Singapore firms most AI-optimistic globally: report

Just 39% of Singapore consumers said they would share direct feedback with the company after a bad experience.

Optimism about artificial intelligence runs high amongst Singapore consumers, but trust in how companies deploy it remains limited, according to a report from Qualtrics XM Institute.

In its report, the firm found Singapore emerged as the most AI-optimistic market globally, with 68% of respondents believing AI will benefit society.

However, only 40% trust organisations to use AI responsibly, highlighting a significant trust gap. Key concerns include the misuse of personal data (58%), loss of human connection (55%), and poor AI interaction quality (46%).

When it comes to service preferences, human support still has the edge—54% of Singapore consumers favour human-led channels compared to 46% for digital.

In-person service (19%) and live chat with a human (18%) both outrank AI-powered chatbots, which were preferred by only 10% of respondents.

The study also flagged a growing feedback blind spot for businesses. After a very bad experience, just 39% of Singapore consumers said they would share direct feedback with the company.

Even after an excellent experience, only 36% said the same, suggesting that many customer signals remain hidden unless organisations actively mine channels like calls, chat transcripts, reviews, and social media.

Looking ahead to 2026, price remains a top driver of loyalty (55%), but convenience (52%) and service quality (28%) are close behind. The data also showed customers who choose brands for good service report significantly stronger outcomes: 91% satisfaction and 89% trust, both higher than for other loyalty factors.

Personalisation is in demand, but not without conditions. Whilst 79% of Singaporeans prefer personalised experiences—compared to 64% globally—only 54% believe the benefits outweigh privacy costs.

More than half said they would be willing to share more personal data if companies offered greater transparency (63%) and more control over how their data is used or deleted (53%).

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