With soaring utility bills and the rising cost of living, consumers today need more support than ever—especially the most vulnerable among us.
It’s not enough to simply acknowledge vulnerability; organisations have a responsibility to act, ensuring no one falls through the cracks.
At NICE, we’ve just released our second annual UK Vulnerable Customer Research Report. The findings highlight a growing number of vulnerable consumers in the UK, but there’s also encouraging news: awareness is on the rise, and organisations now have clear, actionable steps to take.
As the landscape of consumer vulnerability evolves, technology leaders are at the forefront of driving solutions that ensure no customer is left behind. Their role extends beyond deploying new tools — it’s about strategically integrating AI and automation to deliver scalable, empathetic, and effective customer service support.
Identifying the subtle signs of vulnerability
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) identifies four key drivers of vulnerability—an essential framework that extends beyond financial services. These drivers help organisations move past misconceptions by understanding the complex factors that contribute to vulnerability:
- Health issues (mental and physical illness)
- Life events (including bereavement and job loss)
- Low resilience (the inability to withstand financial or emotional shock)
- Low capability and confidence (in dealing with financial matters)
Assessed against these criteria, our research estimates that a staggering 35 million UK adults are potentially vulnerable, around two-thirds of the adult population. Delivering support at this scale is a significant challenge in and of itself – but this is intensified by low awareness and a reluctance to discuss vulnerability.
Of these potentially vulnerable adults, only 19% self-identify as vulnerable. This places the responsibility on customer service advisors to recognise vulnerability. However, with widespread discomfort discussing vulnerability – for example, 34% of consumers would be uncomfortable sharing details about poor mental health – this is far from a failproof task.
When all the pressure is on advisors to detect vulnerability using their soft skills and life experience alone, it’s inevitable that some consumers get left behind. Worse still, many organisations believe they already have sufficient processes in place to support vulnerable customers. Unfortunately, the reality tells a different story. On average, just 3 per cent of calls are currently screened for vulnerable customer support, and even fewer are routed through the appropriate processes to address their needs effectively.
Supporting vulnerable consumers at scale requires innovation—leveraging AI to analyse every interaction, extract insights, and drive meaningful action across all channels, from voice to digital, and processes.
Driving innovation to meet the needs of vulnerable consumers
Our research highlights four key areas where customer service and technology leaders must collaborate for success.
- AI-Powered Vulnerability Detection
Vulnerability takes many forms, from financial hardship to personal crises, making it difficult to identify—even for the individuals affected. Subtle cues, such as mentions of stress or relationship issues, often surface in customer interactions but can be overlooked, especially by human agents. Relying on self-disclosure alone means missing those who may not recognise or feel comfortable revealing their struggles.
AI and automation change the game. Purpose-built AI, trained on customer service data and aligned with the FCA’s four key drivers, can detect vulnerability during every interaction—ensuring no one is left behind.
- Real-Time Guidance for Agents
AI-powered insights are only valuable if they empower frontline advisors. Real-time guidance equips agents with in-the-moment recommendations, providing tailored support, alternative payment plans, or government assistance options—ensuring a seamless, compassionate experience.
Oodle Car Finance is already leveraging our purpose-built AI to identify and respond to vulnerability in real-time, helping advisors provide fair and effective support. This ensures that vulnerable customers receive exactly the service they need when they need it.
- Automated workflows at scale
With a growing number of consumers at risk, outdated manual processes can’t keep up. AI-driven automation reduces the burden on advisors while ensuring every vulnerable customer gets the care they need. By automating workflows, organisations can ensure vulnerable customers are always routed to the correct resources, teams, or processes, ensuring no one is overlooked and compliance is upheld.
- Intelligent Digital Self-Service & AI Chat
More than a third (37%) of vulnerable consumers want organisations to invest in digital chat. The reason? Many feel uncomfortable discussing sensitive topics with human agents, making AI chat a judgment-free, accessible alternative.
But AI-powered chat services must go beyond surface-level interactions. Smart escalation pathways ensure that vulnerable consumers receive appropriate follow-up, whether through specialist advisors or seamless context capture—eliminating the need for customers to repeatedly share distressing details.
Empathy at Scale: The Future of Customer Support
Vulnerability is a human challenge, but only technology can solve it at scale. AI not only detects vulnerability but enables organisations to move beyond recognition—delivering personalised, proactive, and truly supportive experiences.
The full Changing Face of Consumer Vulnerability 2025 Research Report is available here.
About the Author
Darren Rushworth is President at NICE International. NICE is the worldwide leading provider of both cloud and on-premises enterprise software solutions that empower organizations to make smarter decisions based on advanced analytics of structured and unstructured data. NICE helps organizations of all sizes deliver better customer service, ensure compliance, combat fraud and safeguard citizens. Over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies, are using NICE solutions. www.nice.com.
