Call Center Jobs Are Declining, but 14,000 Calls Show Humans Still Outperform AI

Research from Bold Agent Kit indicates that human receptionists achieved significantly better performance in handling customer calls compared to AI-powered receptionists. Despite AI answering more calls, human receptionists delivered four times stronger inbound intake conversions, as well as fewer instances where callers hung up without any meaningful progress.

However, human receptionists also missed approximately 15% more calls than AI agents. The study suggests that while AI may reduce labor costs, it may not always produce the desired business outcomes, as human receptionists are better at converting calls into meaningful business results.