American Customer Satisfaction Index

What American Customer Satisfaction Index does

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), operated as ACSI LLC and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a B2B research and benchmarking company founded in 1994 by Claes Fornell at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. ACSI produces the only national cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction in the United States using a proprietary multivariable modeling system based on cause-and-effect methodology that links satisfaction drivers to retention and financial outcomes. The company generates revenue through four streams: one-time research report sales (covering restaurants, finance, telecommunications, travel, retail, healthcare, energy, government, manufacturing, and AI/interactive media), recurring ACSI Benchmarking subscriptions for enterprise clients, ACSI Logo Licensing royalties for top-performing brands, and ACSI Insight managed-service engagements tailored to client needs. Distribution occurs through a direct enterprise sales motion (Request A Demo), self-service online report purchases, and an exclusive U.S. reseller arrangement with CFI Group (Claes Fornell International).

ACSI serves three primary customer segments: large enterprise business organizations seeking benchmarking and strategic improvement guidance, the investment community using ACSI scores as a financial indicator for portfolio construction and risk assessment, and government agencies evaluating policy and service delivery. The organization maintains founding partnerships with the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and has expanded internationally through an International ACSI Licensing program. With 11-50 employees, ACSI operates as a focused, mature research franchise rather than a high-growth technology vendor, publishing a regular cadence of annual and quarterly studies that feed both its data flywheel and its brand authority.

Name

American Customer Satisfaction Index

Legal name

ACSI LLC

Website

https://theacsi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ACSI is a privately held U.S. research and benchmarking company founded in 1994 that produces the only national cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction, serving enterprises, investors, and government agencies with proprietary econometric modeling, annual industry studies, and benchmarking subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Report Sales: ACSI sells research reports and studies covering various industries including restaurants, retail, telecommunications, finance, travel, and more. Reports are available for download or purchase through their website.
2. ACSI Benchmarking Solutions: Enterprise-level strategic benchmarking solutions providing actionable insights and direct comprehensive benchmarking against competitors for strategic improvements.
3. ACSI Logo Licensing: Licensing of the ACSI brand and logo for companies that achieve top performance in customer satisfaction, providing third-party validation and recognition.
4. ACSI Insight: Scalable solutions leveraging ACSI technology, tailored to unique needs, goals, and budget of enterprise clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACSI is the only national cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction in the United States. The company operates a proprietary multivariable modeling system to measure customer satisfaction drivers and outcomes, publishing annual and quarterly industry studies and offering enterprise benchmarking, logo licensing, and tailored insight solutions. Its core commercial offerings are ACSI Benchmarking, ACSI Insight, and ACSI Logo Licensing, supported by a portfolio of industry research reports.

Product overview

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a national cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction that represents the U.S. economy. ACSI operates as a single unified platform providing benchmarking, logo licensing, and scalable insight solutions. The core product portfolio consists of three main offerings: ACSI® Benchmarking (strategic benchmarking against competitors), ACSI® Logo Licensing (third-party validation for top performers), and ACSI® Insight (tailored analytical solutions). ACSI also publishes extensive annual and quarterly research studies across 12 industry sectors including Restaurants, Retail, Finance, Telecommunications, Travel, Health Care, Energy Utilities, Government, Manufacturing, Consumer Shipping, AI/Interactive Media, and Nondurable Products. These studies provide industry-specific customer satisfaction scores, rankings, and trend analysis. The company also offers International Licensing for global markets. ACSI's methodology is based on a proprietary multivariable modeling system developed at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ACSI Benchmarking Strategic benchmarking solution that provides actionable insights and comprehensive benchmarking against competitors across industries, used by large enterprises to guide customer experience improvement.
• ACSI Logo Licensing Licensing program that allows companies achieving top ACSI scores to use the ACSI logo for marketing and recognition purposes, providing third-party validation.
• ACSI Insight Scalable, tailored analytics solutions leveraging ACSI methodology, customized to enterprise client needs, goals, and budget.
• International ACSI Licensing Global licensing program enabling international partners to adapt the ACSI methodology and benchmarking capabilities for non-U.S. markets.
• ACSI Restaurant and Food Delivery Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction across quick-service restaurants, full-service restaurants, and food delivery services, with industry rankings and trend analysis.
• ACSI Finance Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction across banks, financial advisors, online investment platforms, insurance, and other financial services sectors.
• ACSI Telecommunications Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction for internet service providers, wireless carriers, cell phones, and smartwatches.
• ACSI Retail and Consumer Shipping Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction across grocery stores, convenience stores, and e-commerce/consumer shipping retailers.
• ACSI Travel Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction across airlines and travel industry sectors.
• ACSI AI Platforms Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction with AI platforms, interactive media, and subscription entertainment services.
• National ACSI Quarterly Index Quarterly national customer satisfaction index measuring aggregate satisfaction across the U.S. economy and tracking trends over time.
• ACSI Energy Utilities Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction for the energy utilities sector.
• ACSI Health Care Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction for the health care sector.
• ACSI Government Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction with government services.
• ACSI Manufacturing Study Annual research report measuring customer satisfaction for the manufacturing sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies with high ACSI scores typically demonstrate strong stock market performance
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered founding partner and flagship.

