India’s AI chatbot revolution: when customer calls meet code
At a small startup office in Bengaluru, engineers are busy training chatbots that sound almost
human. The company behind it, LimeChat, claims its AI systems can help firms reduce 80% of their customer support staff by automating voice and text conversations. Co-founder Nikhil Gupta summed it up bluntly to Reuters: once you hire a LimeChat agent, “you never have to hire again.”
For a country that built its tech empire on outsourcing and call centers, this is a major shift. Cheap labor and fluent English once made India the world’s back office. But with generative AI entering the scene, the same jobs that powered India’s $283 billion IT industry are now being automated. Chatbots are becoming smarter, faster, and, in many cases, cheaper than humans.
AI chatbots are replacing India’s call centers
The rise of AI-driven customer service is already visible across the sector. LimeChat says its bots now handle 70% of customer complaints for clients, and it plans to reach 90–95% soon. A single subscription, priced at around ₹1 lakh per month ($1,130), can replace the work of about 15 human agents.
LimeChat isn’t alone in this automation race. Reliance’s Haptik, another Indian AI firm acquired by Mukesh Ambani’s group in 2019, offers “AI agents that deliver human-like customer experiences.” The company’s revenue jumped from less than $1 million in 2020 to nearly $18 million last year. Haptik even promoted a webinar asking, “What if you had a full-time employee who never sleeps and costs just 10,000 rupees?”
The attraction for companies is simple: scalability. Mamaearth, one of LimeChat’s clients, uses chatbots that help customers with product advice and even handle complaints. Vipul Maheshwari from Mamaearth said AI agents can assist pregnant users in finding safe skincare or calm down angry customers in real-time.
Fewer jobs, more uncertainty
This AI shift is coming at a cost for India’s workforce. Many customer-service workers have already started losing their jobs. One Bengaluru-based employee, Megha S., told Reuters she was laid off just before the festive season after her company introduced AI tools to monitor and evaluate sales calls. “I was told I am the first one who has been replaced by AI,” she said quietly, admitting she hasn’t told her parents yet.
Industry data supports her story. Staffing firm TeamLease Digital reports that hiring in business process management (BPM) — which includes call centers, payroll, and data handling — has sharply slowed. From adding 177,000 workers in 2021–22, the segment managed fewer than 17,000 new jobs each year since 2023.
Even as new roles like AI coordinators and data analysts emerge, most routine customer-facing jobs are shrinking fast. Neeti Sharma, CEO of TeamLease Digital, noted that companies are hiring fewer support staff as automation takes over.
India bets on AI-led growth
Rather than slow down the adoption of automation, India seems to be doubling down. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has argued that technology doesn’t eliminate work but changes its form, saying that “new types of jobs are created.” His optimism is shared by many in the startup world, who see India transforming from a back-office nation into an “AI factory.”
Pramod Bhasin, who built India’s first call center for GE Capital in the 1990s, believes the country could evolve again. “The biggest impact is going to be on young students coming out of college,” he said, but added that India’s long-term potential lies in AI engineering and automation deployment.
However, not everyone is convinced the transition will be smooth. Former labor ministry official Sumita Dawra told Reuters that while AI will boost productivity, India may need stronger social safety nets such as unemployment benefits to protect workers during the transition.
From Java classes to AI labs
In Hyderabad’s Ameerpet area, where generations of Indian tech aspirants once learned programming languages like Java, training centers are now offering nine-month courses in AI data science and prompt engineering. One local institute, Quality Thought, charges ₹1.16 lakh ($1,360) for its AI program — twice the price of traditional web development courses.
“Recruiters are asking for students with basic AI skills,” said instructor Priyanka Kandulapati. “We are going to streamline our courses even further to suit the demand.”
