Survey: 49% of Consumers Want AI Agents to Fix Issues Immediately

A Gradient Labs survey of 3,000 consumers found 49% would rather an AI agent resolve their issue immediately than wait until the next day for a human, and 87% of those who used an AI agent in the past year had their issue fully or partially resolved. Still, four in five respondents deliberately tried to bypass AI agents to reach a person. California's AB 1609, effective Jan. 1, 2027, requires large businesses to offer a simple way to reach a human within 15 minutes.

• 49% prefer an AI agent to solve their problem rather than wait for a human
• 87% of AI-agent users had their issue fully or partially resolved
• 4 in 5 respondents deliberately bypassed AI agents to reach a person
• California's AB 1609 takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, for firms with $500M+ revenue