Contact centers choose workforce redesign over AI layoffs

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Contact centers are rejecting the dominant AI layoff narrative reshaping global business, with 85% of service and support leaders expanding human agent responsibilities rather than cutting jobs, according to a new Gartner survey of more than 320 service leaders.

According to a report from CX Dive, the findings push back against fears that AI deployment automatically translates into mass workforce reduction, and instead reveal an industry pivoting toward workforce redesign as the dominant strategy through the first quarter of 2027.

The shift carries direct implications for United States enterprise buyers, BPO providers, and outsourcing executives recalibrating how AI integrates into customer service operations.

Why contact centers are keeping human agents in the loop

Only 31% of service leaders have implemented or are planning AI-related layoffs, and Gartner found that those layoffs are most often driven by the need to save money for AI investment rather than by AI fully replacing human work.

Simple, repetitive tasks are being automated through self-service, while AI augments human agents with capabilities like knowledge management and call summarization — driving efficiency gains without eliminating the need for human judgment.

“They are far more likely to be pursuing workforce redesign rather than role elimination,” Kathy Ross, VP analyst in Gartner’s customer service and support practice, told CX Dive.

“We are seeing some success and value with AI, but it’s not completely replacing all of the tasks within a human agent’s work,” Ross added.

“The customer service and support leaders feel that their human agents are still very, very valuable in the equation of service and support,” Ross further explained.

Hiring freezes, skills shifts, and the rise of higher-value work

Instead of cutting headcount through layoffs, contact centers are reducing workforce size through attrition. Half of the service leaders surveyed say they have or plan to pause hiring within the next 18 months, while 84% are revising the skills or experience required for new agent hires.

More than three-quarters are or are planning on shifting agents into different roles within service and support, signaling a systemic redefinition of what it means to work in customer service.

“At Kustomer, we don’t currently believe — and the models will change one day — but right now, based on the current technology, we don’t believe in a world of zero humans. We do see a world of reduced humans,” said Kustomer CEO Brad Birnbaum.

Birnbaum echoed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s now-famous warning: “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.”

The Gartner findings reflect a broader recalibration unfolding across the global outsourcing industry, where BPO providers are racing to reposition their delivery models around AI-augmented agents rather than headcount-driven service.

Providers that build hybrid workforces capable of higher-value, relationship-driven interactions are positioned to capture enterprise contracts as Western firms move past the binary of “humans versus AI” — while those still selling labor capacity at scale face mounting pressure to evolve toward the workforce model now defining the future of customer experience.