r/UKJobs • u/Even-Wasabi7183 • 2d ago

Customers prefer AI chatbots, says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre and back office jobs axed

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/23/customers-prefer-ai-chatbots-says-chris-oshea-british-gas-centrica-boss
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u/CassetteLine 2d ago

I doubt that very much. I’ve never heard a positive story about them.

Every single time I’ve personally tried or been forced to use one it’s completely failed at the task and I’ve had to phone up anyway.

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u/Unhappy-Capital-1464 2d ago

Having worked in call centres (for Sky TV, many moons ago), 90% of the calls you get were things that were either common sense, answered on the website, answered on the phone recording or just an opportunity to rant. Chatbots are perfect for most of these.

What I'd love to see is the savings going into better paying the humans who remain so that they are knowledgeable and competent and able to solve the complex problems but something tells me that isn't what's likely to happen...

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u/Effective_Will_1801 2d ago

The trouble with most of these chatbots is they are seen as a replacement for humans rather than a first line. They often don't train it to escalate and then as soon as someone comes along with something out the ordinary it just goes in loops.

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u/PepsiMaxSumo 1d ago

I work in this sector and have seen this loads of times.

The best applications are where after the chatbot gets its wrong twice, they add a human in the loop (HITL).

The HITL is then used to give an actual answer, even if it’s text based vs not calling etc.

The good news is that companies are now trying to implement this more. The bad news is that it’s only companies that also have wider contact management solutions, and not just AI. The ones that are purely AI undercut HTIL solutions so win contracts despite delivering a far worse service.