Millennials value personalization over data privacy

By

Susan Spies

Published
Feb 24, 2017

A new study of Millennials across four countries suggests that the future of digital devices, apps and services is going to be personal, public and artificially intelligent.

The research, conducted by CSG Systems, polled 18-to-35-year olds in the UK, the US, Brazil and Australia in order to understand what this generation will expect from their digital devices by 2022.

Top of the list is greater personalization. Nearly 60% of respondents said they'd be happy to pay for services that exactly reflect their needs, and 71% said they'd be willing to sacrifice data anonymity in return for it.

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Taking customization a step further, 53% of those polled said that they'd be willing to pay for a mobile service that doubled as a personal assistant or concierge service. Four-in-ten also want such services to be intuitive -- whether it be setting up and inviting people to a meeting or automatically posting certain types of content to social media for instance. That level of intuition is only possible via artificial intelligence.

"Millennials are the rising customer -- and revenue base -- for mobile operators, and therefore will have a significant impact on the future of the industry," said Phillip Yoo, president of carrier business at CSG International. "Through this survey, we learned that Millennials view their mobile service not just as a device they carry, but as a personal assistant to anticipate their needs, take actions on their behalf and ultimately make their lives easier."