Verizon turns to Google’s Gemini AI to solve ‘complex’ customer issues

Verizon is trying to streamline its customer service experience by overhauling it with more chatbots and AI tools. The My Verizon app is being relaunched today with a new “AI-powered Verizon Assistant” that aims to help consumers “manage upgrades, add new lines, ask billing questions, take advantage of savings, and more,” according to the telecom giant’s announcement.

The idea is that this chatbot service will be able to quickly complete tasks that typically need to be handled by human service reps, providing a more efficient and flexible experience for customers. Dory Butler, senior vice president of customer experience at Verizon, told The Verge that the Verizon AI assistant will transfer customers to a human agent either upon request or if it’s unable to handle the enquiry it’s been given.

Butler says the company had “worked very closely with Google” to prevent the Verizon AI agent from hallucinating by creating small language models that are personalized to Verizon services and customers. “To date, we are seeing north of 90 percent accuracy with very minor mistakes being made.”

Verizon says it’s now providing a so-called “Customer Champion” that will leverage Google’s Gemini and Cloud AI models to help customers resolve “complex issues.” The press release is vague, but in 2025 we’re going to assume that those champions are still humans utilizing Google’s AI tools. The goal is for customers to contact Verizon once, and for the champion to then provide updates via the My Verizon app, text messages, or call backs.

Verizon is also expanding the operating hours of its live customer service agents and introducing 24/7 live chat support that can cater to “diverse customer schedules and preferences.”