London-focused UK broadband provider G.Network, which claims to have deployed their full fibre (FTTP – XGS-PON) network to cover 420,000 premises across the city (395k RFS), has revealed that they’ve deployed a new AI based sales agent called “g” that has just completed its first autonomous end-to-end orders.
The new AI agent, which enables new customers to complete a broadband order without human involvement (you can of course already do this via a regular online order too), is said to have been built on Salesforce’s Agentforce and developed with Smart Cloud Consultants. Customers can of course still opt to work with G.Network’s human sales team instead, “all of whom have been retained to focus on customer conversations“, clarified the ISP.
Customers can also use the new AI agent to ask product and service questions, discuss their broadband requirements and receive a product recommendation. The agent then checks their postcode to establish whether they are on G.Network’s network and, for eligible customers, guides them through to a completed order.
G.Network estimates that, for every £1 spent on AI usage costs (tokens), “g” generates a £250 return. On the other hand, sentences that start with a lower-case g, when referencing the new AI agent, could potentially cause grammar Nazis to descend into convulsions. See below for an example.
David Sangster, Chief Executive Officer of G.Network, said:
“At G.Network, we thrive on innovation. Our customers should be able to buy from us however suits them. g sits alongside our fantastic sales team, giving people another great way to get connected, at any time of day.”
G.Network are clearly pleased with their new AI agent and it’s very much a sign of the way things are going. But consumer sentiment toward the use of AI agents for such tasks tends to be quite mixed, with many viewing it as more of a negative (i.e. a way of reducing the number of actual humans that are available to provide support). On the other hand, if such systems do end up making it quicker and easier for customers to get their orders resolved, then that would still be a positive change.