93% OF OPERATORS ARE ALREADY USING AI-DRIVEN CHATBOTS BUT EVOLUTION IS CONSTRAINED BY INTERNAL RESOURCES AND DATA ISSUES
Stockholm, Sweden - 19 February 2025 - SUBTONOMY, the world’s leading telecoms technical customer support vendor, is featured in a new report released today by the GSMA’s Mobile World Live, the online communications hub for the global mobile industry. Subtonomy sponsored insight into AI adoption in the customer care domain in the newly-released AI Survey 2025, which provides a barometer of uptake of AI as the mobile industry shifts to intelligent operation.
Mobile Operators see huge potential in AI-drive customer care 2025
Mobile World Live surveyed its 180,000 members, which represent mobile network operators, MVNOs, device manufacturers, systems integrators and service providers, to provide an up-to-date picture of how they view AI adoption in the mobile industry.
In the customer care domain, it found members could see huge potential for AI in customer care, primarily to tackle long-standing challenges such as resource constraints, operational costs and the drive to provide better customer care experiences.
When respondents were asked where they thought AI would deliver the most value in the next 18 months, the survey found:
54% said it would help them deliver round-the-clock (24/7) support
52% thought it would assist in reducing customer care costs
48% believe it is integral to boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.
93% are already using smart chatbots
Nine in ten mobile operators (93%) are already using smart chatbots within their customer care operations, with less than one in ten (7%) yet to adopt these intelligent virtual assistants. However, they are at different stages of maturity in terms of the type of inquiries their chatbots can handle.
Least advanced performers - 1 in 10 mobile operators (7%) say they are not using smart chatbots at all
Average performers – 7 in 10 mobile operators (74%) say their chatbots handle up to half their customer inquiries
Advanced performers – 2 in 10 (19%) say their chatbots are sophisticated enough to handle more than half their customer inquiries. Of these, just 3% have chatbots that are able to handle more than 75% of inquiries.
Predictable barriers are holding back innovation
Many operators report being stuck and not able to move to the next stage – often for entirely predictable reasons. More than half (56%) say their initiatives are being held back by lack of internal resources such as the availability of skilled staff and lack of budget. Budgetary constraints are particularly problem with many operators struggling to articulate a clear business case for deployment. Another major barrier is the lack of accessible data – a problem that’s particularly acute for 32% of respondents. Other operators complain that even where a solution is available, it’s often not suitable for the telecoms environment[i].
“The Mobile World Live AI Survey 2025 demonstrates the huge potential for mobile operators to achieve their goals of saving money, alleviating pressure on call center agents and providing a better experience for customers by moving towards a higher level of digital self-care supplemented by more sophisticated chatbots,” comments Andreas Jörbeck, CEO, Subtonomy. “This is where Subtonomy comes in. We know that while AI is the engine, data is the fuel. And telecoms data is like no other.”
Jörbeck explains that his company has years of experience working with major telecoms groups to help them squeeze more value out of the data trapped in operational silos to provide better customer care.
“At Subtonomy we’re already fuelling our customers’ initiatives to deliver the full potential of AI. Whether they’re working on AI-enhanced chatbots in self-care channels or intelligent co-pilots in the call center, our data mediation platform and network APIs are the foundational elements required to deliver intelligent customer care today.”
[i] 23% say they have difficulty sourcing telecoms-specific AI models and 18% say they have problems sourcing a telecoms-specific third-party solution.
Download the full report here.