PhonePe, one of the leading digital payment platforms, has reduced its staff support by 60%. This comes after incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) within the system. According to the company’s latest annual report, the company has cut its staff by 60% over the last five years, from 1,100 agents to just over 400. During the same period, the company recorded a staggering 40-fold increase in transactions from FY19 to FY24, largely driven by advancements in AI technology that streamline customer interactions and boost overall performance.
“This efficiency was achieved by increasing automated customer service issue resolutions, powered by AI-driven chatbots, to over 90 per cent,” PhonePe stated in the report.
The company also emphasised its ability to adapt to external challenges, including the Zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) regulation and the impact of COVID-19, which significantly transformed PhonePe’s business environment. PhonePe achieved profit due to its strong focus on process automation and unit economics.
PhonePe, on the other hand, also stated that its technological advancement has created over 22,000 jobs across India. The company currently employs more than 1,500 of India’s top engineers, developing cutting-edge solutions to take the country’s digital payment platform to heights.
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Artificial Intelligence has played a key role in streamlining operations that humans previously handled. According to Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, AI is poised to impact jobs across sectors but is unlikely to replace humans and lead to mass unemployment. “History shows us that other major technological advancements haven’t caused widespread job losses. While technology can eliminate certain roles, it also creates new ones,” Bunker said.
Financially, PhonePe has seen significant growth due to the incorporation of AI. The company reported revenue of Rs. 5,064 crore for the FY ending March 2024, a 74 per cent increase from Rs. 2,914 crore in the previous year.
