Survey: Hongkongers growing digitally impatient with AI customer service

About two in five Hong Kong consumers identify as digitally impatient when dealing with brands online, especially when dealing with an AI-supported customer service, according to a Twilio report.  

The study, titled “Decoding Digital Patience: Are Asia Pacific’s Digital Users Losing Their Cool?”, surveyed 7,331 adults online from 28 August to 4 September, including 1,034 in Hong Kong. The rest of the respondents came from Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore. 

According to the survey, Hong Kong consumers prefer human interaction, largely due to their high expectations for technology. They assume AI will perform quickly and accurately, yet demonstrate a strikingly low tolerance when these expectations are not met.

While 83% of consumers remain patient when speaking with a human on the phone, that figure drops sharply to just 48% when interacting with an automated phone menu (IVR), highlighting a significant patience gap and underscoring the importance of maintaining human involvement in customer service.

Skepticism toward automation is a recurring theme, with only 35% of Hong Kong consumers satisfied with AI-supported customer service—below the regional average of 41%. The top frustration, cited by 50%, is that AI tools 'don’t understand their questions.' As a result, consumers are increasingly demanding a human fallback: 45% expect the option to speak with a human if AI fails, and 40% believe certain issues are simply better handled by people.

Despite their concerns, consumers remain open to innovation—provided there is clarity around control and consent. Nearly six in ten (59%) feel comfortable with agentic AI when they understand how it is being used. However, they draw a firm line at sensitive areas like banking and healthcare, where security and privacy are paramount.

While the average Hong Kong consumer remains cautious about AI, the study reveals a generational shift in attitudes. Generation Z shows greater satisfaction with AI-powered customer service (39%) compared to Millennials (28%), Generation X (27%), and Baby Boomers (22%).

While all generations tend to prioritise human agents as a starting point when they reach out for customer service, the preference to start with an automated system is significantly higher for Generation Z (29%), in comparison to Millennials (18%), Generation X (15%), and Baby Boomers (10%).

Demand for efficiency

Overall, Hong Kong consumers stand out in their demand for speed, with expectations significantly higher than the APJ average (32%) and only slightly trailing behind Singapore (41%).

While 94% of Hongkongers believe people are expected to be patient and polite in service situations, only 60% say they remain patient in real world scenarios, suggesting a significant gap where poor digital experiences are testing their tolerance. 

For Hong Kong consumers, speed is the number one priority. A majority (56%) ranked "quick service and resolution" as their most important factor in a digital interaction—the highest in the entire APJ region above the region average (46%), said the survey.   

However, the study reveals a unique and counter-intuitive finding for the Hong Kong market: consumers are willing to sacrifice service quality for speed. Hong Kong is a significant outlier in the region, with a majority (52%) stating they prefer faster service, even if it means some trade-offs in getting better or more accurate customer support. This is in stark contrast to the regional average, where only 36% of consumers would make that trade-off.  

Their focus on speed means their impatience quickly translates into action rather than simply giving up. The top approach they will take is to switch to another support channel (36%), such as calling customer service directly instead of using live chat. They will only turn to other measures, such as abandoning the interaction and trying again later (35%), or looking for answers or solutions by themselves (33%), when that first option is not available. 

This does not mean brands can take customer loyalty for granted, as Hong Kong consumers will still speak out after a bad digital experience: 26% will tell others about their bad experience and 22% will complain or leave a negative review. 

“In Hong Kong, speed is the absolute priority, but brands must understand what that really means,” said Billy Chan, new business director of Twilio at Asia. “Consumers here are unique because they’re willing to trade service quality for a faster result. However, this impatience doesn't extend to poor AI. If an AI tool fails to understand them, their frustration is high, and they demand a seamless escalation from a human. For brands in Hong Kong, the path forward is to deliver digital services that are fast, visible, and with a non-negotiable human fallback, so customers never feel they’re left waiting.” 

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