Press 1 for frustration: what your IVR might be costing you….
IVR has become a default layer in customer operations. It is widely accepted as a necessary component of efficiency. Routing demand, reducing pressure on frontline teams, and supporting scale.
But a simple question is rarely asked: Do your customers actually want it? Because while automation and AI adoption continue to accelerate, customer preference has not moved at the same pace.
According to the UK CX Report by Ipsos and Engage Customer, 77% of customers still prefer human interaction for complex or sensitive issues. Just 31% say AI has improved their experience, while 40% say it has made it worse. More tellingly, 58% believe the primary beneficiary of AI will be the business, not the customer.
This creates a clear disconnect. Organisations are investing heavily in automation, while customers are still seeking reassurance, clarity, and human judgement.
IVR sits directly in this gap
Designed to optimise efficiency, it assumes customers are willing to navigate structured pathways to reach resolution. In practice, many are trying to bypass it entirely, pressing options at speed, repeating inputs, or attempting to reach an advisor as quickly as possible.
Not because IVR is inherently flawed, but because it is often misaligned with what the customer is actually trying to achieve. When this happens, the impact is not just frustration, it is operational.
Delays in reaching the right outcome increase handling time. Misrouted or poorly understood queries lead to repeat contact. Customer effort rises. Complaints follow. What appears efficient at the front of the journey can create cost further downstream.
Which leads to a more commercial question:
Is this where your investment is delivering return?
IVR and automation are often positioned as efficiency levers: reducing demand, lowering cost, improving routing. But if they increase effort, delay resolution, or create repeat contact, the return becomes far less clear. Efficiency alone is not performance. AI is often positioned as a way to reduce reliance on people. In practice, it is proving far more effective when used to support them.
AI is far more effective when used as a tool for people
When used as a tool for people AI can strengthen judgement, improve consistency, and support better decisions in real time. Findings highlighted by Call Centre Helper show that First Contact Resolution (30%) and knowledgeable advisors (29%) remain two of the most important drivers of satisfaction. Voice still dominates at 63% of interactions. In other words, automation may shape the journey, but it is still people who determine the outcome.
We are also seeing this play out in practice
Last year, Klarna, often cited as a leader in AI adoption, redeployed staff back into customer service roles, drawing resource from marketing, engineering and legal teams to support customer demand. The signal is clear: even in highly automated environments, when interactions become complex, the need for skilled human support does not disappear.
The question, then, is not whether IVR or AI should exist within the operation, it is whether they are aligned with what customers need, and whether they are enabling better outcomes, or simply adding another layer between the customer and resolution. And the outcome still depends on what happens next. If the interaction that follows is inconsistent, delayed, or incorrect, the problem has not been solved, it has simply been deferred.
Which brings the focus back to where return is truly created. Not just in how demand is managed, but in how effectively it is handled once it arrives. Before investing further in automation, it is worth asking a different question: what happens when the customer finally reaches your people?
Further resources: See how leading brands are using AI to equip the frontline to perform
If AI is delivering most value as a tool for people, the question becomes how to apply it effectively. This e-book explores how leading organisations are using AI to equip the frontline to perform, and where it is driving measurable return.