Telcos and utilities live at the intersection of two challenging realities: unpredictable spikes in volume and time-sensitive service.
When storms knock out power, networks go down, or new policies are rolled out, contact centers are flooded with customers seeking help within minutes.
Traditional IVRs or “press 1 for billing” workflows no longer cut it for customers in crisis. They need immediate, accurate answers.
The result is predictable: human agents take the brunt of the contact center surge, especially during outages and billing cycles.
Meanwhile, margins are thin, adding to the necessity of handling these massive interaction spikes efficiently and cost-effectively.
These two realities also create an opportunity: a space where AI agents can provide true value:
- Thousands of daily interactions follow predictable, well-documented workflows
- Most customer needs are informational or transactional, requiring little to no complex problem-solving
- Volume spikes can be handled without hiring and training hundreds of seasonal agents
There should always be the option to escalate the conversation, handing off to a human agent to handle more complex and nuanced issues, while still automating routine service.
We live in an era where automation is no longer optional. The key question, then, boils down to understanding which interactions deliver the highest value when automated.
Let's examine two real-world use cases of how AI agents can solve these pain points.
Use Case #1: Outage reporting and status checks
When inclement weather patterns or unexpected circumstances hit, power and network connectivity can get knocked out for thousands of customers.
Within minutes, across phones, messages, and chats, the contact center “lights up.”
Customers typically reach out for two reasons:
- To report an outage, or
- To confirm whether service restoration is in progress.
For every call, human agents must:
- Verify account or service address to validate the customer
- Check each address in the outage management system
- Relay the same information: “Yes, we’re aware of the outage in your area. Current estimated restoration time is …”
- Create a trouble ticket if no outage is logged
This entire process can take 5-10 minutes per call, and contact center hold times spike. Email and chat channels get backlogged with hundreds or even thousands of pending requests. Website self-service portals may crash from an overwhelming traffic surge.
The problems this creates are multi-fold and compounding:
The staffing strain: It becomes a challenge to staff for the unpredictable surge in support demand during outages. This, in turn, means agents are often pulled from other departments, or “off-duty” staff are called in. Even with all hands on deck, it’s tricky to pace with thousands of simultaneous inquiries.
The customer experience issue: Long hold times when people are already stressed and need immediate information often result in customers hanging up frustrated, then calling back later, creating even more volume. Some customers call multiple times to check if the status has changed. And the reality? Most customers just need a simple yes/no answer, but wait 30+ minutes to get it.
The cost factor: Massive overtime costs are incurred during emergencies. Even worse is the lost productivity as agents spend time handling repetitive inquiries instead of addressing complex issues.
This type of bottleneck situation is prime for automation through an AI agent.
With real-time data integration, an AI agent can instantly:
- Validate customer accounts
- Check outage status
- Provide restoration estimates
- Create tickets when necessary
And the business impact is immediate. AI agents:
- Deflect thousands of calls and chats during major events
- Deliver 24/7, real-time information with no hold time
- Free human agents to handle more complex and strategic issues
- Reduce operational costs and staffing pressures during unpredictable surges
While outage management addresses volume surges during emergencies, another category of interactions offers significant cost reduction opportunities.
Use Case #2: Device troubleshooting & truck roll reduction
Service calls about device troubleshooting (‘The internet keeps dropping.’) are constant in the contact center–and costly.
The traditional approach typically resembles the following:
- Agent asks the customer to describe the problem, often getting vague answers ("it just doesn't work").
- Agent manually walks through basic troubleshooting steps, hoping the customer follows correctly.
- Without direct system access to run diagnostics, agents can't definitively determine if the issue is resolvable remotely.
- To avoid multiple callbacks and frustrated customers, agents often default to scheduling a technician visit "just to be safe."
However, each truck roll incurs significant costs for the company, including technician time, vehicle expenses, and scheduling coordination. Additionally, customers must wait hours (or days) for an appointment, often having to take time off work. And worse yet, sometimes when a technician arrives, the issue is simple (an unplugged cable, incorrect settings) that could have been easily fixed remotely.
The underlying issues run deeper:
The cost-protection tradeoff: The conservative approach (to schedule technicians by default) can mitigate customer frustration but significantly increases operational costs.
The identification challenge: There is no systematic way to identify which issues are truly field-service-required vs. remotely resolvable. Each support request becomes a judgment call rather than a data-driven decision.
AI agents address these challenges through automated diagnostics.
AI agents can automate simple, repeatable troubleshooting by asking targeted questions about the device model and symptoms, then running basic diagnostic tests via API (ping tests, signal strength checks, line-quality assessments, etc.). They guide customers through straightforward remediation steps and only trigger a truck roll when the issue can’t be resolved remotely. The entire diagnostic process is documented so that, if a technician is dispatched, they arrive with a complete troubleshooting history.
The business impact is real. Implementing AI agents:
- Reduces expensive truck rolls through remote resolution
- Improves first-call resolution rates
- Eliminates customer inconvenience of scheduling and waiting for appointments
- Frees field technicians for issues requiring hands-on expertise
- Documents troubleshooting attempts for quality improvement
Together, these use cases demonstrate how automation addresses both unpredictable volume spikes and ongoing operational costs.
From reactive service to strategic automation with AI agents
Utilities and telco companies have support issues that are perfect for AI agent success: high interaction volumes, structured, repeatable workflows, time-sensitive customer needs, and clear success criteria. Most importantly, customers want speed and accuracy over small talk when their power is out or the Internet is down.
The use cases above demonstrate a fundamental shift from reactive staffing models to strategic automation. Utilities and telcos no longer need to choose between customer experience and cost efficiency.
AI agents handle the volume surges that would otherwise require impossible staffing levels — thousands of simultaneous outage inquiries, predictable spikes during billing cycles, and continuous technical support requests.
This isn't about replacing people; it's about amplifying human expertise where it matters most.
Cresta AI Agent delivers human-like conversations across channels that adapt to customer needs while safeguarding your brand and data, eliminating the trade-off between cost efficiency and exceptional customer experience.
It helps you automate high-volume, high-impact interactions without compromising quality or control.
Cresta AI Agent is powered by a single platform built for both human and AI agents, combining shared data, seamless workflows, and consistent insights across every interaction. This unified foundation allows teams to monitor, manage, and continuously improve AI agent performance alongside their live agents, creating a consistent and scalable customer experience.
Learn how Cresta AI Agent can help your organization reduce costs, handle surges effortlessly, and deliver faster, smarter service - no matter the conditions.
Learn more about Cresta AI Agent's capabilities, then connect with our team for a personalized demo.
