Voice Command: Why the Phone Call Remains an Ultimate CX Power Tool

In the rush to automate customer interactions with sophisticated AI agents, an easy trap to fall into is thinking the traditional phone call is a relic of the past. Roadmaps that prioritize digital deflection, assuming customers want to avoid speaking to a live agent at all costs, aren’t too difficult to find.

However, Metrigy’s data tells a starkly different story. According to our Customer Experience Optimization 2025-26 – Consumer Views research study of 503 consumers in North America, voice isn’t dying—it’s thriving. For customer experience (CX) professionals managing customer communications, the mandate is clear: You can’t afford to neglect your voice channels. The real villain isn't the phone call itself, but rather the unnecessary effort that poor voice experiences create for customers and your business.

The Speed and Certainty of Voicelink to this section

Despite the proliferation of digital channels, phone calling remains the most common method of interaction, for 70.0% of consumers, and the most preferred, for 46.5%. Why does the telephone retain such dominance in a digital world? The answer is speed.

Contrary to the belief that digital self-service is faster, 41.4% of consumers view calling as the quickest way to get what they need. When a customer has a question or a problem, 37.2% say placing a phone call is their preferred method of outreach. There’s less certainty for 52.1%; these consumers say the choice depends on the issue at hand.

In many industries, support is the brand. One poor voice interaction can permanently damage trust, while seamless phone experiences build loyalty that drives retention and revenue.

The Friction in the Experiencelink to this section

While many customers prefer voice, they don’t necessarily enjoy the current state of the voice experience. The study highlights severe friction points that leaders must address immediately—friction that manifests as unnecessary effort paid every day by customers, agents, and the business. These include:

• The transfer loop – Despite the much-discussed goal of seamless transfer, whether from one voice agent to another or from a non-voice channel to voice, this process can be too clunky, creating massive frustration for consumers. Metrigy’s global Customer Experience Optimization: 2025-26 research study with 656 companies shows that a staggering 82%—up from 77% in 2024—of all interactions use voice, either initially or as an escalation. On the consumer side, 64% report getting transferred at least half the time they interact with a company, and—worse yet—68% say they must repeat their issue to a new person just as frequently.

This isn't just poor experience—it's wasted operational capacity. When fragmented systems force agents to transfer calls without full customer context, it leads to longer handle times, repeated explanations, and the need to hire additional staff simply to manage system complexity rather than serve customers.

• Poor quality – While the human connection is paramount, the technical delivery of that connection creates the first impression. Assuming that clear audio is a solved problem is a mistake—even in this day and age. In fact, nearly 60% of consumers say poor call quality when talking to an agent is at least somewhat of an issue, if not a large one.

If your customer cannot hear your agent’s responses or the empathy in their voice due to jitter, latency, or packet loss, the investment in human talent is wasted.

Furthermore, consumers define “quality” by the respect shown for their time. Tolerance for waiting is incredibly thin; 65.6% of consumers believe a reasonable hold time is less than three minutes. When you combine strict wait-time expectations with the fact that, as noted above, most consumers report getting transferred at least half the time they call, a clear picture emerges. Quality service is not just about the conversation itself, but rather the resilient infrastructure and intelligent routing logic that allows that conversation to happen without delay or distortion.

• Balancing demographic expectations – It’s true that younger consumers are more open to digital alternatives. While 74.7% of all consumers expect to be able to talk to a human (via voice but also chat), the younger generation (ages 18 to 24) are less stringent—only 63.6% of them expect the same. However, even among digital natives, voice remains a critical escalation path. When assured of a resolution in either channel, the majority of every age group—including 53.7% of consumers between 18 and 24—say they’d prefer talking over texting with a human agent.

Those who do prefer text often do so for pragmatic, not technological, reasons. The top reason consumers choose text over voice is to maintain a “paper trail” of the interaction. This suggests an opportunity for CX leaders: If you offer voice, follow it up immediately with a digital transcript or summary to give customers the security they crave.

The Strategic Path Forwardlink to this section

The data from Metrigy’s CX consumer study clearly shows that companies must view phone as a premium resolution channel. Toward this end, you must:

• Optimize for first-contact resolution – Use your AI investments to route calls intelligently, not just to deflect them.
• Empower human agents – Equip your human agents with data and AI capabilities so customers never have to repeat themselves.
• Fix the foundation – Ensure your contact center platform delivers pristine audio quality.
• Respect the “three-minute” rule – Speed is a non-negotiable component of trust; be sure to optimize your infrastructure for velocity. If wait times exceed this threshold, implement callback options or smarter routing immediately to prevent the frustration of long holds followed by repetitive transfers.
• Segment your channel strategy –Recognize that tolerance for digital-only service is age-dependent. You may succeed with digital-first entry points for younger consumers, but hiding the phone line from older generations will inevitably cost you customers.

Voice is not just a legacy channel; it’s the backbone of trust in customer experience. By eliminating unnecessary effort through unified communications intelligence, companies can transform the voice channel from what feels like an aging technology into a growth engine—delivering the speed, empathy, and resolution that customers demand while protecting agent wellbeing and reducing operational complexity.

Adapted from research originally published by Metrigy.