Sowmyanarayan Sampath, the Executive Vice President and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, dives into how AI is revolutionizing telecom operations. He discusses AI's significant role in enhancing customer care and optimizing network services. The conversation highlights the integration of large language models and their transformative potential, along with the importance of compliance and human oversight. Sampath also shares insights on the future of AI in the industry, emphasizing its value chain and ethical considerations in deploying AI technologies.
Verizon's strategic application of AI in customer care has significantly improved operational efficiency, with up to 65% of inquiries resolved autonomously.
The integration of AI into network operations allows Verizon to enhance self-optimizing capabilities and bolster cybersecurity through predictive analytics.
Deep dives
Telecom Investments Amid AI Growth
The discussion highlights the contrasting investment dynamics within the telecom industry, particularly in the wake of advancing AI technologies. It points out that major hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon feel compelled to overinvest due to their massive market capitalizations, where underinvestment can significantly jeopardize their operations. In contrast, companies in the middle tier, such as data center and chip manufacturers, face the risks of over-investing with uncertain demand, where market survival is a possibility for many. Verizon, as an applied AI user, aims for careful investments that yield solid returns, distinguishing itself from the heavy spending observed in other industry sectors.
The Role of Inference Costs and AI Technologies
The advancements in inference costs, particularly from the introduction of the DeepSeq model, signify a major shift in AI capabilities and access. With inference expenses drastically reduced, it opens avenues for Verizon to leverage AI technologies across its operations more cost-effectively. The speaker draws attention to the swift price reductions of leading language models, paralleling historical trends in semiconductor pricing to suggest that similar reductions in AI processing costs may be underway. This trend positions companies like Verizon to effectively utilize these innovations in a scalable manner, enhancing their service offerings and operational efficiency.
Leveraging AI in Customer Care Operations
Verizon has implemented AI solutions extensively within its customer care framework to optimize efficiency and enhance customer interactions. By deploying AI tools across their vast network of call centers, they have enhanced the process from call routing to real-time information retrieval, ultimately improving customer satisfaction rates. Features like the AI-powered personal research assistant facilitate quicker resolution of customer queries, contributing to significant call deflection rates where 60-65% of inquiries are resolved autonomously. Through this strategic integration of AI, Verizon aims to refine its overall customer experience while ensuring staff remain empowered rather than replaced.
AI's Impact on Network Operations and Security
The integration of AI into network operations at Verizon presents substantial enhancements, particularly in self-optimizing network capabilities. With advancements in AI, the ability to manage and operate telecom networks will become increasingly efficient, allowing for adaptive adjustments based on real-time conditions, such as traffic variations during events. Additionally, AI offers significant contributions toward bolstering cybersecurity, enabling predictive analytics to assess and respond to potential threats more effectively. This comprehensive approach ensures that Verizon remains proactive in maintaining robust network security, which is crucial as AI technology continues to proliferate.
Verizon is the biggest wireless-service provider in the US, with its business largely centered on the consumer segment. Wireless is a high-touch business, which has prompted the company and peers to deploy AI across its customer-care operations to drive greater efficiencies and higher cross-selling. In this episode of the Tech Disruptors podcast, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon’s Consumer Group, speaks with Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and John Butler about the company’s current deployment of AI and plans to further improve its operations with the technology. Sampath discusses AI’s use in customer care and provides some thoughts on what the future holds for its broader deployment in network operations, software development and the radio-access network. He also offers insight on the AI ecosystem today, where it’s headed and how AI models are quickly commoditizing.
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