Effort Inflation Puts Brand Loyalty at Risk, Netcracker/CSG Research Finds

2027 State of the Customer Experience Report shows customers turn to third-party AI for help, while effective automation and human support strengthen loyalty

Netcracker/CSG® today released the 2027 State of the Customer Experience Report, which finds that “Effort Inflation,” the growing time, steps, and mental effort customers must use to engage with brands, is damaging trust and loyalty. The findings show that customers will stay with brands that make touchpoints faster and easier, ensure continuity across channels, and preserve access to human support when needed.

One consequence of Effort Inflation is the rise of a “shadow customer experience” layer, where customers turn to third-party AI assistants and personal agents to navigate brand interactions, pushing critical touchpoints out of the brand’s control. As more support journeys shift outside owned channels, brands risk losing visibility, context, and opportunities to build trust. This trend reinforces the need for connected, effortless experiences that maintain context across channels, resolve issues quickly, and strengthen loyalty.

Netcracker/CSG’s global survey of 1,800 digital citizens found that:

• Customers are working harder to get help: 74% of consumers say resolving an issue with a brand takes as much or more effort than it did a year ago. One in five has recently given up on resolving a customer service issue because it took too much effort.
• …and Effort Inflation damages loyalty: 86% say they’re likely to leave a brand when dealing with it takes too much work.
• Ineffective chatbots and AI support put the burden on the customer: 81% say automated support takes more effort than traditional support. Forty percent say it has become more difficult to get chatbots to understand what they need, and 60% say that being routed to a chatbot feels like the brand doesn’t care about them.
• …but effective AI can strengthen loyalty: 44% say they have stuck with a brand longer because its automated support effectively resolved a task.
• Customers turn to third-party AI to avoid extra effort: 77% have used a third-party AI assistant to help resolve an issue with a brand, and one in four do so most or all of the time.
• …and human support remains central to an effortless experience: Over half (52%) of customers who recently had an “effortless experience” say that talking to a human was part of what made it effortless. Yet 57% said reaching a live representative got more difficult this year.

“AI is only as good as the context behind it,” said Bob Titus, Chief Technology Officer at Netcracker Technology. “When customer data, interaction history, and workflows are scattered across systems, every new AI layer inherits those gaps and compounds the confusion. Our research shows that customers are running out of patience with repetitive, disconnected experiences, and they reward AI that actually gets things done. That makes connected context the deciding factor between the brands customers trust and the ones they abandon.”

Read the 2027 State of the Customer Experience Report to explore the full analysis and learn how brands can curb effort inflation, navigate shadow customer service, and balance human and AI experiences to win loyalty.

Methodology

Netcracker/CSG partnered with Wakefield Research to field a custom quantitative study of 1,800 “digital citizens”—people who have engaged with online services such as paying a bill online, using online customer support, making an online order, or using an online account. The study was fielded July 20–August 3, 2026, to respondents distributed across the regions of North America, Central & Latin America, and EMEA.

About Netcracker Technology/CSG

Netcracker/CSG, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, helps companies transform and grow by creating better customer experiences that make it easier for people and businesses to connect with, use, and pay for the services they value most. We combine complementary capabilities across AI-powered operations, customer engagement, monetization, billing, and payments. Our AI-enabled digital platforms and deep industry expertise help companies modernize operations, elevate customer experiences, optimize revenue, and accelerate growth. Together, these capabilities enable companies to build lasting customer loyalty at every interaction.

Visit netcracker.com and csgi.com to learn more.

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