Verizon Communications is reportedly placing a significant bet on artificial intelligence (AI) as its next big growth driver.
The company, which is the largest retail wireless carrier in the United States, believes in AI's ability to double its network over the next five years, Verizon Consumer CEO Soumya Narayan Sampath said on Tuesday (May 14). told Bloomberg in an interview posted.
According to the report, while video traffic has been the main driver of growth for Verizon's network in recent years, Sampat predicts AI demand will soon overtake it. Generating large-scale data through AI tools requires efficient transmission from data centers to end users for analysis and back to data centers. To meet this growing demand, Verizon aims to provide a robust network infrastructure.
Verizon also expects AI to transform various aspects of its operations, the report said.
The company has already integrated AI software from Google into its customer service operations. According to the report, this technology has been deployed to empower 40,000 customer relations agents, enabling them to serve customers better.
For example, the AI tool listens to representatives' calls, detecting human emotions and tone. According to the report, if a customer appears frustrated, a supervisor can receive a notification and intervene to help.
In addition, routine processes such as bill inquiries and payment details will be automated, allowing customer service agents to focus on more complex tasks, such as international travel or Assisting customers with account changes.
According to the report, Verizon also plans to leverage AI to offer customers personalized recommendations and curated offers in real-time.
The report states that the company has strategically positioned its infrastructure to handle the expected increase in AI-related traffic. It has invested in acquiring spectrum to support the growing demand for data transmission.
During the company's most recent earnings call, which was held on April 22, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg focused some attention on the company's AI strategy, saying that it is the mobile edge computing of the company's network. There is a need to create an AI-centric revenue stream by commercializing the capabilities.
“Creative AI workloads represent a long-term opportunity for us,” Westberg said. “As we expand our network and leverage our efficiency, we're also making Verizon a more efficient organization.”