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Only 33% Are Comfortable With AI on a Phone Call. So Why Do 52% Say After-Hours AI Is Better?
Vonage found 33% are comfortable with AI on voice calls. CallRail found 52% see after-hours AI as superior service. Why both hold, plus a setup checklist.
By Adam Brewer, founder of Local Voice. Figures checked October 10, 2026.
Only 33% of U.S. consumers feel comfortable interacting with AI during voice calls, according to Vonage's 2024 survey of 1,000 recent AI support users. CallRail's 2025 survey found 52% believe companies using AI assistants after hours provide superior service.
Both can be true. Vonage measured comfort with AI on voice calls in general. CallRail's figure is about AI after hours, when the usual alternative is voicemail. The two surveys measured different people a year apart.
Every figure was checked at its source on October 10, 2026. Derived figures are marked as Local Voice calculations, with the math shown in the methodology.
Key findings
Only 33% of U.S. consumers feel comfortable interacting with AI during voice calls or with virtual phone agents, per Vonage's September 2024 survey of 1,000 recent AI support users.
In the same Vonage survey, 87% were comfortable with AI-enabled support in website chat and 72% in mobile apps. Website chat is 2.6 times the voice figure (Local Voice calculation).
52% of U.S. consumers believe companies using AI assistants after hours provide superior service, according to CallRail's 2025 survey of 1,000 consumers.
91% of consumers believe companies should disclose when AI is used in customer support, and 85% say easily reaching a live human is very important (Vonage, 2024).
In self-service, 59% of consumers in Vonage's 2024 survey preferred AI chatbots and 11% preferred voicebots. That's about 5.4 to 1 (Local Voice calculation).
Do the 33% and the 52% contradict each other?
No. They answer different questions, asked of different people. Read the exact wording side by side and the gap makes sense.
Figure 1. Four AI figures, from 33% to 85%, answer four different questions
Four published figures on AI in customer service, each with the published wording and the people asked. Not a trend line.
- "Feel comfortable interacting with AI during voice calls or with virtual phone agents"Vonage 2024, 1,000 U.S. adults who recently used AI-based support33%
- "Believe companies using AI assistants after hours provide superior service"CallRail 2025, 1,000 U.S. consumers52%
- "More willing to use a brand's AI assistants" when a human is easy to reachInvoca 2025, 1,000 U.S. and U.K. high-stakes buyers77%
- "Very important to have the option to easily connect with a live human agent"Vonage 2024, 1,000 U.S. adults who recently used AI-based support85%
Wording is quoted from each organization's published results, shortened for the Invoca line. None of the three published its exact questionnaire.
Source: Vonage (Nov. 21, 2024), CallRail (Sept. 25, 2025), Invoca (July 24, 2025).
Vonage's 33% is about comfort with AI on voice calls in general. Its release doesn't tie it to a time of day or a type of request. CallRail's 52% is about companies that use AI after hours.
Invoca added a condition. 77% are more willing to use a brand's AI when a person is easy to reach. Vonage's 85% shows how much that condition matters.
The surveys also reached different people. Vonage surveyed U.S. adults who had recently used a brand's AI support, in September 2024. CallRail surveyed U.S. consumers for a September 2025 post. Invoca surveyed U.S. and U.K. buyers who made a high-stakes purchase.
It's tempting to subtract the 33% from the 52% and call the difference people who warm to AI after dark. The math doesn't hold. The two figures come from different surveys, a year apart, asking different questions. Use each one on its own terms.
Why is the phone the hardest place for AI?
Voice scored lowest of the three channels Vonage measured. In its 2024 survey, 87% were comfortable with AI-enabled support in website chat and 72% in mobile apps. On voice calls or with virtual phone agents, it was 33%.
Figure 2. 87% are comfortable with AI in website chat. Only 33% are on a voice call.
Share of consumers comfortable using AI-enabled support, by channel. Vonage 2024, 1,000 U.S. adults who recently used AI-based support.
