Yoni Epstein | How BPO leaders can outwit AI disruption and political uncertainty

There is a growing fear that the outsourcing industry is under threat, not only from the possibility of replacing live agents with AI, but also from policy changes in America, like the proposed bill called the Keep Call Centers in America Act, that aim to discourage companies from moving customer service operations outside of US borders.

As the CEO of one of the most technology-leading BPO, business process outsourcing, firms in the country and one of the industry’s earliest adopters of AI, I would like to share some unique insight into this question.

The reality is that we must balance the use of AI with human interaction to ensure the customer’s experience is world-class and the agents who are delivering those experiences remain productive and efficient. This is the only way to outwit the challenges and shifts that continue to rock the global landscape, as well as the changing expectations of both customers and the industry’s workforce.

First, it is understandable that workers are concerned. The BPO sector is one of the largest employers in Jamaica. According to analysts, an estimated 60,000 Jamaicans are employed in domestic BPO operations and any significant job losses could be a setback for the nation. It’s a fear of the unknown about how AI technology will affect jobs.

Therefore, it’s important that we as company leaders communicate frequently and effectively about organisational AI deployments. Let your workforce know the ways in which jobs will change, if they are expected to change at all, and then elevate their skills so they can capitalise on new AI-driven careers.

Second, to understand why a human replacement is not likely to happen, it’s critical to understand what AI can and cannot do. There has been much hype around AI, but the reality is that most of these tools have been primarily used to enhance individual productivity. Large language models, or LLMs, are simply not sophisticated enough to replace human agents and even some of the most sophisticated companies are not deploying AI for massive organisational disruption.

A recent MIT study was quoted as saying that although AI was best used for basic functions, such as drafting emails or customer service scripts, “for anything complex or long-term, humans still dominate by 9-to-1 margins” because, unlike humans, “most GenAI systems do not retain feedback, adapt to context, or improve over time”.

The MIT research found that, because of its fundamental limitations, there was a limited potential of layoffs from the use of GenAI. Its inability to understand subtle nuances in customer behaviour, to problem-solve creatively or to handle emotionally charged interactions mean less than 25 per cent of industries have seen significant workforce disruptions from AI adoption.

Customers will continue to desire the connection and empathy that a human agent brings to an interaction. Surveys show that if offered the same wait times, 82 per cent of customers will choose to wait for a human agent versus AI because AI alone cannot offer the same approach.

What AI requires of us is to adapt and redefine the role of the customer support agent. As AI gets increasingly helpful at answering basic inquiries or solving simple issues, it will involve augmenting agent capabilities and training them to do more than answer phones and chats. It means teaching agents to resolve complex problems, to understand data analysis and data science, and how to use these insights to deliver more effective services.

Here in the Caribbean, the BPO sector is one of the only industries actively adopting and using AI in its operations to compete globally. Therefore, the industry is preparing workers for the future and positioning them for job security in the long run, more so than most other industries. This only increases the industry’s value as global use of AI in the workplace spreads rapidly.

Proposed legislation like the United States’ Keep Call Centers bill makes us even more aware of how AI must be strategically used because it will require American companies to disclose to the customer when AI is integrated into support functions.

Companies that think they can cut costs or solve domestic staffing shortages by relying on AI for much of their customer service could face an unintended public backlash. They may find that consumers are more willing to interact with friendly nearshore agents rather than limited and impersonal chatbots.

As an operator, I am not worried about the proposed 2025 updates to the act (originally introduced in 2021). The Keep Call Centers act’s political appeal will most likely not stand up against the difficulty of its implementation, and the economic fallout will outweigh the expected gains. My focus is on ensuring my workforce is consistently providing world-class experiences, even outperforming US-based agents.

Rather than lamenting over the potential problems AI could bring to the industry, we at itel are busy preparing our team for the future while maintaining productivity and consistent high-quality performance.

What we are learning is that ‘AI-only’ strategies are not loyalty-driving strategies and there will always be a place for the human agent in CX operations. To ensure our local BPO industry remains competitive, we must invest in AI training that will not only help to build the individual but also the resilience of the nation. As business leaders, this must become a priority if we are to win and retain the higher value jobs that will still need to be outsourced.

By investing in teaching AI skills, even at the most junior agent level, we will prepare our workforces for change and arm them with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. Ultimately, we can capitalise on AI disruption and not suffer from it, if we understand how to combine the efficiency of AI for better self-service while teaching agents how to use AI to deliver more personalised support.

Job loss is not inevitable, but job evolution is if we are to survive a changing global outsourcing dynamic. Our biggest risk is being left behind if the world moves to higher-value, AI-augmented outsourcing and we do not.

Yoni Epstein is CEO and founder of Outsourcing Management Limited, which trades as itel.yoni.epstein@itelinternational.com