Trust is the Product

Author: Layne Haaksma, Senior Research Analyst

What Metrigy’s second-quarter 2026 consumer research says about AI, confidence, and customer service

Among other measures, customer service teams often grade themselves on resolution. Did the issue get fixed, how fast, and on the first try? Those numbers absolutely matter. But, as Metrigy learned in our second-quarter 2026 AI Consumer Experience Index, something else matters more to consumers.

When we asked 1,000 U.S. adults what matters most in their interactions with companies, 45.1% chose trust, up from 41.4% in the first quarter. Resolution came second at 34.8%, followed by personalization (11.0%) and speed (9.1%). Consumers still want their problems solved; they just care more about whether they can trust the company doing the solving. That means the way companies use AI in customer service has to earn that trust, too.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Consumers Are Trusting AI More
• The People Who Care Most About Trust Are the AI Fans
• Trust in AI and Feeling Valued Move Together
• Consumers Draw the Line at Money and Personal Data
• When Trust Breaks
• How Companies Can Increase Trust
  • Put trust on the scorecard
  • Draw the line where customers draw it
  • Use AI to make customers feel known
  • Don't design only for the confident
• The Bottom Line
• Working With Metrigy