Source: Vonage, press release via PR Newswire, November 21, 2024. Pollfish survey, September 2024.
That's 54 points below chat. By this measure, 2.6 times as many consumers are comfortable with AI in chat as on a call. Both are Local Voice calculations. Vonage found the same pattern in self-service: 59% preferred AI chatbots, 11% preferred voicebots and 30% said it depends.
Comfort with AI in self-service also varied by industry, from 80% for gaming to 18% for healthcare. Vonage didn't report home services.
Few consumers name AI as their first choice for support. Sinch's 2025 survey of 2,800 consumers in 12 countries, as reported by No Jitter, found only 5% would prefer an AI chatbot for support communications. 19% preferred a live agent by phone, and 31% preferred email.
Vonage's sample leans toward people already used to AI. Every respondent had recently used a brand's AI-based support. A general sample could well be less comfortable on voice.
Why do 52% say after-hours AI is better service?
Most likely because after hours, the AI's competition is usually a voicemail box. CallRail didn't publish its question wording. Its framing is availability: consumers "want businesses to be available when they are ready to connect."
Younger callers lean in hardest. CallRail found Millennials (66%) and Gen Z (61%) are especially likely to see AI as a sign of modern, efficient, always-on support.
The same CallRail survey shows how weak the voicemail alternative is. Only 42% of consumers leave a voicemail when a business doesn't answer, so 58% don't (Local Voice calculation). 21% call another business right away. See how many callers leave a voicemail.
The booking data points the same way. ServiceTitan's 2022 data shows shops with fewer than 5 techs booked 26% of calls at their peak and 9% after 6 p.m. See the after-hours booking rate.
Read side by side, these figures suggest AI on the phone is a hard sell when it replaces a person who would have answered. At 9 p.m., it replaces a voicemail box most callers skip.
How to set up an AI phone agent callers will accept
Build around what the 33% and the 52% each tell you. Each step in Table 1 is tied to a published figure.
Table 1. Setup checklist for an AI phone agent, tied to the figure behind each step (Local Voice checklist)
Steps: Local Voice checklist. Figures: Vonage (2024, 1,000 U.S. adults who recently used AI-based support), CallRail (2025, 1,000 U.S. consumers), Invoca (2025, 1,000 U.S. and U.K. buyers; 2026, 693 buyers). The studies measured different people at different times. Steps are in setup order.
A disclosure line can be short. "Smith Plumbing's AI assistant here. I can book you or reach the on-call tech." It covers step 1 and points to step 2.
Step 4 has its own post: what customers will let AI do on the phone. Step 5 is covered in why 77% accept AI as long as a human is still available.
What to do this week
Write your disclosure line. One sentence that says the caller is talking to an AI assistant and what it can do. Vonage found 91% of consumers want that disclosure.
Decide what "reach a person" means at your shop. Name who takes transfers during the day and what callback time you promise at night. 85% of consumers in Vonage's survey called that option very important.
Pick the hours where voicemail answers today. Pull 30 days of call logs and count calls after 6 p.m. and on weekends. That's where CallRail's 52% applies.
Listen to 10 calls before you widen the hours. If a caller asks for a person and doesn't get one, fix that first. Hold any vendor to this test, including Local Voice.
Frequently asked questions
Are customers comfortable talking to AI on the phone?
Most aren't yet. Vonage's 2024 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults who recently used AI support found only 33% feel comfortable interacting with AI during voice calls or with virtual phone agents. In the same survey, 87% were comfortable with AI in website chat and 72% in mobile apps.
Do customers prefer AI answering after hours?
About half see it as better service. CallRail's 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers found 52% believe companies using AI assistants after hours provide superior service. After hours, the usual alternative is voicemail, and CallRail found only 42% of consumers leave one when a business doesn't answer.
Should an AI phone agent say it's an AI?
Yes. Vonage's 2024 survey found 91% of consumers believe companies should disclose when AI is used in customer support. 54% said AI use doesn't hurt their trust in a brand. Disclose in the first sentence and tell the caller how to reach a person.
