AI in customer service: routine tasks go to bots, hard cases and burnout stay with humans

CNBC spoke to support workers who say AI handles routine tasks but flawed AI notes and a flood of complex cases add to their workload. Virgin Media O2 and ArvatoConnect are deploying voice agents, while researchers warn of work intensification and lost experience for harder cases.

• ArvatoConnect aims for 70% of interactions handled by tech and 30% by people
• Its AI tool for the Crown Commercial Service hits 97% accuracy on supplier assessments
• Over half of surveyed UK contact centers reported rising agent workloads
• Virgin Media O2 launched an AI voice agent in September