The news: More than half (51%) of customer service journeys start on search engines and third-party platforms like Google, YouTube, Reddit, and ChatGPT—rather than company websites—prompting businesses to meet customers where they are, per a recent Gartner survey.

• 62% of customers successfully find what they need on those platforms without ever engaging with company-owned channels.
• Only 22% start and fully resolve their issues through official company channels.

Why it matters: Customer service is no longer defined by, or limited to, call centers and chatbot widgets on brand websites. Today’s customers want fast, digestible answers, and they’re turning to platforms they already use daily to get them.

Search and AI sourcing: Search engines are the top starting point for customer service questions. However, generative AI (genAI) tools are on the rise and becoming second nature to younger consumers.

• Gen Zers are just as likely to use genAI tools for customer service questions as they are to use traditional sources, per Gartner.
• 81% of consumers believe AI has become central to modern customer service, per Zendesk.

To keep up, brands should optimize their web content—especially FAQs and indexable help pages—to surface answers to user questions in search results and AI engines.

Social expectations: Social media is another popular channel, with two-thirds of customers saying it’s a convenient way to reach customer support, per Zendesk.

• 76% of consumers who use social media for customer support expect to get a response within 24 hours, per Sprout Social.
• Almost an equal amount (73%) will buy from a competitor next time if their customer service questions go unanswered on social media.

A weak or slow social media presence risks alienating a large, internet-savvy customer base. To make the most out of accounts on Instagram, X, and others, brands should set up trained, dedicated customer service teams to monitor and respond on social platforms in real time.

Our take: Brands need to research and identify the platforms their customers rely on and establish fast, responsive service on those channels. The goal isn’t to pull users back to official websites—it’s to meet them where they already are, with the answers they need, when they need them.

Using generative engine optimization (GEO) best practices to boost customer service answers in genAI outputs could help younger consumers get digestible, fast answers in their preferred channel.