Australian consumers have “overcome AI hesitation”, with about half happy to take insurance plan suggestions from the technology.

A global survey of 3000 people by Smart Communications found a “warming of consumer attitudes towards AI”.

The tech company says AI has “crossed the trust threshold” as half of respondents embrace it for critical advice and it gains traction with financial services and healthcare customers.  

In Australia, 46% of respondents would value AI being used to suggest insurance plan changes, 41% to offer financial advice and 47% to make health recommendations.  

In New Zealand the results were 54%, 41% and 49% respectively.

“The data is clear: consumers are ready to see what AI can do,” Smart Communications CEO Leigh Segall said. “Organisations have an opportunity to use this groundbreaking technology to create outstanding customer experiences that exceed consumer expectations.”

Consumer confidence in AI is relatively strong. The proportion of respondents wanting disclaimers on AI use in customer communications has dropped to 37% from 77% a year ago; 39% of Australian respondents express hesitation over AI handling data securely or ethically.

However, only 15% of Australian and 9% of New Zealand participants say generative AI is better than humans at customer communications. Just over half in each country say humans should always check content suggested by generative AI.