The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak to an AI chatbot than deal with staff as the company prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres.
FTSE 100 owner Centrica plans to cut 800 jobs, on top of the 500 job cuts confirmed last month, as it implements “targeted implementation of AI tools”.
The plan to reduce the supplier’s customer service teams in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leicester, Stockport and Leeds by 14% will be implemented over two years, with some roles remaining vacant following retirements and the remainder to be filled through redundancies.
The union previously said the company’s investment in artificial intelligence aimed at streamlining its operations would mean “hundreds of human jobs” would be given to chatbots.
However, the company’s chief executive Chris O’Shea claimed the change was made because customers prefer to contact digital channels rather than in person.
“AI is not driving these specific layoffs. They are primarily due to changes in customer behavior,” he said. “What we’re seeing now is, first of all, more than 90% of our customers are actually using digital channels, and customer calls are down 20%, so this is just a reflection of a change in customer behavior.
“We need to reflect changes in customer behavior. We expect to see more work around our digital interfaces, and perhaps fewer people answering the phones.”
Mr O’Shea defended Centrica’s plans as the company reported an increase in retail profits in the first half of this year despite a decline in customer numbers.
British Gas has been gradually losing customers to rival suppliers in recent years. Thousands of British Gas customers who were forced to have prepaid meters installed in their homes during the Russian gas crisis are expected to receive up to £112 million in compensation in the biggest settlement with an energy supplier on record.
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Profit from Centrica’s retail division, which includes revenue from British Gas, boiler care products and smart energy products, rose to £346m in the first half of this year from £338m in the same period last year.
British Gas’ profits rose despite the number of domestic customers falling to 7.45 million from 7.5 million at the end of last year. O’Shea said this was because the company was focused on making higher profits from its fixed-rate tariffs, rather than “chasing a loss-making business”.
