'Customers prefer AI chatbots,' says British Gas owner as call centre jobs axed
‘We expect more jobs to grow around our digital interface,’ said Chris O’Shea. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PAView image in fullscreen‘We expect more jobs to grow around our digital interface,’ said Chris O’Shea. “What we’re seeing just now is over 90% of our customers actually use digital channels in the first instance, and we’ve seen a 20% reduction in customer calls, so this simply reflects the changing customer behaviour.“We’ve got to reflect the changes in customer behaviour.
- ▪‘We expect more jobs to grow around our digital interface,’ said Chris O’Shea.
- ▪Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PAView image in fullscreen‘We expect more jobs to grow around our digital interface,’ said Chris O’Shea.
- ▪“What we’re seeing just now is over 90% of our customers actually use digital channels in the first instance, and we’ve seen a 20% reduction in customer calls, so this simply reflects the changing customer behaviour.“We’ve got to reflect th
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
‘We expect more jobs to grow around our digital interface,’ said Chris O’Shea. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PAView image in fullscreen‘We expect more jobs to grow around our digital interface,’ said Chris O’Shea. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PACentrica‘Customers prefer AI chatbots,’ says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre jobs axedCEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger marginsJillian Ambrose Energy correspondentThu 23 Jul 2026 12.45 EDTLast modified on Thu 23 Jul 2026 14.42 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleThe owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres.Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at the Guardian.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from the Guardian
