Singapore – Seven in 10 consumers across Asia Pacific have abandoned an AI-powered customer service interaction after the system failed to recognise them or their previous history with a brand, according to new data from Twilio (NYSE: TWLO).
Of those affected, 5% went further and ended their relationship with the brand entirely.
The findings point to a widening gap between how businesses view their own AI deployments and how customers actually experience them. Twilio’s research shows that over four in five (84%) APAC brands believe their AI agents effectively recognise returning customers and their history.
However, 70% of consumers say they often have to start from scratch when opening a new conversation with an AI agent, a phenomenon the report describes as “AI amnesia.”
The problem does not disappear once a human agent steps in, either. Over three in five (65%) APAC consumers reported having to repeat themselves or fill in information gaps after being handed off from an AI bot to a human representative.
Twilio attributes this to customer histories being scattered across disconnected systems, leaving both AI and human agents without a complete picture of the person they are assisting.
“AI is only as helpful as the context you feed it. By connecting customer data, brands can evolve from basic chatbots to smart assistants that remember every individual. Having consumers repeat their issues will become a thing of the past as customers have continuous conversations that pick up right where they left off,” said Robert Woolfrey, Vice President, Asia Pacific & Japan, at Twilio.
Trust emerged as a second major theme in the research, with consumers still working out how comfortable they are with AI-led service. Seven in 10 (70%) believe AI agents should identify themselves at the start of every conversation, yet only 22% of APAC businesses currently do so.
Beyond disclosure, consumers also want greater transparency and control. This includes the ability to switch to a human agent on request (58%), assurance that AI actions require human approval (57%), and visibility into what customer data the AI can access (51%).
Some businesses are already responding to these expectations. The research found that companies are prioritising explainability features (47%), making it easier for customers to reach a human agent (44%), and giving customers greater control over whether their data is used to train AI models (39%).
“AI use will only transform customer experience if it earns trust first. Transparency matters, and businesses that are clear about when AI is being deployed will be better placed to build stronger, and more genuine customer relationships,” said Dr Catherine Ball, Scientific Futurist.
Dr Gemma Calvert, Professor of Consumer Neuroscience, added a note of caution drawn from earlier waves of chatbot adoption. “Trust depends heavily on expectations. One lesson from the early chatbot era is that when AI is deployed before it can cope with the range and complexity of real customer needs, consumers do not simply blame the technology; that failure becomes part of their experience of the brand itself.”
“Brands therefore need to be clear about what AI can and cannot do, disclose when it is being used, and provide an easy route to a human before frustration escalates,” Calvert added.
Despite these friction points, consumer sentiment towards AI is not uniformly negative. Across the region, 68% of APAC consumers agreed that the AI bots they interacted with have improved over the last year.
Meanwhile, 65% said they want AI agents from different companies to communicate directly with one another to resolve issues faster, pointing to growing appetite for AI-to-AI engagement.
Consumers are also already comfortable delegating everyday tasks to AI systems, including scheduling appointments (86%), making dinner reservations (85%), processing returns (85%), and choosing concert seats (82%).
Businesses, for their part, are preparing for a future in which AI plays a larger operational role. APAC business leaders expect AI agents to handle 65% of all customer service interactions by 2027, up from 52% today.
In addition, 91% of business leaders said they are actively building AI workflows designed to deliver proactive customer support before a user even reaches out, marking a shift away from purely reactive service models.
As AI-to-AI engagement becomes more widespread, the research suggests that brands able to deliver context-aware, transparent, and reliable AI experiences will be best positioned to earn the trust that an AI-first customer economy will depend on.
