In Thailand’s fast-evolving business landscape, delivering outstanding customer service is more complex than ever. Companies are grappling with a critical question as 2025 approaches: which customer service channels will keep Thai consumers satisfied – the traditional phone and email, or emerging AI-powered solutions? This article examines the latest research on customer service preferences and trends to shed light on how Thai businesses can balance these channels. The evidence suggests that while phone and email remain pillars of customer support, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the service experience. Understanding the strengths of each channel and the expectations of different customer demographics is key to formulating a winning support strategy in Thailand’s market.
Phone Support : The telephone has long been a cornerstone of customer service, and it continues to play a prominent role. In the U.S., for example, about 70% of consumers have used phone support, but only 35% still prefer it over other channels [HubSpot, 2024]. This gap between usage and preference suggests that many customers resort to calling as a last resort or for urgent issues, even if it’s not their favored medium. Notably, younger consumers also turn to the phone when matters get complicated.
70% of Gen Z customers prefer to make a phone call when faced with an unsolvable problem, similar to older generations. This finding indicates that even digital natives trust live, human conversation for complex issues that require clarity or immediate reassurance. Phone support in 2025 remains indispensable for high-stakes or nuanced customer problems where a personal touch and real-time dialogue are invaluable.
Email Support : Email is a more traditional channel that many predicted would decline, yet it remains surprisingly resilient. Research shows that around 70% of customers still like using email to get help. Email offers a written record and the convenience of asynchronous communication, which can be particularly useful for detailed inquiries or when customers want documentation of their interaction.
Approximately 23% of consumers cite email as their preferred support channel – a significant share second only to phone – with relatively even popularity across generations (28% among Gen Z, 24% among Millennials). This generational uptake debunks the myth that younger people never use email; in fact, they value it almost as much as older customers do for certain needs. Email’s enduring role in customer service is tied to its formality and reliability: customers know they can explain issues at length and expect a thoughtful, if not instantaneous, response. For businesses, maintaining strong email support is still important in 2025, as a large portion of the customer base continues to rely on it for quality service interactions.
The Rise of AI Channels : Alongside phone and email, a new contender has entered the scene. AI-powered customer service – through chatbots and virtual agents on websites or messaging apps – has quickly moved from novelty to necessity. While currently a minority of organizations consider it their top channel, 15% of customer service leaders say AI agents are the most effective customer service channel. This figure, though modest, highlights a growing confidence in AI as a support tool.
Companies are starting to deploy AI bots to handle common queries, provide instant answers, and even assist with transactions. As usage grows, AI-driven channels are becoming the third pillar of customer service, complementing the human-centric phone and email experiences. The following section explores how AI is changing customer service and what that evolution means for consumer expectations.
AI technology in customer service has advanced dramatically, leading to increased adoption by businesses and cautious optimism from consumers. On the business side, AI’s impact is largely positive: a strong majority of service leaders (for instance, 92% in one survey) admit that AI has improved their customer service response times and efficiency. It’s no surprise, then, that companies are investing in AI-powered chatbots to be available 24/7 and scale support cost-effectively. Indeed, AI agents are handling more routine inquiries, freeing human agents to focus on complex cases. As noted, 15% of leaders already consider AI-based support the most effective channel, and this number is likely to grow as the technology and its adoption mature.
Customers, for their part, are increasingly encountering AI in service interactions – and their perceptions are evolving. Today’s AI bots are more sophisticated and human-like than earlier iterations. In fact, 67% of customers who interact with chatbots are surprised at how friendly and human-like these agents can be.
This improvement in AI’s conversational abilities helps make automated service more acceptable to users. However, the realism of AI also brings new expectations: most customers (72%) want to know when they’re speaking with an AI agent. In other words, transparency is crucial – people appreciate efficient service from a bot, but they don’t want to be deceived into thinking it’s a human. Building trust is key to AI adoption, and part of that trust comes from being upfront about automation. Additionally, consumers want the reassurance that AI is not a dead end. Nearly 46% say they are more likely to use an AI-powered service if they know they can escalate the issue to a human representative when necessary.
This finding underscores a fundamental principle of modern customer service: AI works best as a first-line support that seamlessly hands off to humans for complex or sensitive issues. Businesses implementing AI in 2025 must design hybrid service models, where AI handles the simple requests and humans handle the hard ones, with a smooth transition between the two. When done right, AI-driven channels can boost responsiveness and availability while still preserving the option of human empathy and expertise that customers demand for complicated problems.
How do these global trends play out in Thailand? In many respects, Thai consumer preferences mirror those of customers in other markets, but there are local nuances. Phone and email remain critical in the Thai context, even as digital channels rise. Thai customers, like those abroad, tend to trust phone support for urgent or complicated issues where a direct conversation can quickly resolve confusion. Culturally, personal interaction is highly valued in Thailand, so speaking with a live agent by phone provides reassurance and clarity. We can expect that even younger Thai consumers will pick up the phone when self-service options or chatbots cannot solve their problems – much as Gen Z in the U.S. does for unsolvable issues [HubSpot, 2024]. Therefore, Thai businesses should continue to invest in call center quality and training, ensuring that complex inquiries or complaints can be handled effectively by phone.
