Some Thais may be embracing services powered by artificial intelligence (AI), but they are not ready to hand over control, with only 10% willing to let AI act by default and nearly a quarter refusing to use it at all.
This signals that trust could become a critical battleground for brands deploying AI in customer experience, according to the Ipsos Global Insights 2026 survey.
Pimtai Suwannasuk, senior client officer at Ipsos in Thailand, said consumer expectations continue to rise, particularly regarding personalisation, convenience, speed of service, transparency, security and data privacy.
However, many organisations still face a gap between customer expectations and organisational readiness, while accelerating AI adoption to improve efficiency.
Trust and emotional attachment to brands influence consumers’ willingness to delegate tasks to AI.
Among customers whose needs were unfulfilled by AI, 29% would not use AI, 34% preferred advice only, 27% would allow AI to act after approval and 10% would let it act by default.
Among customers emotionally attached to brands, the proportion rejecting AI fell to 21%, while 38% preferred advice, 30% will allow AI to act after approval and 11% would let it act by default.
Ipsos said AI acceptance is higher when customers have an emotional attachment to a brand.
Consumers are particularly reluctant to delegate sensitive decisions to AI, including changing credit card or overdraft conditions, moving significant savings between accounts or into investments, choosing mobile plans, handling insurance disputes and dealing with serious airline service failures.
“AI can improve the customer experience, but brands should not confuse ‘reducing customer effort’ with ‘shifting effort to the customer’,” Ms Pimtai said, adding that companies should focus on where AI can genuinely improve the customer experience.
FRAUD PROTECTION
An Ipsos Digital FastFacts survey of 300 Thais aged 20-60 in April 2026 found 84% wanted AI to detect and block suspicious transactions in real time before money leaves their account, and 46% “really want” the feature.
Roughly 83% wanted warnings when transferring money to an account flagged for fraud, while 83% wanted AI to identify whether a message, link or call might be a scam. In both cases, 45% said they really wanted the capability.
The findings come as Thai consumers report weaker experiences with brands.
Some 64% of Thais said they had positively memorable brand experiences, down from 73% last year, while 16% reported poor experiences, up from 15%.
Problem resolution remains a major weakness. Only 35% of Thai customer issues are fully resolved, while 70% said resolution required equal effort from the customer and brand. One in five said they had to put in more effort than the brand.
“Customers may not remember every routine transaction, but they remember the moments when a brand plays an important role in their lives — particularly when something goes wrong and they need support,” Ms Pimtai said.
Ipsos identified empathy, rapid support, reliability and recognition as key factors behind stronger emotional relationships.
Across seven sectors, automotive brands recorded the highest emotional attachment at 69%, followed by airlines at 68%, motor insurers at 61% and banks at 59%. Mobile network providers and retailers stood at 58%, while insurers ranked lowest at 57%.