Insurance customers are ready for voice AI. Are agencies ready to deliver it?

Sonant surveyed more than 1,000U.S. consumers in March 2026 to better understand their comfort with voice AI in customer service and insurance-related interactions. It found that more than 80% of consumers have already interacted with an AI assistant in customer service. And the experiences have largely been positive. Over 70% had either a positive or neutral experience. Less than 15% reported having a negative experience.

Clearly, AI is familiar territory for most consumers. Fast response times, 24/7 availability, and conversational interactions are becoming baseline service expectations. In many cases, the greater risk for agencies may be failing to meet the level of responsiveness and convenience consumers increasingly expect across every service interaction from healthcare to retail to insurance.

Gen X: The real AI influencers

One of the biggest misconceptions around AI adoption in insurance is that older customers will automatically resist it. But the opposite is true, according to the survey. Gen X (those between ages 45 and 60) make up a significant portion of many agencies' client bases. This group reported the highest comfort levels with voice AI assistants in insurance interactions, even more than millennials and Gen Z. More than 70% of Gen X said they are comfortable using voice AI, with nearly half describing themselves as "very comfortable."

However, that does not mean agencies should force every customer into an AI-driven experience. Comfort levels were lower among consumers over 60, underscoring the importance of flexibility and maintaining access to human support. But the survey makes clear that voice AI is not just for the newest generation of consumers.

Designing a voice AI experience that people actually want to use

While there is a strong openness toward voice AI assistants, there is also an important caveat: Consumers are willing to engage with AI only if the experience feels reliable, secure, and genuinely helpful.

Agencies do not simply need to deploy voice AI, they need to design the experience. A poor interaction with a voice AI assistant can quickly damage trust and reinforce the very concerns agencies have long had about automation.

The survey identified some misgivings with voice AI. Accuracy topped the list, with 63.7% worried about receiving incorrect or unreliable information. Privacy and data security followed closely behind at 62.7%. Meanwhile, more than half of respondents said they were concerned they would not be able to reach a human when needed.

For agencies exploring customer-facing voice AI assistants, the path forward isn't about adding technology, it's about getting the experience right.

• Accuracy is non-negotiable: Consumers care less about whether they are speaking with AI and more about whether they are getting the right answer. Agencies should ensure voice AI systems are trained on real agency workflows, common service requests, and policyholder questions so responses are reliable and relevant.
• Opting out to a human should be effortless: Voice AI should not become a barrier between the client and the agency. Customers should be able to easily escalate to a person whenever an issue becomes more complex, sensitive, or urgent.
• Don't present the AI as human: Consumers do not want to feel deceived. Clarity builds trust. The survey found most respondents are comfortable engaging with AI when they know upfront they are speaking with an AI assistant. Transparency helps establish trust early in the interaction and sets clear expectations.
• Design for a real conversation: Consumers are increasingly frustrated by rigid menu-driven systems. Modern voice AI should feel conversational, allowing callers to speak naturally rather than forcing them through scripted prompts and endless routing options.
• Extend availability without taxing the team: One of voice AI's greatest strengths is availability. Agencies can use voice AI to answer routine questions after hours, respond during catastrophes or peak call periods, and ensure customers receive immediate engagement even when human staff are unavailable.
• Address privacy head-on: Agencies should be prepared to explain what information the AI can access, what it cannot access, how conversations are logged, how customer data is protected, and when a human takes over.

It's time to shift the conversation from whether consumers will be willing to interact with voice AI to how it can be implemented for a better overall experience.

Agencies that use voice AI to deliver faster, more responsive, and more transparent service have an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships and meet rising service expectations. The real driver isn't AI adoption, it's rising expectations for speed, availability and simplicity. Voice AI is the tool that can deliver fast, more responsive service that enables agents to stand out. Those that don't risk falling behind a standard customers already experience everywhere else.

Francisco Lopes is CEO of Sonant, a voice AI receptionist built for insurance agencies and brokerages. With a background in physics and a passion for simplifying repetitive work, he is focused on streamlining workflows for independent agents.

See also:

• Survey: CEOs should lead with AI-first mentality
• Fixing the first minute of insurance agency workflows
• Data centers straining U.S. insurance capacity