- More than half of Internet users abandon digital applications if they have to wait longer than 10 seconds
- When it comes to AI, streaming, gaming, and payments, most users do not tolerate delays
- Over 40 percent of Germans have less digital patience today than they used to
Frankfurt (Germany). Internet users in Germany are increasingly losing patience: More than half (56 percent) abandon digital applications if they have to wait just a few seconds. Expectations are particularly high for applications using artificial intelligence. This is shown by a representative YouGov survey* commissioned by the Internet Exchange operator DE-CIX.
When it comes to AI, the demand for real-time performance is clear: 54 percent of users expect a response within a few seconds, including seven percent who expect an almost immediate reaction of no more than two seconds. Only 27 percent are willing to wait longer than ten seconds – for instance, if that improves the quality of the response. With new technologies like AI, expectations are increasingly shifting toward real-time performance. 43 percent of respondents say they have less patience with digital applications today than they did a few years ago.
Load times are becoming a decisive success factor
Patience is also limited when it comes to traditional digital services: 56 percent of respondents wait no more than ten seconds for a website or online service to fully load, and abandon applications if they respond too slowly. Fast loading times are thus becoming a key criterion for the success of digital offerings.
Expectations are equally high for data-intensive applications such as streaming or online gaming: nearly two-thirds of users (64 percent) wait a maximum of 20 seconds for a video to start. When it comes to gaming, 84 percent of players say that lag negatively impacts their user experience. In addition, 41 percent of respondents say they are especially annoyed by long loading times when streaming, followed by online payments (37 percent) and downloads and system updates (34 percent). For more than half (53 percent), the speed of a digital service influences their confidence in its quality.
“Germans’ digital patience is waning – regardless of whether it’s websites, streaming, gaming, or AI applications,” says Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “What is often underestimated here is that speed has become a sign of quality for many users. When applications take too long, trust evaporates. The survey clearly shows that real-time usage is no longer an optional feature, but a basic requirement for digital offerings. With an increasing number of data-intensive applications, the demand on digital infrastructure to deliver content reliably and without noticeable delays is also rising.”
About the survey:
*The data in this survey is based on online interviews with members of the YouGov panel who agreed to participate in advance. For this survey, a total of 2,090 people were interviewed between April 13 and 15, 2026, of whom 1,752 were users of digital services (“Internet users”). The survey was quota-based according to age, gender, and region, and the results were subsequently weighted accordingly. The results are representative of the resident population in Germany aged 18 and older.
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