Do Millennials and Gen Z really prefer texting over calling businesses?
The research is consistent. 75% of consumers overall prefer texting a business over calling (SMS Comparison) — but among Millennials and Gen Z, that preference is even more pronounced.
A survey by OpenMarket found that 75% of Millennials prefer SMS over phone calls for business communication specifically. Among Gen Z, born into a world where calling feels formal and even intrusive, the preference for text is nearly universal for anything that doesn't require real-time decision-making.
These generations are now the primary customer base for most service businesses. The 35-year-old homeowner with a pest problem. The 28-year-old renter who needs a cleaning service. The 40-year-old who needs a dentist and is searching on their lunch break.
They're your customers. And they don't want to call.
Why does phone anxiety affect customer conversion rates?
Because a customer who would have texted you — but didn't because you only offered a phone number — is a customer you never got to talk to.
It's not that they didn't want your service. It's that the friction of making a phone call was enough to send them to a competitor who had a text option. That friction sounds small. At scale, across hundreds of inquiries per year, it represents significant lost revenue.
And the customer rarely tells you why. They just don't call.
See how businesses are adding texting without adding workload. Try our demo →
What communication channels do younger customers prefer?
In order of preference for business interactions among Millennials and Gen Z:
- SMS / Text — fastest, most frictionless
- Email — acceptable for non-urgent, transactional communication
- App-based messaging (WhatsApp, iMessage) — preferred when already in use with that business
- Phone call — reserved for complex issues or emergencies
- Voicemail — widely considered obsolete; most don't check them
The businesses that match their customers' communication preferences capture more of them. It's that direct.
Does adding texting make a small business feel less personal?
The opposite. A text response that arrives within 30 seconds of a customer reaching out feels more responsive — and more personal — than a voicemail that gets returned two days later.
What feels impersonal isn't automation. It's being ignored. A well-crafted AI response that addresses the customer's specific question, calls them by name, and gets them scheduled in under two minutes creates a better first impression than any amount of "we'll call you back soon" messaging.
Younger customers aren't asking for less human interaction. They're asking for faster, frictionless interaction. AI delivers that. Voicemail doesn't.
Polu.ai handles the first conversation via SMS and WhatsApp, the way your customers actually communicate. You stay involved for the conversations that need you.
See how it works →
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Sources: SMS Comparison, OpenMarket Millennial Survey