“AI in Telco” refers to the set of artificial intelligence technologies, applications and solutions developed specifically for the telecommunications sector. In practice, it is the strategic use of AI to improve all the key areas of a Telco operator, such as:
- Customer care (chatbots, voicebots, virtual assistants)
- Marketing and sales (predictive segmentation, content personalization)
- Network management (optimization and predictive maintenance)
- HR (automation of CV screening, turnover analysis)
- Digitalization of channels (integration with WhatsApp, social media, and voice touchpoints)
- Business intelligence (predictive analysis on customer behavior, churn, etc.)
The term “AI in Telco” is used to indicate a vertical and specialized approach, which takes into account the technical, operational and strategic peculiarities of the Telco world, where volumes, complexity and speed require robust, scalable AI solutions that can be integrated with legacy systems.
AI IN TELCO TRANSFORMS BUSINESS PROCESSES
According to the World Economic Forum’s white paper “Artificial Intelligence in Telecommunications” of February 2025, developed in collaboration with Accenture, the integration of AI – in particular Generative AI – offers telecommunications companies (CSPs) a unique opportunity to rethink business models, increase operational efficiency, improve customer experience and strengthen the security of operations.
In recent years, AI in Telco has assumed an increasingly central role in the telecommunications sector, revolutionizing processes, interaction models and business strategies. Telcos find themselves competing in a highly dynamic market, where pressure on margins, increased customer expectations and the need to operate more efficiently require a profound rethinking of operating methods.
In this context, AI represents a strategic lever to address the main challenges of the sector: improving customer experience, optimizing operating costs and differentiating on the market through increasingly personalized and proactive services.
The aim of this article is to explore how AI in Telco is concretely transforming the world of telecommunications, analyzing its applications in different business areas: from customer care to marketing, from digital sales to human resources, up to social media management and the use of voicebots and predictive models.
TELCO ARE BECOMING “Techo”
The emergence of a new type of organization in the telecommunications sector, known as “techco,” marks a strategic turning point. These “techo” companies, born from the transformation of traditional telcos into agile and digitally advanced entities, promise not only end-to-end process automation and greater operational security, but also highly personalized services capable of responding in real time to customer needs. With a consolidated experience in the adoption of emerging technologies, the sector is now called to make a further evolutionary leap: fully integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as a lever for innovation and competitiveness. Among AI in Telco, GenAI allows to overcome the limits of traditional predictive systems, enabling new features such as dynamic configuration of services, natural interaction with users and proactive network management. In a context of stagnant revenues, fragmented infrastructure and increased cyber threats, this technology represents a key ally in enabling new business models.
HOW AI IN TELCO CONTRIBUTE TO PROFITABILITY
According to the McKinsey report How generative AI could revitalize profitability for telcos Generative AI represents a concrete opportunity for Telcos to regain profitability. According to McKinsey data, some operators are already achieving tangible results:
+40% conversion in marketing campaigns
+25% productivity in call centers
Up to 80% cost reduction in some customer care processes
But the real impact can only be achieved by adopting a holistic, innovative and top management-led approach. This is where Telco AI comes in, capable of supporting profound transformations on a large scale.
The graph from the McKinsey report shows the impact of cost reduction attributed to the use of generative artificial intelligence in various operational domains of telecommunications. The data shows that most companies have achieved cost reductions of between 6% and 20% in the main areas of application, with a significant concentration in the customer service and network sectors.
Adoption and effectiveness vary across domains, with support functions showing the most limited impact. These data suggest that telcos are focusing their gen AI investments primarily in areas that offer the greatest potential for cost savings and operational improvement.
According to McKinsey data, customer service is the domain with the highest estimated impact (35%) and the one that catalyzes the interest of almost all decision makers in the sector (85%). Applications range from conversational chatbots to agent copilots, to the automation of activities such as invoicing or call-routing. Marketing also has the same potential impact, thanks to the introduction of content generation tools, advanced personalization and sentiment analysis. However, only 45% of Telco leaders declare to actively focus on this area, reporting a gap between opportunities and real implementation.
AI IN TELCO APPLICATIONS
1. Customer Care
- Chatbots and voicebots powered by generative AI
- Virtual assistants for operators (co-pilots)
- Automatic conversation summary
- Cost reduction up to 80%
In the field of Customer Care, the adoption of AI Telco solutions, such as Customer Care AI Agents, is profoundly revolutionizing the way in which telecommunications companies manage interactions with customers. Technologies such as intelligent chatbots and voicebots allow the automation of a large part of assistance requests, offering timely, consistent and available responses 24/7.
To support human operators, the so-called co-pilots come into play, i.e. virtual assistants able to suggest the most appropriate responses in real time, reduce management times and improve the overall quality of the service. One of the most promising applications also concerns the automatic generation of conversation summaries, useful both for compliance purposes and for qualitative analysis and continuous improvement. The integration of these solutions allows not only to improve the customer experience, but also to obtain a significant economic impact: according to estimates, the reduction in operating costs can reach up to 80%, making the investment in AI one of the most strategic for customer service efficiency.
2. Marketing AND Digital Sales
- Hyper-personalized content generated by AI
- Behavioral segmentation and predictive targeting
- Real-time tailored campaigns
- Sales funnel optimization
In the context of Telcos, the application of AI to marketing and digital sales represents one of the most promising areas in terms of return on investment and quality of customer experience. Thanks to the ability to generate hyper-personalized content in real time, artificial intelligence allows you to adapt messages, promotions and offers to the specific characteristics of each user, increasing the effectiveness of communications and the conversion rate. A central role is played by behavioral segmentation, which allows you to analyze browsing, interaction and purchase data to create dynamic customer clusters and activate targeted actions. Added to this is the prediction of future behavior, through psychometric profiling, useful for anticipating needs, reducing churn and proposing proactive offers. Marketing campaigns thus become real customized conversational flows, conveyed on multiple channels – including via chatbots and WhatsApp – and capable of updating in real time based on the user’s response. Finally, AI also plays a key role in optimizing sales funnels, identifying abandonment points and suggesting timely interventions to improve sales performance along the entire customer journey.
