Quick summary: With 67% of small businesses using artificial intelligence in marketing and 64% of consumers expressing a strong preference against its use in customer service, organisations face a profound tension between digital efficiency and brand trust. The findings highlight that over-reliance on automation risks alienating consumers who threaten to abandon brands that replace genuine human interactions with automated systems. This trend underscores a vital requirement for public policy and corporate governance to re-evaluate customer experience design, forcing a shift in business strategy towards balancing technological innovation with behavioural science to safeguard consumer well being and loyalty.
Businesses are embracing artificial intelligence faster than ever, but not always with a full understanding of the consequences. Today, 67% of SMEs use AI in their marketing, and 60% of marketers rely on it daily. For 83% of companies, AI is now a top priority, with 78% already deploying it somewhere in their operations. Among digital marketers, that figure rises to 88%.
Despite this rapid adoption, more than a third of non-users say they simply do not understand how AI works. With 92% of businesses planning to invest in generative AI over the next three years, organisations face a growing challenge: how to harness the power of AI without weakening the human connections that drive trust and loyalty.
Customer scepticism toward AI in service settings runs deep. According to Gartner, 64% of customers say they would prefer companies not to use AI for customer service, while 53% say they would consider switching brands if they discovered AI was handling their interactions.
Marketing strategist Si Elliott addresses these tensions directly in his new book, Customer Experience Thinking, released internationally in hardback and digital formats on 21st May 2026. As co-owner of creative agency Diversity and founder of customer experience consultancy Fabricx, Elliott combines behavioural science with real-world business-insight.
“Customer experience is the perception and feelings a person has from the interactions and experiences they have with a product, brand, or business,” Elliott explains. “But the thinking behind that experience is just as important. It is about understanding how people process information, what drives behaviour and how organisations should design experiences around that.”
The book is a practical guide for business leaders, marketers, and entrepreneurs who want to build stronger customer relationships in a world dominated by data and digital platforms. It explores the psychological and behavioural drivers that shape everyday decisions, including
- Why customers do not always behave logically
- How emotion shapes loyalty and trust
- Why simplicity is one of the most powerful tools in experience design
- How organisations can balance automation with genuine human interaction
A central theme of the book is the growing tension between efficiency and human connection in the digital economy. Elliott argues that modern organisations have become obsessed with metrics, automation, and scale, while overlooking the psychological forces that shape how customers actually think, feel, and decide.
“Businesses are increasingly driven by metrics, platforms, and performance data,” he says. “But behind every click, impression, and conversion is a person. When we forget that, experiences quickly become transactional rather than meaningful.”
On AI specifically, Elliott issues a clear warning: “One of the biggest concerns customers have about AI in marketing and customer service is that it will make it harder to reach a real person. Brands need to work harder than ever to strengthen rather than weaken human connection with their customers.”
He adds: “AI has the potential to transform how businesses operate. But if we allow technology to dictate the experience entirely, we risk creating a world where people are serving the systems rather than the other way around.”
Elliott believes the organisations that succeed in the next decade will be those that combine technological innovation with a deeper understanding of human behaviour, shifting focus away from purely measuring performance and towards understanding the people behind it.
“Great customer experience does not happen by accident,” he says. “It is designed through thousands of small moments that shape how people feel.”