Your call is important to us – which is why we're connecting you to a human (www.theregister.com)

A new Gartner survey of Fortune 500 companies suggests the much-hyped “call-center bot takeover” isn’t happening anytime soon: none of the largest firms plan to replace all human support staff by 2028, only 11% expect to cut headcount due to AI, and 54% intend to keep staffing levels while using AI to boost engagement. Several organizations that pushed automation early have actually rehired agents after customer frustration and reputational damage, underscoring that high-stakes, emotionally sensitive or unusually complex issues still require human judgment and reassurance. The report emphasizes that effective AI support isn’t a plug-and-play swap — successful deployments demand substantial backend work (data management, knowledge-base integration, monitoring) or the bot becomes counterproductive. The workforce is shifting rather than disappearing: 22% of firms have stopped backfilling departed roles, while 32% are hiring for specialized skills and reskilling existing staff so humans handle complex resolution and relationship-building. The practical takeaway for AI/ML teams and ops leaders: prioritize human-in-the-loop designs, invest in data and knowledge infrastructure, and avoid rushed headcount cuts that overlook real-world limitations of current AI agents.