Gen AI Transforms How Telcos Operate and Serve Customers

Gen AI is no longer an emerging trend.

For telecoms providers managing national infrastructure and high customer volumes, it is becoming central to how they operate.

As pressures mount to deliver better service, reduce costs and keep pace with digital transformation, Gen AI offers both opportunity and challenge.

A global report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, Realising the Generative AI Opportunity: Embracing Change to Create Business Value, shows how the technology is moving from an optional experiment to a strategic requirement.

The survey, sponsored by Amazon Web Services (AWS), reveals that 60% of business leaders already prioritise Gen AI, yet fewer than half, just 48%, believe their organisation is ready to implement it.

This readiness gap presents a clear warning for telcos, who risk being outpaced by more agile competitors if they delay action. The stakes are high in a market defined by thin margins, interchangeable products and customer churn.

Urgency to Act Meets Telco-Specific Barriers

The telecoms sector faces a unique combination of legacy systems, regulatory obligations and operational complexity.

These factors can slow adoption even as the need for change becomes more urgent.

According to the report, 83% of business leaders agree that companies that do not adopt Gen AI risk falling behind.

In telecoms, where speed, reliability and customer responsiveness define success, standing still is not an option.

The sentiment is echoed by Abid Rahman, Senior VP  of innovation at Eversana, who states: “Gen AI is not optional. Every industry and every company should be looking at Gen AI. If they don’t, they’re going to fall behind. It’s really as simple as that.”

For telcos, the barriers are not purely technical. Security, compliance, and organisational structure remain persistent obstacles.

The most cited concern, flagged by 56% of respondents, is risk, especially ethical, legal and cybersecurity risks.

With telcos managing sensitive customer data and underpinning national digital infrastructure, these concerns are real.

Mishandled Gen AI deployments could lead to breaches of data protection laws or create vulnerabilities across essential networks.

However, avoiding AI entirely is not a solution.

As Edoardo Conte, Chief Technology Officer of Restworld, cautions, poor decision-making is the real danger. “It’s only risky if you don’t understand it," he says.

"The ecosystem is evolving and changing very rapidly and if you rush in on some solution which is not complete or not a good fit for you, it won’t bring all the value you expect.”

This highlights the need for telcos to build understanding and prepare their systems before deploying Gen AI at scale.

Structured implementation is key to scaling Gen AI

The report identifies clear next steps for telcos to adopt Gen AI with purpose.

Companies already progressing with Gen AI focus on two areas: strengthening data infrastructure and introducing clear governance frameworks.

Each is named by 53% of respondents as essential to implementation.

Telcos, often reliant on older systems and decentralised data environments, must invest in modern infrastructure to ensure AI models perform efficiently and securely.

At the same time, organisations must define internal policies that guide Gen AI use.

These policies should clarify where the technology can be applied, how it integrates with existing processes and what oversight is required.

Half of business leaders surveyed report a lack of a clear roadmap for Gen AI deployment.

Without one, even committed teams risk becoming stuck in pilot mode, running experiments without reaching operational scale.

For telecoms firms, this translates into a need for phased plans linked to specific business outcomes.

Avoiding scattered efforts and aligning Gen AI with strategic goals will ensure the technology contributes real value.

Gen AI’s Role in Improving Service, Reducing Costs

Despite these challenges, the incentives for telcos are strong.

Gen AI promises to boost performance in areas where telecoms firms need it most.

Productivity and efficiency are top of the list: 63% of leaders expect Gen AI to improve employee output.

For telcos, this can mean automating core functions such as network fault detection, real-time diagnostics and bandwidth optimisation.

By predicting problems before they impact service, providers can reduce downtime and customer complaints.

Customer experience is another priority, as 45% of leaders say improving service is a main goal.

Gen AI enables more responsive support through intelligent chat agents, predictive analytics and real-time personalisation.

These tools help frontline teams resolve issues faster, often at the first point of contact.

Cost reduction also plays a key role, with 44% of respondents name saving money as a strategic objective. Gen AI offers a measurable impact here, too.

Edoardo’s experience at Restworld provides a compelling parallel for a telco’s contact centre operations.

“We’ve lightened the load for our recruiters, saving them from having to conduct between 10,000 and 12,000 conversations a month,” he says.

“We’re still assessing the numbers, but it could come to cost savings of around 20%.”

For telcos, which often manage thousands of customer queries daily, similar reductions in manual workload can produce immediate savings and better allocation of human resources.

The operational scale of telecoms firms means that even small improvements in efficiency can deliver millions in savings annually.

Rethinking Work to Realise Gen AI Value

The broader lesson from the report is that Gen AI is not just a new tool – it is a shift in how work gets done.

Adopting the technology requires reimagining existing workflows and roles.

As Abid puts it: “Gen AI is a tool. In fact, it’s a superpower.”

However, to realise its benefits, telcos must stop asking how AI fits into current processes and start asking how those processes must evolve.

“Does it really make sense to continue to do the same type of work in the same way as before?” Abid asks.

“Organisations need to assess what they can change in terms of processes and the bigger picture if they want to fully reap the benefits of Gen AI.”

With network infrastructure becoming more complex and customer expectations increasing, Gen AI gives telecoms providers the chance to modernise.

But success depends on structured implementation, clear governance and a willingness to rethink traditional ways of working.

For telcos, the Gen AI opportunity is not theoretical – it is practical, operational and already underway.

The decision now is whether they are ready to act with intention or risk being left behind.