Virgin Media unleashes AI 'super-agents' to cut long waiting times as it overhauls customer service

This AI-powered 'bot monitors all incoming customer service calls in real-time and passes extra information to the human agents to try and resolve your questions and queries as fast and effectively as possible. It's a bit like someone passing you notes with extra details that you might otherwise not have remembered.

You won't be speaking to the AI, but it will be making suggestions to the human on the other end of the line. According to Virgin Media O2, Lumi AI has been designed to draw from millions of previous conversations on the same topic, which have been submitted to the AI so that it can quickly find a satisfactory resolution.

How does it work? When you contact Virgin Media O2 customer service, Lumi AI will be analysing everything said between you and the agent, pulling from insights gleaned from millions of similar interactions. The system identifies when you might require additional clarification on particular points and prompts the human agent accordingly.

If you've highlighted a specific problem, the AI system recommends solutions that have resolved comparable issues for other customers. The tool also helps agents identify products and services that could enhance your current package, ensuring you receive recommendations tailored to your individual needs rather than generic offerings.

Virgin Media O2 has already started to roll out Lumi AI across its customer care staff, sales, and retention departments. So the next time you make a call, you'll likely be speaking to someone who is being prompted and helped by the clever AI tool. It's just one of a number of AI tools being introduced by Virgin Media O2 in a bid to significantly reduce customer complaints – by more than 50% so far – over the past year.

Other examples of AI tools include an Auto Call Summarisation tool that actively listens to the conversation and concisely captures the main points discussed between you and the customer service team.

It removes the need for the person on the other end of the line to make comprehensive notes during the call — or after the customer has hung up.

That frees up the customer service team to be more present during the call, and means they can pick up the next customer query more quickly — reducing waiting times for other customers.

Virgin Media O2 Director of Customer Contact, Alan Stott said: "We know that when a customer needs to contact us – whether over the phone or online – they simply want to get through to us without long delays, they want to ensure we understand their issue and they want a satisfactory resolution as quickly as possible.

"Through investing in new digital tools and leveraging the expertise of partners, we are making real strides in improving the Virgin Media O2 customer experience. Far from replacing our human workforce, AI technology is helping to create a team of super-agents better equipped and more empowered to resolve customer issues first time.

"With complaints falling, and call transfers and waiting times down as well, our transformation strategy is well under way and making good progress, but we can’t afford to stand still.

"Technology is evolving more rapidly than ever before and we’ll continue to work with our partners to explore new and innovative solutions that deliver a consistently exceptional, industry-leading customer experience."

Virgin Media O2's work behind the scenes seems to be working. In the latest report for telecom regulator Ofcom, Virgin Media broadband recorded 12 complaints per 100,000 customers. That's a dramatic drop from its all-time high of 32 per 100,000 customers, and it also means it's no longer the most complained-about broadband supplier in the UK.

In the latest figures published by Ofcom, which cover January to March 2025, TalkTalk was named the most complained-about broadband supplier nationwide with 13 complaints per 100,000 customers.