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• For every one person who prefers interacting with AI, 4.4 prefer speaking with humans
• Baby-boomers are seriously anti-AI when it comes to customer service
• Report highlights the value of human connection

According to new research from Okta, 70% of consumers prefer interacting with humans, with only 16% opting for AI agents over humans.

In the UK, this trend is even more pronounced, with just 11% preferring AI agent interactions and one in two (54%) not even trusting AI with their personal data.

Moreover, barely one in three (36%) see any real benefit in AI agents altogether, suggesting that the productivity-enhancing technology might not be at its most useful in customer service settings.

Consumers just want humans

Artificial intelligence is most valued in language translation, research and writing – outputs that are task-orientated, rather than the transactional conversations that are typical of customer service agents.

Globally, Okta found that the ratio of those who prefer humans to those that prefer AI stands at 4.4:1, however countries like the US (4.2:1), Japan (3.4:1) and India (1.1:1) were less worried about talking with humans. Still, no country scored higher for AI, highlighting the importance of human interaction and involvement in customer service.

Okta also compared generations, with baby-boomers hugely less likely to want to talk to AI (41.5:1) – way more than Gen X (9.8:1), Millennials (3.2:1) and Gen Z (2.3:1).

Quite simply, it's the human touch that gives humans the upper edge – 'A human understands my needs better', said two in three (64%) respondents. Frustration when dealing with AI agents was also a significant frustration (38%).

However, there are some benefits to interacting with AI, including quicker and more streamlined responses without emotional bias.

Looking ahead, Okta calls for a measured and calculated approach to AI agents, building security and privacy-first initiatives into them from the get-go. "Finally, don’t overlook the value of human agents – if one thing is clear from the survey, it’s that users still value that human connection," the report concludes.

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• You can now pay annually for Google AI Pro for the first time
• The overall price is the equivalent of getting two months for free
• As yet, ChatGPT doesn't offer annual subscription options

Good news if you're fully committed to Google Gemini AI, and you like saving money: the Google AI Pro subscription can now be purchased annually as well as monthly, and you 'll save yourself a chunk of money if you pay year-to-year.

As spotted by 9to5Google, you can now pay $199.99 for a year of AI goodness, instead of the existing $19.99 a month option – with the latter working out as $239.88 over the 12 months ($39.89 more than an annual plan).

In the UK, your options are £18.99 a month or £189.99 a year (saving you £37.89). It's not immediately clear if the deal is the same in Australia, but there the monthly fee is AU$32.99 – so presumably you'd be looking at AU$329.99 a year (saving AU$65.89). Essentially, you're getting two months free if you pay for a year in advance.

Of course, the downside of annual plans is that you're committed for a full year, so you can't opt out whenever you like – which is why you'll often see annual plans available for less overall, in all the places where you're signing up for a subscription.

How does ChatGPT compare?

Subscription

Monthly price

Annual price

Google AI Pro

$19.99 / £18.99 / AU$32.99

$199.99 / £189.99 (Aus TBC)

Google AI Ultra

$249.99 / £234.99 / AU$409.99

Not available

ChatGPT Plus

$20 / £20 (about AU$30.58)

Not available

ChatGPT Pro

$200 / £200 (about AU$306)

Not available

ChatGPT Plus remains at $20 / £20 per month (AU$30.58 at current rates). There's no option to pay annually as yet, and you can also put up $200 / £200 (about AU$306) per month for the top-tier ChatGPT Pro plan, with fewer limits and more features.

For comparison purposes, Google's own super-charged, pro-level plan is Google AI Ultra, and that's going to set you back $249.99 / £234.99 / AU$409.99 per month. At the time of writing, there's no option to pay annually (perhaps understandably), though you do get the first three months for half price if you want to give it a try.

All of which means there's not too much to choose between the monthly costs of Gemini and ChatGPT, when it comes to the cheaper plans that most people are going to sign up for – but if you want to pay annually and save, that's only possible on the Google service.

We'll have to wait and see whether ChatGPT responds with an annual plan of its own. It's also worth mentioning that you can use both Gemini and ChatGPT for free, but with a limited set of features and more restrictions on your usage.

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