A new survey has revealed the top celebrity voices that people would like to hear when they call a contact center.

The survey shows that while Taylor Swift and Margot Robbie cross genders and age groups, there’s a wide range of celebrities that people would like to ‘hear’ from, with some willing to pay for it in order to have a better customer experience. The results come ahead of CX South 2024, Southampton’s first-ever conference dedicated to customer experience, taking place at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on June 26.

A Swift victory

When different age groups were asked which voice they would like to hear from via an AI chatbot or a contact center agent, Taylor Swift was a clear winner in every category, with a variety of other celebrities making the list:

Males Under 30 Top 5

  • Margot Robbie
  • David Beckham
  • Taylor Swift
  • Ryan Reynolds
  • Donald Trump

Females Under 30 Top 5

  • Charli D’Amelio
  • Billie Eilish
  • Zendaya
  • Kylie Jenner
  • Taylor Swift

Males Over 30 Top 5

  • Will Smith
  • Taylor Swift
  • Eminem
  • Ryan Reynolds
  • Margot Robbie

Females Over 30 Top 5

  • Taylor Swift
  • Joe Wicks
  • Jacqueline Jossa
  • Beyonce
  • Zac Efron

The survey was carried out via a mixture of online channels in June 2024 targeting Southampton and the surrounding area. More than 2,400 people responded. Celebrity/influencer names were chosen from a pre-offered list of more than 100 people.

Paying for benefits and faster service

When survey respondents were asked if they would pay extra for the celebrity/influencer voice option, 28% said that they would pay, but no more than £1 (or $1.27) a month. Where more people said they would pay extra was to have their call waiting time cut.

When asked ‘how much would you pay to have your calls always answered and dealt with in under two minutes,’ the replies were as follows:

  • 38% wouldn’t pay
  • 45% would pay up to £1/$1.27 per month
  • 12% would pay more than £1/$1.27, but less than £3/$3.81 per month
  • 5% would pay between £3/$3.81 and £5/$6.35 per month

Various surveys over the past few years have shown that the average wait time for a person on hold with a contact center is between two minutes and 35 minutes depending on the industry.

The findings also come not long after The Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index analyzed customer satisfaction metrics across 281 companies in the UK, revealing that consumer satisfaction has plunged to an eight-year low.

People want solutions and speed of service

Chris Angus, 8x8 VP of Contact Center Engagement said: “While I’m gutted not to be chosen as a voice that people would want to hear, there’s some interesting findings in this survey.

“The message across all of this is that people want to engage and have their problems solved. If doing it with celebrity voices is a way of having people engaged, then perhaps companies should look into it—though licensing the voices might pose an interesting challenge.

“The other aspect here that shouldn’t necessarily be dismissed is that more than half of the people who answered would pay for a fast-track service. On the one hand, this shows a potential revenue stream, but it also screams out that in 2024, every industry needs to be doing better to solve customer queries more quickly and efficiently. In an age of chatbots, voice assistants, and other tools, we can all do better.”

Join 8x8 at the CX South Conference

The CX South 2024 Conference will cover a number of customer experience-related themes, including the use of AI and automation to improve customer satisfaction, how AI may mean having more humans in a contact center instead of less, and a session by cybersecurity influencer Jake Moore.

To learn more about or sign up for CX South 2024, click here.