Wire report
Customers prefer AI chatbots, says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre and back office jobs axed
CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres and back office. Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month. Continue reading...
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CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres and back office. Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month. Continue reading...
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s linked report, Customers prefer AI chatbots, says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre and back office jobs axed, CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres and back office. Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month. Continue reading…
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Technology coverage for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-07-23T16:45:56+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: Customers prefer AI chatbots, says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre and back office jobs axed via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- Customers prefer AI chatbots, says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre and back office jobs axedThe Guardian - 2026-07-23T16:45:56+00:00
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