Growing consumer skepticism towards AI, the emergence of the ‘silent treatment’ responses to both positive and negative brand experiences, a call for brands to get back to basics, and the essential role of trust in privacy and personalisation are just some of the findings in Qualtrics’ fourth annual Consumer Experience Trends report.
The Qualtrics 2025 Consumer Experience Trends report reveals only 14% of Australian consumers trust organisations to use AI responsibly, signaling a shift from initial excitement to growing skepticism. While consumers want tailored experiences, there is discomfort with companies using unsolicited data to personalise interactions.
Despite fewer bad experiences, major pain points like poor communication and service delivery issues persist. However, consumers are increasingly staying silent about their experiences, whether good or bad, which makes it difficult for organisations to gauge customer satisfaction.
Most consumers in Australia (86%) are placing low trust in local organisations to use AI responsibly. As a result, comfort levels with the technology have dropped 9% over the last year – from checking an order status through to seeking medical advice. Concerns regarding customer service when using AI have heightened too; specifically having a human agent to connect with (61%), misuse of personal data (56%), and the belief people will lose their jobs (54%).
“Consumers in Australia are some of the biggest skeptics anywhere in the world when it comes to AI. Companies are more excited than consumers about using AI, and there’s a lot of work to do to persuade people of the benefits. The best uses of AI right now in customer experience are when it’s focused on solving issues or problems people care about,” Qualtrics customer loyalty specialist, Isabelle Zdatny said.
The leading cause of poor customer experience in Australia is communication problems (46%), followed closely by service delivery issues (44%), and pricing concerns (39%). For brands, the consequences of poor experiences are costly, with over half (54%) of consumers cutting spending after receiving one – a figure that has remained stable over the last year.
“There is no excuse for getting the fundamentals of good customer experience wrong, but too often consumers are saying this is what’s happening with poor communication and service issues. Nice-to-have industries continue to raise the bar on what good customer experience looks like, and with more than half of bad experiences ending in a spending cut, businesses and governments can no longer afford to fall behind,” Zdatny said.
For businesses, the challenge of meeting expectations is compounded by a growing number of consumers giving brands the silent treatment – when they’re happy and annoyed. Since 2021, consumers in Australia are six percentage points less likely to say something about a bad experience.
When people do say something, the most common response is to tell family or friends. Less than one-third of consumers share feedback directly with a company, and they are least likely to post something on social media.
“Customers are giving brands the silent treatment, and if organisations don’t find a way to fix this issue, we could see more disgruntled consumers in Australia. Customers are expecting a better experience, but simultaneously they’re not willing to share the insights brands need to deliver one. Overcoming this gap requires brands to rethink how they engage with customers and go beyond the traditional feedback survey,” Zdatny said.
When it comes to getting a personalised experience, Australian consumers are torn. Almost two-thirds (60%) say they prefer to buy from companies that tailor their experience. But 52% are concerned about the privacy of giving up their personal information to get one, and just one quarter (25%) trust companies to use their data responsibly. When consumers do trust companies with their personal information, they are much more comfortable with their data being used to tailor experiences to them.
“Giving customers what they want is not a conversation about privacy or personalisation. It’s about trust. In 2025, one of the most impactful and sustainable strategic focuses brands can adopt is to identify what they need to do to win trust back without overstepping the mark and turning customers away instead.”
What consumers care about most is that they can trust what a business tells them. Setting accurate expectations is more valuable to consumers than speed or convenience, and new products and services must not come at a cost to the customer trust organisations have already earned.