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A proposed U.S. bid to bring back call centers and customer service operations, outsourced notably to India and the Philippines over the past few decades, could transform the experience of American consumers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deadline for public comments on the issue ended on June 22. It is not clear when the regulator might propose new policies or laws.
But like everything else these days, AI promises to intervene early and perhaps decisively.
Companies such as DoorDash have started deploying AI-powered voice agents capable of handling customer inquiries, delivery issues, and order management tasks that once required large overseas call-center workforces.
Such technology is developed by companies such as Giga, which is creating AI agents that can listen, speak, access enterprise databases, update records, and resolve customer-service requests autonomously. As enterprises continue to adopt these systems, the economics of global outsourcing could shift from manual labor to software automation, creating a larger long-term challenge for the call-center industries in India and the Philippines.
According to Gizmodo, recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that employment for customer service representatives declined by more than 130,000 workers in a single year, a 4.8% contraction that likely reflects growing automation.
The economics behind the claim are also difficult to ignore. An AI-powered customer-service interaction can cost as little as $0.10 to $0.70, compared with roughly $2 to $5 for a similar interaction handled by an offshore human agent. An added advantage is that AI agents are available 24/7.
The Indian software group Nasscom’s chairman, Rajesh Nambiar, had warned as early as in 2024 that many process-driven call center roles could be replaced by AI engines. Today, his foresight adds credence to the view that AI, rather than government regulations, might pose the biggest threat to traditional outsourcing.
“Our view is that the focus should be on distinguishing between trusted providers and bad actors, and not on onshore and offshore delivery,” Shivendra Singh, vice president and head of global trade development at Nasscom, told The Straits Times, a Singapore daily.
An estimated 1.8 million jobs in the Philippines and 1.6 million in India could be at risk, along with millions of dollars in revenues.
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