Pega has released new research findings that reveal significant consumer dissatisfaction with current customer service technologies. The study surveyed 4,000 consumers from North America and the UK, focusing on businesses' technological investments in customer experience. According to the findings, 77 per cent of consumers believe businesses need to invest more in improving customer interactions, despite advancements in customer service technology.

The research indicates that 69 per cent of respondents feel companies prioritize technology investments for profit rather than IT modernizations that could enhance customer experience. Furthermore, 56 per cent of consumers believe that interacting with businesses has become more difficult over the past decade, despite technological advancements.

A major pain point identified by 63 per cent of respondents is long customer service wait times. Additionally, 51 per cent of consumers express frustration over having to repeat information to different representatives. The study also highlights that 40 per cent of respondents noted customer service agents often lack necessary information, suggesting issues with siloed systems.

Other challenges include 29 per cent of consumers reporting that customer service agents frequently mention system issues, while 28 per cent experience slow or malfunctioning websites and apps. These issues contribute to 48 per cent of consumers sharing poor customer experiences with others, and 37 per cent switching to competitors for better service.

In a related survey by Protiviti, nearly 70 per cent of C-level leaders identified technical debt as a barrier to innovation and modernization. The cost of managing technical debt in the US is estimated at $2.41 trillion annually.

Chief technology officer at Pega, Don Schuerman, said: "Businesses have to start taking the amount of technical debt they are managing seriously and examine ways they can use new innovations such as generative AI to make the existing systems they have in place work better for everyone.

"In an age where customers are more demanding than ever, many of their needs are not being met as a direct result of organisations carrying technical debt."

Schuerman said: "Tools like Pega GenAI Blueprint™ can jumpstart transformation projects and enable organisations to rethink and replace inefficient, siloed systems and applications that are not only causing internal problems, but significant external damage to customer experience – and, as a result, brand reputation too."