Customer service keeps running without people this summer — what does that mean for small businesses?

Summer has traditionally been the period when customer service teams are stretched thinnest: colleagues rotate through vacation, and whoever’s left has to cover more than usual. This year, that picture looks structurally different for the first time, according to recent research: 85% of all customer service interactions now start with AI, up from 60% back in 2024. While staff are away on vacation, that portion of customer service simply keeps running.

What’s actually changed

According to research firm Gartner, 64% of larger organizations now have an AI pilot running, and 27% are already fully in production. In concrete terms, this means AI agents read free-form emails and messages, understand context, search knowledge bases and CRM systems, and independently handle 60 to 80 percent of routine questions — with no wait time, including evenings and weekends. Voice AI is growing fast too: 30% of customer service interactions now happen via voice AI, with steadily improving recognition of context and accents.

The flip side: not everyone is convinced

That growth isn’t without friction. Consumer research shows that 59% get frustrated with AI customer service, and 85% still prefer speaking with a human. Interestingly, the rise of AI hasn’t so far led to mass staff reductions: 85% of organizations are actually expanding the responsibilities of human employees, and only 20% have let staff go because of AI. The picture that emerges isn’t “AI replaces people” but “AI absorbs the volume, people handle the exceptions” — exactly the division of labor that’s needed most in summer, when fewer people are available.

What this means for a small business still running on Excel and Outlook

For businesses without an AI layer in customer service, fewer staff in summer simply means less capacity: the same volume of questions, spread across fewer people, resulting in longer wait times. Customers who’ve grown used to the kind of speed larger players now offer — an instantly usable answer, even at 10pm — notice the difference increasingly fast when a smaller business can’t match that speed. At the same time, the advice isn’t: go buy a chatbot right away. The consumer numbers show that an AI solution poorly matched to your actual customer questions causes frustration faster than appreciation. The lesson is about balance: AI for what repeats, a human for what actually matters — and that distinction needs to be deliberately set up, not left to chance.

One concrete first step

Curious how big the summer gap actually is at your business? This week, compare the average response time to customer questions during a busy month with the current vacation period. If the gap is large, you’ll know exactly where automation could make the first difference — before picking a specific tool.

Sources

• TheAIDaily, “AI klantenservice statistieken 2026: 50+ cijfers en trends”
• Winbuzzer, “How AI Customer Support Agents Are Reshaping Service Teams in 2026”
• The Cryptonomist, “AI Customer Service Challenges Highlight Industry Frustrations”