AI Transforms India’s Call Centres, Creating Opportunity Amid Job Loss Fears

For years, call centre agent Kartikeya Kumar struggled with anxious customers who found his Indian accent difficult to understand. Despite mimicking characters from Marvel films and singing Western rock anthems, he couldn't fully bridge the gap.

That changed in 2023 when his employer, Teleperformance, introduced accent-altering AI software in its Gurgaon office.

Photo Credit: PTI

The tool, developed by Palo Alto-based start-up Sanas, modifies agents' accents in real-time to sound more American.

"Now the customer doesn't know where I am located," Kumar said. "If it makes the caller happy, it makes me happy, too."

His experience reflects how generative AI - supercharged by technologies like ChatGPT - is transforming India's $280 billion business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

India, which lost its top spot to the Philippines over a decade ago due to accent concerns, is now seeing a technological revival that could simultaneously create and eliminate jobs, reported The Washington Post.

Teleperformance's India COO, MV Prasanth, insists AI isn't replacing jobs but shifting repetitive tasks to self-service systems, freeing up workers for more complex interactions.

However, critics label this "accent translation" as "digital whitewashing" and warn that the technology's long-term impact could be deeply disruptive.

Already, AI systems are conducting tasks like code writing, email translations, and even customer onboarding.

Tools once managed by human quality assurance teams - such as monitoring call tone and compliance - are now automated. According to industry veteran Mark Serdar, this trend could dramatically reduce entry-level white-collar hiring over the next few years.

With approximately 3 million Indians working in customer support, software development, marketing, and other services for global giants like JPMorgan, Microsoft and Shell, the implications are significant.

The International Monetary Fund estimates over a quarter of Indian jobs are highly vulnerable to AI, while a Brookings study claims 86% of customer service tasks could be automated.

Indian tech leaders are bracing for upheaval. HCL co-founder Ajai Chowdhry has warned that BPO and even coding roles are in jeopardy. He argues that India must pivot from service-based outsourcing to designing and manufacturing its own products.

Still, others see opportunity. AI is fuelling demand for roles such as data annotators, speech scientists, prompt engineers and AI trainers - many of them women from rural areas. Firms like Teleperformance have already hired thousands for such tasks.

Industry experts argue that upskilling will be essential. Workers will need training not just in AI tools but in emotional intelligence, trust-building and clear communication. While some lower-skilled roles may disappear, others - like sales and relationship-driven roles - may shift more to India.

Raman Roy, a BPO pioneer, believes India has an edge because its outsourcing work is increasingly complex and thus harder to automate fully. AI co-pilots, for instance, now assist agents by offering real-time scripts and solutions, but human workers remain vital for nuanced interactions.

Nonetheless, some workers are already being left behind. According to Sanas co-founder Sharath Narayana, 10 to 20% of agents have been unable to adapt and likely lost their jobs.

Even among optimists, there's caution. Former Infosys executive Kris Gopalakrishnan noted falling placement rates and stagnant wages for engineering graduates, calling the current situation "life-changing."

Back at Teleperformance, 23-year-old Sagar Rana remains hopeful. "AI can never have the human touch," he said. "And if AI keeps advancing? I will evolve accordingly. It's human nature to evolve."