AI agents to reshape how telecoms interact with customers

Generative AI and agentic AI are fundamentally reshaping how telecommunications operators interact with their subscribers, according to a new report from Omdia titled The Future of Customer Experience in Telecoms.

The analysis suggests that the emergence of AI agents acting on behalf of human customers is creating a new market dynamic that requires operators to rethink their core strategies, as price and network quality alone no longer guarantee a competitive advantage.

This significant shift means that telecom operators must now design experiences that work seamlessly for both human beings and their digital proxies, effectively treating these AI agents as customers in their own right.

To help companies navigate this profound transformation, Omdia said that it has developed a five-step customer experience framework designed to guide the industry through several critical transitions.

The framework encourages operators to shift from reactive networks to context-proactive networks and to move away from robotic responses in favour of meaningful engagement.

Furthermore, the guidelines suggest that firms must deliver hyper-personalised services while advancing from basic security measures toward a role of trusted digital stewardship.

The final stage of the proposed transformation aims to turn satisfied customers into vocal advocates for the brand through enhanced service delivery.

“Customer experience and engagement are often used interchangeably, but engagement is just one aspect of the journey”, noted Julia Schindler, Principal Analyst, Strategy, at Omdia.

The next era of telecom customer experience will be defined by building trust, delivering personalised experiences, and creating the conditions for customers to become advocates, the analyst added.

According to the research, customer experience now spans every single touchpoint, ranging from network performance and product design to overall brand reputation.

The report emphasises that managing this experience requires a collective responsibility across all departments rather than being confined to a single team.

Failure to deliver seamless and personalised experiences in core connectivity risks undermining the broader diversification strategies of operators as they move into adjacent markets such as cloud, energy, and security.

By adopting this new mindset, telecom operators can ensure they remain relevant in an increasingly automated world where digital agents play a primary role in consumer decision-making.