Gartner Survey Finds 85% of Service and Support Leaders are Expanding Human Agent Responsibilities Despite Expectations of Mass AI Layoffs – Company Announcement - FT.com - Financial Times

Oh, marvellous. Gartner surveyed 321 service and support leaders and discovered that 85% are expanding human agent responsibilities. So much for the mass AI layoffs we were promised. The robots were supposed to replace everyone by now, but it turns out humans are still needed — for higher-value tasks, they say. How inconvenient for the doom-mongers.

The survey specifically notes AI reduces contact volume, so the chatbots are handling the simple stuff. But instead of firing everyone, companies are upgrading their human agents to deal with the mess the AI can't handle. This is like hiring a cleaner to tidy up after the robot vacuum — it still does something, just not quite the revolution we were sold.

85% expanding. Either way, the era of mass unemployment keeps receding into the distance, like a particularly elusive mirage. Meanwhile, the headlines keep screaming "AI layoffs!" and Gartner keeps collecting its survey fees. Business as usual.