Now that the fashionable AI market has had a number of years to mature, insights into how the expertise is getting used and the way customers are responding to it are lastly capable of transfer past hypothesis.
Whereas the array of AI instruments, services and products being supplied throughout nearly each sector nonetheless retains a component of novelty, for a lot of industries some stage of AI-powered service has already change into the usual.
However whereas many companies are blissful to just accept that AI is their future, there stay questions on how prospects are responding to the development.
Seeking to reply these questions, assessment platform Trustpilot, which holds entry to huge quantities of buyer sentiment information, has put collectively a report taking a look at whether or not customers are receptive to AI companies and whether or not the UK as a market stands out.
AI on the thoughts
Based on Truspilot’s information, prospects are very a lot noticing the inclusion of AI instruments and companies, with critiques mentioning the expertise skyrocketing.
Inspecting information from early 2020, Trustpilot discovered that globally there have been round 2,000 critiques a month that talked about the expertise, a determine that surged greater than sixfold to nearly 14,000 a month as of September 2025.
This was discovered to be constant within the UK, which noticed roughly 800 critiques a month mentioning AI in 2020 leap to simply beneath 4,000 a month this 12 months. Apparently each globally and within the UK, September 2025 noticed an all-time excessive for AI mentions, suggesting continued momentum.
Sentiment in the direction of AI
As Trustpilot’s report factors out, “quantity is one story; tone is one other”, and the story instructed by the info is a reasonably grim one.
Throughout the five-year interval lined within the analysis, damaging sentiment in the direction of AI has stubbornly persevered.
Globally as a lot as three-quarters of critiques that point out AI categorical damaging sentiment in the direction of its position or impact. This has been kind of the case all through the previous 5 years whatever the enhance in presence of AI services and products.
This sentiment ought to be thought-about by all, however for these within the UK market, the negativity goes even additional, with UK-based critiques scoring noticeably decrease than the worldwide common for sentiment in the direction of AI.
The UK could comprise one of the vital superior AI sectors – sometimes ranked third behind China and the US – however its buyer base seems to be extra sceptical and demanding than most.
There is no such thing as a clear reply as to why UK customers may maintain extra damaging emotions about AI merchandise than the worldwide common, although the report suggests a number of hypotheses.
Maybe it’s the case that, given the UK has such a big AI trade, prospects have skilled a better variety of AI-mediated interactions, significantly in high-stakes contexts akin to banking and finance.
There has additionally been a good quantity of media and coverage scrutiny relating to AI ethics and information privateness within the UK, which might have influenced perceptions.
Or it might merely be the case that UK customers are extra vocal in on-line suggestions in instances the place expectations of service weren’t met.
Trustpilot’s director of information analytics Thanos Tsiara, instructed publicity was a key issue.
“We’ve seen this earlier than. When e-commerce first emerged, folks apprehensive about placing their card particulars on-line. When automation reached banking, they feared errors and fraud,” Tsiara mentioned.
“Over time, confidence grew as techniques grew to become extra clear and dependable. AI will seemingly comply with the identical curve – sentiment will flip as soon as folks see constant equity and management in-built.”
Not all AI is created equal
AI is a reasonably basic time period, so inspecting sentiment throughout all mentions, whereas useful in figuring out an summary of public notion of the expertise, doesn’t give full context to which AI companies customers do and don’t like.
Due to this fact, Trustpilot broke down critiques mentioning AI from 2024 and 2025 by sector. Whereas all industries had a web damaging sentiment, there was appreciable variation within the depth of negativity.
Apparently it was training that noticed the least damaging sentiment, scoring simply −0.07 on Trustpilot’s sentiment scale of –1 to 1. Authorized and authorities companies, utilities and insurance coverage related noticed comparatively meagre negativity, suggesting the difficulty isn’t essentially round trusting AI with essential companies.
The sectors that ranked the worst for sentiment included media/publishing, buying and vogue and hospitality.
Trustpilot instructed a key issue was “perceived empathy”, which means companies the place automation replaces private assist have been probably the most negatively perceived.
It could be tempting to outsource customer support to automation, however the information reveals that the human contact stays essential to prospects.
An essential lesson that companies might want to study is that whereas clearly AI could be a highly effective, even transformational device, it is important that it’s applied the place it may be used finest.
Shoehorning AI companies the place both the tech isn’t able to deal with it, or the place customers would merely desire assist from a human could be dangerous to the buyer belief that’s so important to sustaining success.
Whereas the broadly damaging sentiment could also be of concern to some companies, Tsiara argued it additionally presents a possibility.
“The truth that sentiment is usually damaging at the moment means there’s a transparent alternative for the companies that get it proper to face out,” he mentioned.
“Individuals don’t dislike AI – they dislike the way it’s typically deployed. When it replaces empathy at vital moments – refunds, claims, or complaints – it could possibly really feel chilly and unhelpful. However when it provides velocity, readability, or comfort, prospects reward that.”
Finally, based on Tsiara, “transparency may matter greater than perfection”. AI techniques is not going to at all times work however in case you hearken to buyer suggestions and guarantee a human is accessible to select up the place issues went unsuitable, you’ll be able to construct actual belief.
