Verizon may have made recent changes due to an internal program.

Verizon is embracing AI, according to recent developments.

In late November, Verizon's new CEO, Dan Schulman, revealed plans to reduce the company's 100,000-person workforce by 13,000. This followed a period of customer attrition and aligned with the carrier's efforts to reinvent itself. While the company initially denied that AI played a role in the job cuts, an internal employee communication appears to contradict this assertion.

About six weeks before the layoffs were announced, Verizon initiated a mandatory AI role-playing exercise for its staff.

The program involved sales personnel interacting with an AI system developed by Mindtickle, a firm specializing in sales enhancement tools and content. Participation in these exercises was compulsory for employees.

Employees were presented with a scenario where they had to engage with an AI bot posing as a dissatisfied customer considering switching providers. The employees' task was to persuade the AI customer to remain with Verizon.

It remains unclear whether Verizon intended to utilize employee responses to train its AI models.

Both business and consumer-facing employees participated in the training, with the latter group reportedly undergoing a more rigorous version.

According to Dan Schulman, Verizon CEO, in November 2025, Verizon is the first company to establish a fund specifically to address both the opportunities and skill requirements that are emerging as AI becomes more prevalent. Schulman also stated his intention to collaborate with other companies and the public sector to tackle the opportunities and challenges presented by a world increasingly influenced by technology.

The purpose of this initiative remains uncertain.

Given Verizon's lack of explicit confirmation regarding the use of employee interactions for AI training, it is possible that the exercises were a last-ditch attempt to mitigate customer churn. Verizon might have been trying to deliver tailored training to its employees on effective customer retention strategies. The use of AI to facilitate role-playing customer interactions could offer advantages over conventional training methods, potentially justifying Verizon's chosen approach.

Alternatively, Verizon might have sought to assess employee performance through these programs as part of its decision-making process regarding staffing.

Another possibility is that the program was intended to gather data for AI-driven tools. Verizon's focus on an AI-driven, customer-centric transformation predates Schulman's tenure, with the company having already implemented AI in June to enhance its handling of customer inquiries.

According to sources, while Verizon had been using Mindtickle's tools since August, the trainings only became mandatory and high-pressure after Schulman assumed the role of CEO, implying a shift in the carrier's objectives for the program around that time.

The reported layoffs at Verizon have seemingly begun to have an effect on operations, and the company has also apparently posted a number of new job openings recently. It is unknown whether this suggests that the AI implementation is not going as expected or if the company simply requires a new set of skills.

Did Verizon use AI to replace jobs?

That is a question that only Verizon is equipped to answer. A more significant question is whether the company leveraged its employees to train the very AI models intended to replace them. Verizon's CEO is focused on boosting efficiency, and one approach is to delegate tasks to AI.

Verizon has purportedly been overtaken by T-Mobile as the largest carrier in terms of subscribers and can no longer depend on raising prices to increase revenue. In such circumstances, adopting AI to lower expenses becomes an obvious choice.

We have requested a statement from Verizon and will update the article accordingly if the company responds.