VOXI by Vodafone is understood to have become the first British telco to develop and deploy a large language model (LLM) chatbot for its digital customer services.

The chatbot for VOXI, which is Vodafone’s plan specifically tailored for young people, has been built in collaboration with global professional services company Accenture and is powered by the ChatGPT framework.

Vodafone said that VOXI’s LLM generative AI chatbot will improve user experience by engaging in “human-like interactions with customers and managing more sophisticated customer requests.”

The company added that the chatbot, which it says uses an AI safety framework, has been developed as part of a wider initiative to accelerate generative AI technologies across both VOXI and Vodafone.

“We’re delighted to be the first UK telco to give our customers the chance to try this exciting new technology in an easy-to-use chatbot,” said Scott Currie, head of VOXI by Vodafone. “By using the power of generative AI, we are not only helping to enhance customer support but are reinforcing VOXI’s commitment to innovation, and delivering on our ambition to offer the best customer experience in the market.”

The VOXI chatbot is initially only being made available to a small number of customers.

Vodafone said this will help ensure any issues are quickly identified and resolved before a wider release to all remaining customers.

“The customer experience is only the start of how this technology can be adopted at scale across the organisation,” commented Mark Farbrace, generative AI lead at Accenture UK.

Vodafone recently announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in AI, cloud and IoT tech over a 10-year partnership with Microsoft.

Last year, Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle announced plans to axe around 11,000 jobs over the next three years.

The move came just after it was revealed that BT would be cutting up to 55,000 jobs by 2023 as part of a cost-saving strategy. Around a fifth of roles axed by the telecoms giant will be in customer services, with the jobs likely be replaced by technology such as AI.

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