Email is also a mainstay channel among Thai businesses and consumers. In corporate settings and many service transactions (from banking to travel bookings), email is used for confirmations, inquiries, and follow-ups. The fact that roughly 70% of customers globally enjoy using email for support suggests that Thai consumers likewise appreciate this channel’s convenience. It allows them to articulate issues in writing (often in Thai language for local companies), attach screenshots or documents, and avoid waiting on hold. Thai Millennials and Gen Z, being highly connected generations, use email alongside newer tools – reinforcing that email is far from obsolete. Companies in Thailand should maintain responsive email support as part of an omnichannel service strategy, particularly for cases that require detailed back-and-forth or documentation.
AI-based customer service is at a relatively early stage in Thailand but is poised to expand rapidly. Many Thai organizations are exploring chatbots on websites, mobile apps, and social media platforms to provide instant support. For example, major banks and telecom providers in Thailand have introduced AI chat assistants (often bilingual, in Thai and English) to answer frequently asked questions and perform simple tasks like balance inquiries or service troubleshooting. These AI deployments align with the global trend of leveraging automation for efficiency.
However, Thai consumers share the same expectations seen elsewhere: they are generally receptive to AI assistance for simple queries, but they want transparency and the ability to reach a human agent when needed. Businesses here should heed the statistic that 72% of customers want to know when they’re dealing with AI and 46% insist on a human fallback option. Practically, this means Thai companies implementing chatbots should clearly indicate the interaction is with a virtual assistant (for example, giving the bot a distinct name or avatar) and make it easy to transfer to a live representative (such as a “talk to human” button or a phone hotline prompt). By doing so, they can avoid frustrating customers and instead build trust in their AI tools.
Another consideration in Thailand is the prominence of social media and messaging apps as customer service channels. Globally, only about 4% of people choose social media for customer support requests [HubSpot, 2024], but in Thailand the number is likely higher. Thai consumers are extremely active on platforms like LINE, Facebook, and Instagram for daily communication, and many expect businesses to respond to inquiries on these channels as well. It’s common for customers in Thailand to message a company’s official LINE account or Facebook page to ask questions or even make service requests. While these interactions may not be formal “support tickets,” they are an important part of the customer service landscape in Thailand. Businesses should be prepared to manage customer questions on social and messaging apps promptly, and possibly integrate AI chatbots there too.
For instance, an AI assistant on a company’s LINE chat could handle basic queries instantly at any hour. The key for Thai companies is to integrate these popular local channels into their overall support system, so that phone, email, AI chat, and social messaging all provide a consistent and connected experience. In 2025, the competitive edge will go to Thai businesses that can meet customers wherever they reach out.
As we look at customer service channels in 2025, the choice between phone, email, or AI is not a simple either-or proposition. The most successful businesses – in Thailand and around the world – will deploy all three in a complementary manner. Traditional channels like phone and email continue to be vital: phone support offers direct human connection and remains the go-to for urgent or complex issues, and email provides a reliable medium for detailed, asynchronous communication. At the same time, AI-powered customer service has firmly established itself as a game-changer, handling high volumes of routine tasks and offering instant responses that modern customers appreciate. Each channel caters to different needs and preferences: some customers still prefer the phone or email for the personal touch and thoroughness, while others are happy to chat with a bot for quick answers – as long as they can escalate to a human if needed. The research clearly shows that no single channel has won outright. Gen Z may be tech-savvy, but even they revert to phone calls for tough problems, and a large segment of all ages continues to value email. Meanwhile, both consumers and service leaders see AI as an increasingly effective channel, especially when it operates transparently and hand-in-hand with human support.
For Thai businesses, the path forward is to integrate phone, email, and AI into an omnichannel customer service strategy. That means training support staff to excel in voice and written communication, while also investing in AI systems that can augment the team. It’s crucial to maintain quality across all touchpoints – a customer should get consistent, helpful service whether they call a hotline, send an email, or use a chat widget. AI should be used to enhance responsiveness and efficiency, not to eliminate human interaction where it’s needed. Offering customers choice is often the best policy: let them call if they want to speak to someone, email if they need a paper trail, or use self-service AI for quick tasks. In 2025, excellent customer experience is defined by this flexibility and responsiveness. Companies that strike the right balance – leveraging AI innovation without losing the human touch – will earn the trust and loyalty of Thailand’s consumers. In summary, phone, email, and AI all have a role to play, and the winners in customer service will be those who master all three channels to meet customers on their terms.
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Read more articles : Customer service is one of the hearts of doing business. (การบริการลูกค้า (Customer Service) หนึ่งในหัวใจสำคัญของการทำธุรกิจ)
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