Many companies and organizations have in recent years cut back on the number of employees dedicated to support issues, believing that AI solutions can handle this task for more efficiently.

But Gartner Research is now saying demand for support from real people is likely to increase as early as next year — because customers prefer talking with humans.

“AI is simply not mature enough to completely replace the expertise, empathy, and judgment that humans offer,” said Emily Potosky of Gartner in a statement. “Relying solely on AI at this point is premature and could lead to unintended consequences.”

Gartner expects that half of the companies that have invested in AI support will recruit human staff in the coming year, thought it might be necessary to change the titles of those who are rehired.