In my own job, before I put anyone on the air, I have a responsibility to tell them that they are live on the air and that I am Sid Rosenberg. That same level of transparency should apply to AI. Regulation is essential.” He contends that “most people simply don’t understand it [AI]. … If I called a business and I heard, ‘Hi, this is an AI agent, how can I help?’ I would hang up immediately. Look, I was born in 1967. I’m an old-school guy. When I need help, I want to speak to a human.”
The bigger picture is that AI disclosure provides an informed choice, something that Rosenberg, Shooster and ASC actively support. “We want business owners and consumers to weigh in on AI use and push lawmakers to require disclosure. By insisting on transparency now, we will be proactive about regulations while setting a high standard for customer service. We’ve set up an online petition that calls for AI disclosure in customer service and other consumer interactions.” The easy-to-sign ASC petition is available on Change.org. ASC will send its signed petitions to relevant state and federal lawmakers. “By uniting on the issue of AI transparency, we can ensure that businesses and consumers benefit from trust that the technology serves them openly instead of having suspicion swirl around it,” Shooster says.
To learn more about his family-owned business, which trains its employees so they can provide knowledgeable, customized responses when interacting on behalf of Answering Service Care’s client companies, visit the ASC website.
