Dan Schulman, the CEO at Verizon, has reaffirmed his message on the widespread impact of AI on the workforce. His belief is that the technology will replace “a large percentage” of work handled by customer service representatives.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Schulman said AI would cause “disruption in certain job functions” but pointed to customer care as an area where the technology could be applied quickly and effectively.
In his view, the technology could be used to handle simple customer queries, including recovering a lost password or checking a billing amount. For more complex requests, Schulman said human employees and AI agents would work together.
Schulman also cited AI’s role in network security, telling Bloomberg Verizon does “a lot for the critical infrastructure of the U.S.” and that AI tools would help the company “protect it”.
The chief highlighted Verizon’s efforts to deploy AI as part of a wider push to improve customer experience and sharpen the company’s performance. He added the operator would not raise prices without delivering value to customers, stating: “Anybody can compete on price… It’s about competing on other parts of the value proposition, where you can actually differentiate yourself.”
Verizon introduced promotions and service guarantees last year to combat customer fatigue and better compete with rivals including AT&T and T-Mobile U.S.
Big, bureaucratic company
In April, Schulman urged fellow leaders to be open with employees about the impact AI would have on workforces, telling the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) the technology will reshape the company and that “being realistic, telling the truth, as best you can, is essential”. Last year, the operator scrapped more than 13,000 jobs, subsequently setting aside $20 million to help reskill employees for the AI era.
According to Schulman around 7,000 employees have already applied for the trainings, which include teaching staff effective prompt writing and AI agent creation. He added he is “spending a lot of time down in DC” speaking with government officials about responsible AI use.
Beyond technology, the CEO also suggested internal culture remains part of the challenge. “Verizon is a big, bureaucratic company,” he said. “It loves its processes. It loves to show its work. But I’m about outcome and how fast can we move the company forward.”
He explained it had taken time to steer Verizon towards a more innovative approach, adding he wants the company to be less risk averse in order to better serve customers.
Source: Mobile World Live
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