“ THIS IS NOT A FUTURE OF HUMANS VERSUS MACHINES”
Phil Heltewig Chief AI Officer NiCE has optimised cost, not customer experience. Clean headcount reduction only works in a perfectly staffed operation with no waiting, no variability and no peaks. That is rarely the reality in customer service.
The more durable playbook is to use AI to eliminate friction first. Let AI absorb variability and peak demand. Improve resolution speed. Raise service levels. Only then should workforce changes occur – and they should happen gradually, largely through attrition rather than abrupt reductions. That’ s what many organisations are already doing. They are not rehiring because AI failed. They simply are not backfilling roles
144 June 2026