Pine Reveals Its 2025 ‘Consumer Friction’ Index

via Business Wire

Data from thousands of Pine requests highlights where Americans face the biggest billing, refund and subscription headaches

Pine, the trusted AI agent for consumers’ digital chores that delivers results, today revealed its Consumer Friction Index – the top companies people use Pine for most to lower their bills, seek compensation, cancel subscriptions, correct delivery issues and address other problems that they find too complicated, frustrating or time consuming to fix alone.

The Pine Consumer Friction Index

  1. Xfinity
  2. AT&T
  3. Verizon
  4. Spectrum
  5. T-Mobile
  6. Chase
  7. Amazon
  8. Netflix
  9. GEICO
  10. Delta Air Lines
  11. United Airlines
  12. Progressive

“Pine’s data shows that interacting with America's top businesses has become complex for the average consumer to handle alone. Most people simply don’t have hours to spend resolving a complex bill or a refund,” said Pine CEO Stanley Wei. “The good news is that now people are finding exciting new ways to lower their bills, seek compensation, and cancel unwanted subscriptions to save money and eliminate hassles.”

Consumers Clearly Need Help to Lower Their Communication Services and Insurance Bills

Notably, the top five companies are all internet, TV and phone services providers.

Lowering bills was the top reason people used Pine to interact with these and other companies.

Data shows that 83% of user interactions involving Xfinity focused on bill negotiation. Nearly as many (80%) Pine calls to action related to AT&T had the same purpose. Three-fourths of Pine user outreach to Verizon involved lowering bills. Lowering bills was also the top reason that consumers leveraged Pine to reach out to Spectrum (82%) and T-Mobile (64%). The majority of Pine interactions with insurance companies GEICO and Progressive also involved lowering bills.

“With 67% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, people are increasingly sensitive to recurring charges such as broadband, cable TV and mobile phone charges,” said Wei. “But navigating complex bill structures to ensure you aren’t overpaying is no easy task. That helps explain why a fourth of all Pine prompts from March through mid-November involved lowering bills. Pine has a 93% success rate in negotiating better fees on behalf of consumers.”

Pine lowers consumer bills an average of $400. The company’s trusted AI agent saved one customer $1,800 on their AT&T fiber bill and another user $1,900 on their car insurance.

People Are Using Digital Agents to Get Compensation for Bank Fees, E-Commerce and Travel

More than half of Amazon- and Chase-related Pine prompts sought compensation, a clear sign that consumers now trust AI agents to chase refunds and credits on their behalf.

Compensation was also the leading reason users leveraged Pine to seek compensation from leading airlines Delta, United and American.

“At a time when consumers face soaring grocery, healthcare and housing costs, every dollar counts,” noted Wei. “Pine now makes it easy for people to get refunds for bad experiences or unauthorized charges by making calls, sending email and doing research. This saves consumers considerable time and frustration and empowers people to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.”

For example, under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, if you are involuntarily bumped from an oversold domestic flight, you may be owed up to $2,150 in cash. If your checked bag is lost or badly delayed on a U.S. trip, you can recover up to $4,700 in expenses. Pine can help you save time recovering such compensation.

Pine Users Suffering From Subscription Overload Also Find AI Prompts Can Help Them Detox

Eighty percent of Pine users’ prompts relating to Netflix asked to cancel the streaming service.

That probably doesn’t come as a surprise, as people routinely avoid awkward cancellations. Yet research indicates that more than half (57%) of consumers think they overpay for subscriptions, 40% feel they have too many, and nearly 50% of Gen Z and Millennials feel oversubscribed.

“From streaming services to gym memberships, everything seems to be subscription-based,” added Wei. “Estimates suggest the average American spends hundreds of dollars a month on subscriptions, some of which they may not even want. Yet making the time and dedicating the effort to spend hours online or on the phone canceling subscriptions isn’t an attractive proposition either. Now Pine makes subscription cancellation easy, freeing consumers from unnecessary costs and positioning them for a more financially healthy new year.”

With Pine, consumers have cancelled monthly subscriptions with service provider Xfinity that cost more than $60. As a result, these Pine users saved more than $700 annually.

The research reflects the brands consumers asked Pine to help with most over the course of 2025; it is not a claim of wrongdoing by any company.

About Pine

Pine is the trusted AI agent for consumers’ digital chores that delivers results, saving people time, money and frustration. Pine’s autonomous digital agent calls, emails and operates software to complete real-world tasks, making it simple to negotiate lower bills, get refunds, file complaints, cancel subscriptions, arrange travel and conduct personal communications. Pine is built with bank-level security and transparent privacy controls. It saves consumers 270 minutes on average. With a 93% negotiation success rate, Pine’s innovative solution has already saved consumers more than $3 million. Learn more at Pine.

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