Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, has announced plans to eliminate 1,300 call centre roles over the next two years, with CEO Chris O'Shea attributing the decision largely to shifting customer habits. The company will remove 800 positions as part of a targeted deployment of AI tools, adding to the 500 cuts announced last month. Customer service teams in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leicester, Stockport, and Leeds will be affected as the energy giant accelerates its digital transformation.
According to O'Shea, more than 90% of British Gas customers now use digital channels as their first point of contact, while telephone calls have declined by 20%. He argued that AI is not directly driving the job losses; rather, it is a response to how customers choose to interact. 'Customers are voting with their feet,' O'Shea said in an interview. However, trade unions have pushed back, warning that Centrica's investment in AI will hand hundreds of human jobs to chatbots. The GMB union described the cuts as a 'betrayal' of loyal workers who have provided essential support during the cost-of-living crisis.
The announcement has sparked a broader debate about whether consumers genuinely prefer AI-driven support or are merely adapting to the convenience of digital tools. While O'Shea claims that customers are increasingly comfortable with chatbots and self-service options, multiple surveys suggest that the reality is more nuanced. A February 2026 SurveyMonkey report found that 79% of Americans strongly preferred dealing with a human agent, and only 8% actively preferred AI. Moreover, 81% of respondents believed companies were introducing AI mainly to cut costs rather than improve service. Similarly, a Pegasystems survey conducted by YouGov among more than 4,700 consumers in North America and the UK revealed that 66% preferred human-led support. Around 46% said AI rarely or never solved their problem, while only 2% wanted to interact exclusively with chatbots.
Neither survey focused specifically on British Gas customers, but the findings suggest that Centrica may be misinterpreting a preference for digital channels—such as mobile apps and websites—as a preference for AI. Digital channels often include a mix of self-service tools, knowledge bases, and live chat with humans, not just bots. The distinction is critical because it influences how companies deploy technology and treat their workforce. Industry analysts point out that AI can handle routine tasks exceptionally well. Research by Intercom found that 61% of consumers preferred AI for quick answers to simple questions, such as checking a bill, resetting a password, or tracking a delivery. In many cases, AI agents can resolve between 76% and 92% of basic ecommerce requests, according to a 2026 industry report. The same report estimated that AI can reduce the average cost of a customer interaction from $4.60 to $1.45, providing a strong financial incentive for companies like Centrica to automate.
However, when problems become complex—such as a disputed charge, a service outage, or a vulnerable customer needing tailored advice—the limitations of current AI become apparent. Natural language processing still struggles with nuanced context, emotional cues, and multi-step troubleshooting. A study by PwC found that 82% of consumers would stop doing business with a company after just one poor customer service experience, and AI-driven interactions are often cited as a source of frustration. For energy customers, issues like billing errors, account updates, and emergency support require empathy and judgment that chatbots cannot reliably provide. This is particularly true for elderly or digitally less literate customers who may find automated systems confusing.
The Centrica cuts come amidst a wider trend of automation in the utilities sector. Other major energy suppliers, such as E.ON and EDF, have also introduced AI chatbots and reduced call centre staff, though job losses are often framed as 'voluntary severance' or 'natural attrition.' Economists note that while AI can boost efficiency and lower prices for consumers, it also displaces workers who have specialised knowledge of local infrastructure and customer histories. The UK's Office for National Statistics identified customer service roles among the occupations most vulnerable to automation, with an estimated 1.5 million jobs at risk by 2030. Trade unions are calling for retraining programs and a 'human-in-the-loop' approach to AI deployment, ensuring that customers can always escalate to a person without lengthy delays.
Centrica's decision also highlights a growing tension between corporate cost-cutting and customer satisfaction. In the short term, reducing labour costs can improve profit margins, but if customers become frustrated with poor support, they may switch providers. British Gas has already lost market share to smaller, more agile rivals such as Octopus Energy, which combines AI with a strong emphasis on human service. Octopus Energy has publicly stated that it uses AI to assist agents rather than replace them, resulting in higher customer satisfaction scores. This model may offer a path forward that balances efficiency with employee retention and consumer trust.
The debate over AI in customer service is likely to intensify as technology advances. Generative AI models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are becoming more capable of handling complex queries, but they still generate errors and 'hallucinations' that can mislead customers. Regulators in the UK and EU are considering rules to require companies to disclose when a customer is interacting with a bot and to provide easy access to human agents. Meanwhile, Centrica plans to complete the job cuts by 2028, and affected employees will be offered redeployment opportunities within the company, though trade union officials say those options are limited.
Source: Digital Trends News