• ASQ (American Society for Quality)founding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner of ACSI, contributing expertise in quality management and measurement methodologies.
• University of Michigan Ross School of Businessfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding academic partner providing research methodology and academic rigor to the ACSI methodology. ACSI was founded by Claes Fornell at the Ross School of Business.
• CFI Group (Claes Fornell International)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive reseller of the ACSI in the United States. CFI Group deploys ACSI methodology and technology to help organizations improve customer satisfaction and business performance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Medallia: Medallia is an enterprise customer experience analytics platform that competes for the same CX budget pool as ACSI Insight. While it does not publish industry indices, its benchmarking and NPS-adjacent capabilities compete directly for ACSI's benchmarking revenue.
• Qualtrics: Qualtrics (acquired by SAP) is a broad experience-management platform that includes customer satisfaction benchmarking and survey-based measurement. Overlaps with ACSI Benchmarking and ACSI Insight as a scaled enterprise alternative, though it does not publish a national cross-industry index.
• Kantar: Kantar is a global market research and consumer insights firm with customer satisfaction, brand, and CX practices. Comparable in scale and methodology breadth to ACSI's annual studies, but oriented around custom client research rather than a single national cross-industry index.
• Forrester Research: Forrester is a large research and advisory firm covering customer experience, with published CX benchmarks used by enterprises. It overlaps with ACSI's enterprise subscriber base on benchmarking content but operates a much broader research portfolio.
• Gartner: Gartner is the largest IT and business research/advisory firm and the de facto benchmark authority in adjacent technology categories. Its subscription research model overlaps with ACSI Benchmarking's enterprise motion and competes for executive mind-share.

Others

• CFI Group: CFI Group is ACSI's exclusive U.S. reseller and deploys ACSI methodology for enterprise CX projects. It uses the same proprietary model and competes for adjacent measurement engagements, while also functioning as ACSI's primary go-to-market arm.
• Bain & Company: Bain & Company developed and owns the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology, the most widely deployed customer satisfaction measure. It is a methodology-licensing peer to ACSI's proprietary multivariable model and competes for the same enterprise benchmarking narrative.

Emerging players

• Verint: Verint provides customer engagement and experience analytics, including satisfaction scoring and benchmarking tools. Overlaps with ACSI Insight on the enterprise benchmarking analytics side, though Verint focuses on operational contact-center deployment rather than cross-industry indices.
• NICE (Satmetrix): NICE acquired Satmetrix, co-creator of the Net Promoter System, and now offers enterprise NPS measurement and benchmarking. Overlaps with ACSI's Logo Licensing and benchmarking use cases, particularly for brands seeking third-party CX validation.

Direct peers

• J.D. Power: J.D. Power is the most direct comparable — an independent benchmarking firm producing industry-specific customer satisfaction studies (automotive, finance, telecom, etc.) consumed by enterprises, investors, and media. Closest substitute for ACSI's core benchmarking franchise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-customer-satisfaction-index-acsi-
• Xx.com/theACSI
• Facebookfacebook.com/theACSI

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Customer Satisfaction Index