3. Social Media & WhatsApp
- Intelligent chatbots to manage support and sales
- WhatsApp Business API integration
- Omnichannel customer journey
- Sentiment analysis for feedback and campaigns
Social Media & WhatsApp represent an increasingly strategic channel for Telcos that want to offer an immediate, fluid and omnichannel contact experience. Thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence with tools such as WhatsApp Business, companies can manage both customer service and sales in a scalable way, through intelligent chatbots capable of responding in real time, understanding the context of requests and even anticipating the user’s needs. AI in Telco allows you to orchestrate the customer journey across multiple touchpoints, moving seamlessly from social networks to messaging apps, from the website to the call center, ensuring continuity and consistency in the relationship with the customer.
4. VoicebotS
- Inbound Call Automation
- Speech Recognition and Natural Language Understanding
- Handle Complex Requests Without Human Intervention
- Improve Accessibility and Reduce Wait Times
Voicebots represent one of the most innovative solutions in the telecommunications sector, thanks to their ability to automate incoming calls and offer a fast and efficient service. Thanks to speech recognition and natural language understanding technologies, these tools are able to understand and respond to user requests autonomously, managing even the most complex requests without the need for human intervention. This not only optimizes the customer service process, but also improves the accessibility of services, reducing waiting times and making interactions smoother. In a sector like telecommunications, where requests can be numerous and varied, voicebots offer significant added value, freeing up human resources to manage more strategic activities and contributing to a more satisfying and timely customer experience.
5. HR (Human Resources)
- Automated CV screening
- HR chatbot for internal support
- Personalized training paths
- Predictive turnover analysis
In the telecommunications sector, Telco AI can contribute to greater efficiency and personalization in business processes. Automating the CV screening process is one of the most obvious examples, where AI is able to analyze and select the most suitable candidates quickly and objectively, reducing the risk of bias and accelerating the recruiting process. HR chatbots, used to provide internal support to employees, are another example of how AI can improve the employee experience, answering frequently asked questions, managing vacation and leave requests, and facilitating onboarding and communication between teams. Furthermore, thanks to the power of data analysis, AI in Telco allows for the creation of highly personalized training paths, adapting development programs to the specific needs of each employee and promoting professional growth. Finally, predictive turnover analysis allows telecommunications companies to anticipate and mitigate the risks related to talent loss, using predictive models to identify signs of possible attrition and implement timely corrective actions.
6. Network Operations & IT
- Predictive Maintenance Planning
- AI for Supplier and Component Management
- Software Code Generation and Review
- Increase Developer Productivity (up to 200%)
Predictive maintenance planning is one of the most concrete examples of application of AI Telco as thanks to artificial intelligence it is possible to analyze large volumes of data coming from the network and devices, identifying any failures before they happen and optimizing maintenance interventions. This approach not only reduces downtime, but also helps extend the useful life of infrastructures. Furthermore, AI is proving to be fundamental in the management of suppliers and components, automating and optimizing performance monitoring, inventory management and the selection of the most suitable suppliers, ensuring greater operational efficiency and reducing costs. As for software development, AI can generate and review code, improving product quality and speeding up development cycles. Thanks to technologies such as code generation, it is possible to significantly reduce the time needed to write and test code. This increase in productivity is also visible among developers: artificial intelligence can in fact increase their productivity by up to 200%, automating repetitive tasks, optimizing workflows and allowing teams to focus on high added value activities. In this context, AI is not just a support, but a real performance multiplier, capable of redefining operational efficiency in the entire telecommunications sector.
7. predictive ai
- Churn Forecasting
- Anticipating Customer Demand
- Network Optimization
- Proactive Support Plans
Predictive AI is playing a crucial role in the telecom industry, offering companies a powerful tool to anticipate and manage various aspects of their operations. One of the most significant applications is churn prediction, which allows companies to identify customers at risk of abandonment, allowing companies to implement targeted interventions to improve loyalty. In addition to this, predictive AI can anticipate customer requests, analyzing historical and behavioral data to predict future needs, thus improving service efficiency and user experience.
In short, predictive AI helps to create stronger and longer-lasting relationships with customers, which is essential in a highly competitive market like telecommunications.
economic impact of ai in telco
According to McKinsey, AI in Telco adoption could generate:
over $100 billion in added value
up to 10 percentage points of EBITDA improvement in 5 years
To achieve these ambitious goals, it is essential to build the right foundation. First, companies must develop a clear strategic roadmap and centralized governance to align efforts on a global scale, ensuring consistency in operations and implementation. Next to this, it is essential to invest in talent, offering continuous training and promoting an AI-oriented culture, so that teams have the skills needed to fully exploit the potential of artificial intelligence. The technology must be reusable and scalable, so as to support the expansion of AI throughout the organization, without compromising efficiency or incurring high costs. Finally, responsible and secure data management is an essential pillar: the adoption of AI involves processing huge volumes of information, and secure and compliant management is crucial to protect privacy and ensure customer trust. Only with this solid foundation will Telcos be able to fully seize the opportunities offered by AI and exploit them for sustainable and long-lasting growth.
CONCLUSIONS
The adoption of AI today represents an essential lever to relaunch the competitiveness of Telcos. Companies that are able to move with vision and speed, investing in technology, people and agile operating models, will be able to conquer a new leadership in the telecommunications market. It is no longer the time for isolated experimentation, but for strategic integration.
