AI Customer Service Sparks Consumer Complaint Surge in China

China’s consumer protection agencies have identified AI-powered customer service as a new hotspot for consumer complaints, according to data released by the China Consumers Association. In the first half of 2026, consumer associations nationwide received 985,928 complaints—a year-on-year decrease of 1.01 percent—but the nature of those complaints has shifted dramatically toward AI-related service failures, including false promises from AI agents, difficulty connecting to human representatives, and inaccurate AI-generated content.

The Rise of AI Customer Service

After-sales service issues accounted for the highest proportion of all complaints at 26.79 percent, with consumers increasingly frustrated by automated systems that fail to resolve their problems. This marks a significant departure from traditional after-sales concerns such as unclear warranty terms or opaque repair fees.

The problem has grown alongside the explosive expansion of China’s smart customer service industry. According to Economic Daily reporting, the sector generated 15.48 trillion yuan in revenue in 2025—6.2 times the level recorded in 2012—as generative AI became widely adopted across the consumer service landscape.

Consumers Trapped in Automated Loops

Real-world cases illustrate the frustration. One consumer, identified only as Wang, found her family locked out of their home when an electronic door lock malfunctioned, with a six-month-old baby inside needing to be fed. After contacting the manufacturer’s customer service, she could only reach an AI agent and waited approximately 50 minutes outside before ultimately paying for a locksmith.

Another consumer, Gong, used the National Consumers Association Smart 315 platform to complain about a used car company. The platform’s official AI customer service, named “Xiaogua,” assured him that the 28,700 yuan vehicle price included transfer and license plate fees. But at the offline transaction, a salesperson demanded an additional 1,000 yuan transfer fee—a direct contradiction between AI and human responses.

Perhaps most telling is the experience of Lian, a Beijing consumer who, after multiple failed attempts to reach human service, searched social media for “tricks to reach human service.” When she tried again and threatened to complain to regulators, she was transferred to a human agent in just five seconds. IT之家 reported that social media is now filled with posts titled “strongest summoning phrases for human customer service” and “how to reach a real agent in 3 seconds,” revealing that platforms have the technical capability to provide quick human service but often choose not to.

The Economics Behind the “Hidden Filter”

Industry insiders say the difficulty of reaching human agents is “essentially not a technical bottleneck, but an economic calculation.” A survey cited in the research shows that human customer service costs an average of 3,000 yuan per month per agent, while AI customer service rental starts as low as 99 yuan per month. Large e-commerce companies can save over 1 million yuan annually by adopting AI customer service.

Some companies have gone further, deliberately designing AI as a “hidden filter” to discourage consumers from pursuing complaints. The strategy appears to work: when consumers face complex processes or long waits, some simply give up, improving complaint statistics on paper while reducing companies’ dispute-resolution costs.

This practice has historical precedent. A 2024 investigation by Legal Daily found that 40 percent of 30 tested apps failed to connect users to human customer service at all, and none of the 18 that did connect could do so within 30 seconds. The problem has only intensified with broader adoption of generative AI.

Legal Framework and Regulatory Response

Chinese regulators have begun addressing the issue. The “Methods and Requirements for After-Sales Service of Consumer Goods,” which took effect on May 1, 2025, already establishes that enterprises deliberately hiding human service channels or setting up ineffective pre-processes constitute infringement of consumers’ right to choose.

Now, the State Administration for Market Regulation has issued a new national standard, “Customer Contact Services - Requirements for Human and Intelligent Customer Service Collaboration,” set to take effect on September 1, 2026. The standard requires platforms to provide multiple convenient channels for transferring to human service, including “transfer to human service” menu options, priority mechanisms for vulnerable groups, and automatic transfer to human service in emergency situations or when intelligent response times out.

Legal experts emphasize that AI customer service cannot shield companies from responsibility. Zhang Huan, a partner at Beijing Dacheng (Nanchang) Law Firm, noted that while using AI for standardized queries is a legitimate business practice, excessive layering, deliberately hidden human entrances, or AI systems that fail to recognize “transfer to human” keywords violate the E-Commerce Law’s requirement for convenient and effective complaint mechanisms, as well as consumers’ rights to know and to choose.

The China Consumers Association has clarified that AI customer service deployed by operators is “an important tool deployed by operators and used in business service activities,” and its output content is part of the services provided by the operator. This means companies cannot simply disclaim AI-generated promises or commitments.

What’s Next

As the September 1 implementation date approaches, key questions remain about enforcement. Will small and medium-sized enterprises be able to comply with the new requirements? How will the legal liability of AI customer service outputs be determined in actual dispute resolution? And will the “hidden filter” practices be effectively eliminated?

For consumers, the China Consumers Association advises that third-party general-purpose AI responses generally cannot represent official commitments from platforms or merchants. Consumers using third-party AI to check critical transaction details should verify through official websites or customer service channels to avoid unnecessary financial losses.

The tension between cost-cutting automation and consumer protection represents a defining challenge for China’s digital economy. While AI customer service offers undeniable efficiency gains, the new regulations signal that automation cannot come at the expense of basic consumer rights—and that companies deploying AI must ensure human support remains accessible when it matters most.