UK customer service roles shift as AI handles routine work

Traders Union
All News
Business & Wealth
UK customer service AI shift

Highlights

ArvatoConnect aims for 70% of interactions handled by technology and reports an AI tool for the Crown Commercial Service delivers 97% accuracy in supplier viability assessments.
MaxContact's 2025/26 U.K. Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report shows over 50% of decision-makers report increased agent workloads, up from about 40% in 2024.
As AI takes over routine tasks, human agents are left managing more complex and difficult cases, driving calls for revised performance metrics and raising concerns about service quality and agent stress.

AI tools reshape frontline service work

As reported by CNBC, workers and executives across customer service say AI is already changing how contact centers operate, with automation increasingly taking over note-taking, disclosures and other repetitive tasks. For Kaylee Harris, who works in customer service for a credit card company, that means spending less time on administration and more time focusing on each customer.

But the transition is not producing the same result everywhere. Shannon, who works in customer service for a telecommunications company in Cardiff, Wales, says AI-generated notes at her workplace are often full of errors, forcing her to write her own instead. She also says that at a previous property services employer, managers told staff to use ChatGPT when they did not know an answer, while AI agents booked appointments and passed more difficult cases to human staff when they could not meet customer requests.

That handoff can leave employees dealing mainly with the most difficult interactions. Nikola Mrkšić, CEO and co-founder of London-based PolyAI, says contact-center agents often face frustrated customers, strict performance metrics and limited authority to solve problems, arguing that AI can help absorb part of that burden. Virgin Media O2 says the AI voice agent it launched in September is designed to handle routine issues so human advisors can spend more time on complex or sensitive cases.

At ArvatoConnect, CEO Debra Maxwell says the company is targeting a mix in which 70% of interactions are handled by technology and 30% by people. She says one AI tool developed for the Crown Commercial Service generates draft supplier viability assessments with 97% accuracy, cutting hours of manual data extraction.

Workload pressure and service risks grow

As AI takes on more standard tasks, researchers and workers say human agents may be left with a larger share of the hardest cases, especially when automated systems fail. That pressure comes as MaxContact's 2025/26 U.K. Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report finds that more than half of surveyed contact-center decision-makers say agent workloads have increased, up from about 40% in 2024, although the survey does not identify the cause of the rise.

Amanda Jones, who researches organizational behavior and the future of work at King's College London, says AI could intensify call-center jobs if workers increasingly lose the simpler tasks that provide brief breaks between more demanding interactions. She also warns that productivity gains may bring tougher performance targets, while automation of routine work could reduce the experience workers traditionally build before moving into more complex tasks.

Maxwell says this shift may require employers to rethink how they measure staff performance, with average handling times potentially rising as human agents manage more complicated requests. Instead of focusing on scripts or arbitrary time targets, she says assessment should center on whether agents understand customer needs, use sound judgment and reach the right resolution.

Some frontline workers remain unconvinced that faster automation will improve service quality. Harris says AI tools can be helpful despite glitches, but worries that the broader push for speed favors quantity over quality and leaves customers frustrated. Shannon says AI has value but should not replace real customer service, arguing that human interaction still matters when companies want customers to feel genuinely supported.

Our earlier article on a KPMG survey of U.S. CEOs examined how AI agents are already delivering efficiency and growth gains, even as only a small share of leaders call them truly transformational so far. It also highlighted that most executives expect AI adoption to go hand in hand with continued hiring, retraining, and sustained investment in AI infrastructure rather than straightforward job cuts.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.