AI phone agents and the future of first jobs
Businesses turning to AI to answer their phones should face a harder question than whether the technology saves money: what happens to the people who would once have learned customer service by answering those calls?
Andy Hughes, Commercial Lead at UK voice automation company Alayic, argues that recruitment difficulties, the cost of dedicated phone cover and interruptions to existing staff must be examined separately before conclusions are drawn about jobs.
“An owner cannot serve the customer in front of them and answer every ringing phone. AI can fill that gap. But if businesses stop offering the routine work, where does someone get their first chance to learn?” said Hughes.
“Business owners are entitled to want reliable cover. Young people are entitled to ask about pay, conditions and progression. Calling a generation lazy does not explain why a particular vacancy stays open. We need to ask what work is available, on what terms—and what happens when it disappears.”
Independent research illustrates the tension. A 2025 Quarterly Journal of Economics study of 5,172 customer-support agents found that AI assistance increased issues resolved per hour by 15% on average, with greater benefits for less experienced workers. Humans remained responsible for those conversations.
Separately, Stanford researchers examining US payroll data through June 2026 found employment among workers aged 22–25 in AI-exposed occupations was 19% below where it would have been had it kept pace with less-exposed peers. Reduced hiring drove the gap. The authors describe this as an early descriptive indicator, not a causal estimate, and found no widespread economy-wide displacement.
“AI could help someone become good at the job faster. It could also mean they never get hired. Which outcome are employers designing for?” said Hughes.
Alayic provides AI voice agents for business enquiries, bookings and orders. In the setup described by Hughes, the business phone rings three times before the agent answers if nobody picks up; clients can change that setting.
“A brilliant person on the phone brings warmth, wit and initiative. Businesses should ask where automation protects that human service and where it removes it. The customer deserves more than a faster answer if nobody can take responsibility when something goes wrong.”
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