Nearly 70% say they’d use voice AI for faster service and 59% say it would improve their experience
Insurance clients are ready to talk to AI assistants and in many cases, they already expect it. Nearly 70% of consumers say they would use a voice AI assistant if it helps them get insurance answers faster, and more than 60% say they’re comfortable with insurance agencies using the technology today, according to a new survey of consumers nationwide from Sonant, a voice AI receptionist built for insurance agencies and brokerages. The majority say a well-designed AI assistant would improve their experience. But expectations are high: 68.8% of consumers say accuracy is critical.
Sonant surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers online in March 2026 and examined consumer familiarity with AI, willingness to engage with voice AI assistants, and expectations for how these technologies should be used for insurance.
Today’s voice AI assistants—very different from the historical press 1 for… phone trees—allow callers to speak naturally, ask questions in their own words, and get immediate answers or assistance. The findings reinforce a broader shift underway in insurance. Clients are not just evaluating coverage and price, they are evaluating the experience.
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“We’re seeing this firsthand with agency partners who started small by automating after-hours calls or handling routine service requests, and then expanded once they saw the accuracy and the staff response. That measured approach is exactly what the data here supports,” says Francisco Lopes, CEO of Sonant.
Gen X Leads the Way
More than 80% of respondents say they’ve already interacted with an AI assistant in customer service, and those experiences have been largely favorable. Overall, 44.3% report a positive experience, while another 27.2% describe it as acceptable, and only 12.2% report a negative interaction.
But the age breakdown tells a more nuanced story. Consumers between 45 and 60 are actually the most open to voice AI, with more than 70% reporting they are comfortable and nearly half saying they are very comfortable. This group shows the strongest overall acceptance of voice AI assistants, a core demographic for many agencies.
Consumers aged 30–44 also show solid comfort levels, with 62.2% comfortable, while younger consumers (18–29) are slightly lower, at 54.8%. The biggest difference shows up with consumers over 60; comfort drops to 42.8%, and more than a third report some level of discomfort, higher than any other segment.
“Agents that assume their clients aren’t ready for voice AI may be taking the biggest risk,” explains Lopes. “It’s not the youngest customers leading adoption, it’s clients in their 40s and 50s, who are often the core of an agency’s book. This isn’t a future trend, it’s already aligned with how many of the agencies’ customers want to interact. The opportunity is to start in a focused way and build from there once it’s working.”
The Drive for Agencies to Get It Right
While consumers are open to voice AI, they are discerning about how it’s implemented. More than two-thirds of respondents report reservations, centered on accuracy, privacy, and the ability to reach a human when needed.
At the same time, consumers see upside when those expectations are met. Overall 59% say a well-designed voice AI assistant would improve their experience with an insurance provider, reinforcing that execution is critical.
Voice AI assistants can help agencies extend service beyond business hours, respond immediately to routine inquiries, and manage spikes in call volume during major events like storms, freeing staff to focus on more complex client needs.
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