# Third-Party AI Tools Outperform Brand Chatbots in Customer Service Consumers prefer third-party AI tools over brand-owned chatbots. - **Source:** [Marketing Dive](https://www.marketingdive.com) - **Published:** 2026-07-13 - **Topic:** [Business](https://brifing.si/c/business) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/0aad07f7-becd-4893-889b-0ac2541f6c82 ## Growing Interest in Third-Party AI Tools According to Gartner's research, consumers are three times more likely to use third-party AI tools than brand chatbots. The number of users has doubled in the past year alone. However, the usage rate of brand chatbots has remained unchanged since 2022. ## Shift in Consumer Preferences Consumers trust third-party tools like ChatGPT and Claude more. Since they use these tools daily, they turn to them instead of brand chatbots when facing issues. This trend suggests brands need to rethink their AI investments. ## Where Brand Chatbots Fall Short Brand chatbots often only answer questions but fail to facilitate transactions. For example, they redirect users to another page for updates. In contrast, consumers use AI tools for both queries and completing tasks. ## The Importance of Design and Presentation Small chatbot windows popping up in the bottom right corner of screens now seem outdated. Progressive companies are transforming the entire digital experience into an AI-powered conversational interface, offering a more natural interaction. ## Conversation-Based Digital Experience Leading companies are replacing traditional homepages with conversation-based experiences. For instance, a search box asking, 'What are you trying to do with us today?' better meets user needs. This approach can enhance customer satisfaction. ## Critical Lessons for Brands Consumer preferences highlight the need for brands to rethink their AI strategies. The ease of use and functionality of third-party tools are leaving brand chatbots behind. Brands must improve user experience to stay competitive. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.marketingdive.com/news/customer-service-third-party-generative-ai-tools-brand-chatbots/824989/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._