Why do surveys about AI customer service disagree?
They ask different questions of different people. Vonage measured comfort with AI on voice calls in general and found 33%. CallRail reported 52% see companies using AI after hours as providing superior service. Invoca reported 77% are more willing to use AI when a person is easy to reach. Read the wording before you compare numbers.
Do people prefer chatbots or voice AI?
Chatbots, by a wide margin. In self-service, Vonage's 2024 survey found 59% preferred AI chatbots and 11% preferred voicebots, with 30% saying it depends on the request. Sinch's 2025 survey, reported by No Jitter, found only 5% of consumers prefer an AI chatbot for support communications.
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Formulas
Chat to voice = 87% ÷ 33% = 2.6. Gap = 87% minus 33% = 54 points. Apps to voice = 72% ÷ 33% = 2.2. Chatbot to voicebot preference = 59% ÷ 11% = 5.4. No voicemail = 100% minus 42% = 58%.
Vonage survey
Press release via PR Newswire, November 21, 2024. A Pollfish survey in September 2024 of 1,000 U.S. respondents over 18 who had recently engaged with a brand's AI-based customer support. Vonage published the results as statements and didn't publish its questionnaire. Channel figures cover website chat (87%), mobile apps (72%) and voice calls or virtual phone agents (33%). No other channels were reported. Chatbot (59%), voicebot (11%) and depends (30%) add to 100%.
CallRail survey
"Why businesses can't afford to miss calls" by Danielle Wood, September 25, 2025. 1,000 U.S. consumers. CallRail doesn't name a fielding firm, survey dates or question wording. The 52% is quoted as "believe companies using AI assistants after hours provide superior service."
Invoca surveys
2025: press release dated July 24, 2025, 1,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers who made a high-stakes purchase, fielded by Sago Online Research. 2026: report page dated June 9, 2026, 693 buyers. Neither publishes question wording.
Comparing studies
Figure 1 and Table 1 place figures from Vonage, CallRail and Invoca side by side. The studies measured different people at different times, with different questions. The dot plot compares wording and population only. It doesn't show a trend, and the figures shouldn't be averaged or subtracted.
Secondary source
Sinch's channel preferences (5% AI chatbot, 19% live agent by phone, 31% email) are as reported by No Jitter (June 17, 2025), from Sinch's survey of 2,800 consumers in 12 countries. Sinch's own June 16, 2025 press release doesn't include them. No Jitter also reports 22% for live chat with a human; the four reported shares add to 77%.
Recency check
On October 10, 2026, we looked for a newer Vonage figure on comfort with AI on voice calls. Vonage's Global Customer Engagement Report 2025 (February 20, 2025) doesn't report one, so this post uses the 2024 figure.
Example script
The disclosure line uses a made-up business name to show the format. Write your own.
When we checked
Vonage's press release, CallRail's post, both Invoca pages, ServiceTitan's October 25, 2022 booking-rate post and No Jitter's article were checked at the source on October 10, 2026.
Sources
Vonage. Vonage Survey Reveals Increased Acceptance of AI in Customer Support, with Nearly Two Thirds of Consumers Admitting More Efficient Interactions. Press release via PR Newswire, November 21, 2024. Accessed October 10, 2026.
CallRail. Why businesses can't afford to miss calls. Danielle Wood, September 25, 2025. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Invoca. Invoca Study Reveals Consumers Embrace AI, but Reject Replacing Humans, in the Buying Experience. Press release, July 24, 2025. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Invoca. 2026 Report: Consumers Embrace AI, Demand for Fast Responses from Brands Increases. Owen Ray, June 9, 2026. Accessed October 10, 2026.
ServiceTitan. Typical call-booking rate for ServiceTitan users? The number might shock you into action. Pat McManamon, October 25, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2026.
No Jitter. End Users Prefer People to AI Agents, Unless They're in a Hurry. Matt Vartabedian, June 17, 2025. Reports Sinch's survey of 2,800 consumers in 12 countries. Accessed October 10, 2026.
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