Up to half of the jobs in the sector may become obsolete as a consequence of the adoption of these cutting-edge technologies, according to some observers.
One of the top engineering universities has announced that it is testing an artificial intelligence product and anticipates going live in the next two to three months. As a consequence, the contact center has stopped doing regular chores.
The newest iterations of artificial intelligence (AI), like Google's Gemini and OpenAI's GPT-4o, might endanger the established business model of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector as the competition among Big Tech firms to control AI is intensifying.
Up to half of the jobs in the sector may become obsolete as a consequence of the adoption of these cutting-edge technologies, according to some observers.
The introduction of Microsoft-backed OpenAI's GPT-4o ('o' stands for omni) has caused a stir in a number of businesses, most notably the BPO sector. The most recent iteration of OpenAI's model, which underpins ChatGPT, has real-time conversational speech in addition to voice, text, and vision reasoning capabilities.
Rafee Tarafdar, chief technology officer of Infosys, previously told Moneycontrol that the company's existing apps are already enhancing customer service representatives. AI is, for example, increasing linguistic skills and responsiveness in contact centers.
"There will be a change in focus where they will prioritize higher-value creative work instead of the regular work, which will gradually be eliminated," Tarafdar said.
According to an HR specialist, half of the job functions may become obsolete even if AI won't automate any junior-level executive jobs. He continued by saying that BPO firms would evaluate and fund workers who possess learning potential.
Aditya Mishra, MD and CEO of employment company CIEL HR, said, "People who are not able to learn, who are not showing an objective to learn, and who are not prepared to learn, will have to be let go."
The price element
Early adopters of AI in the industry might gain a competitive edge by dramatically lowering costs and improving service delivery. However, Mishra said that businesses which oppose incorporating AI may find themselves at a disadvantage, much as banks that did not adjust to computerization in the past.
According to Kapil Joshi, deputy CEO of Quess IT Staffing, this highlights the critical need to retrain workers in more recent technology so they can transition from transactional to more analytical and decision-making jobs. According to Joshi, reskilling is crucial for companies trying to strike a balance between integrating AI and human skills. It is not an alternative.
A prestigious engineering institution claims to be testing an AI product at its core, where students are fostered, and anticipates going live in the next two to three months, which would mean that its contact center would stop doing regular work. Thus, the institution will save money as a result of the transfer.
"I only need to put AI there and train it using my database and information; I don't need to put a human there. AI might provide better and more effective answers to questions, according to Lovely Professional University vice president Aman Mittal.
This paradigm is scalable to the BPO industry, where AI can do routine jobs, freeing up human agents to work on responsibilities that need strategic thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence.
Limitations imposed
Chief executive officer Neeti Sharma of TeamLease Digital, on the other hand, points out that artificial intelligence has inherent limits. According to her, AI does well on mundane jobs but finds it difficult to handle situations demanding emotional intelligence and complex comprehension.
For example, handling a furious client or resolving complicated problems often need a human touch that AI is unable to duplicate. The irreplaceable nature of human connection continues to be a major obstacle to the full automation of customer support positions.
Analysts and specialists have not yet determined if the new Voice Mode in the GPT-4o app, which enables voice discussions with ChatGPT, is beneficial.
Sharma continues, "There would be many geographic and demographic biases given these large language models originate from the West." As an example, whereas red is considered lucky in certain parts of Southeast Asia, this may not be the case in other nations.
Thus, envision a scenario where someone uploads a photo from South Korea and this model indicates that it depicts a terrible area, aura, or negative energy. Thus, bias mitigation has to be included, and doing so is difficult, according to Sharma.
Is cost-cutting a fallacy?
Furthermore, at first look, the promise of cost reductions via AI seems quite appealing. Nonetheless, one other expert contends that this viewpoint ignores substantial hidden expenses. "Because it's not a code, which requires an initial outlay of funds. There are costs associated with each inquiry you submit to it, according to Satya Gupta, president of the VLSI society of India.
"There's a cost associated with asking a question of any GPT engine, including Gemini and ChatGPT, as it requires the use of hardware and energy," Gupta said.
AI systems' rising sophistication and power consumption mean that their energy costs may eventually catch up to, if not surpass, those of human labor. "Previously, the amount of energy used by a computer system was not a major concern, but given the way AI is consuming energy, someone has to figure out how much using AI will cost compared to hiring a human worker to do the same task," Gupta said.
However, some analysts believe that in the near future, the implementation of capabilities like those found in Google's Gemini or GPT-4o will have a more significant and comprehensive effect on staffing plans and budgets. According to Prasadh MS, director of workforce research at Xpheno, "the impact will be felt positively at employees' desks while they start having GPT-powered digital twins working beside them and undertaking heavy lift/labor-intensive tasks."
He continues by saying that the addition of GPT-4o-like capabilities will increase the sector's service capabilities.
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