How Are Multi-Location Businesses and Call Centers Using Voice AI?

By Manny Larcher

Companies are putting their AI money in customer service. Gartner found that service and support leaders invested a median of 12% of their 2025 budgets in AI, more than any of the 10 business functions it assessed, and it urges them to invest in the voice channel, not just chatbots. For multi-location groups and contact centers, phone spending is starting to show up.

Where voice AI fits in a large operation

Overflow. AI picks up when queues spike, so callers aren't left on hold or hanging up.
After hours. One system covers nights, weekends, and every time zone the same way.
Consistency. Every location gives the same answers and follows the same booking rules.
Intake. AI collects the reason for the call and account details before a transfer, so agents start informed.
Integration. Better deployments connect to the CRM, scheduling, or health-record system rather than working beside it.

It is augmenting agents, not replacing them

The layoff headlines overstate what is happening on the floor. In Gartner's survey of 321 service leaders, only 20% had reduced agent staffing because of AI, and Gartner predicts half of the companies that did will rehire for similar work by 2027. Most leaders (85%) are adding responsibilities to their human agents instead.

Customers are drawing the same line. In a Gartner survey of 5,801 U.S. customers, 54% said they trust human agents more than AI for product or service recommendations, against 32% who trust AI more. The working model is AI for volume and routine requests, with people for judgment.

Need overflow or after-hours coverage across locations? We'll connect you with providers that support multi-location deployments. Request matches: [Click here to contact us]

The rules are tightening

California's AB 1609 takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. It bars businesses with more than $500 million in annual revenue from presenting a customer-service chatbot as human, and it requires them to let California customers request a human agent and make a good-faith effort to connect them within 15 minutes. Recording consent varies by state [LINK: E6], and healthcare and payment calls carry their own requirements under HIPAA and PCI DSS. [LINK: E3]

What to ask before rolling out

How does the system hand a call to a person, and how quickly?
What call data is stored, where, and for how long?
Which security and compliance reports does the provider hold, and can you review them?
Can you pilot at one location or one queue before scaling? [LINK: E10]

Share your locations, call volume and systems, and we'll connect you with voice AI providers you can question directly on integration and compliance. Matching is free. Request matches: [Click here to contact us]

Sources

Gartner — "Gartner Survey Finds Customers Are 3x More Likely to Use Third-Party GenAI Than Company-Provided Chatbots for Customer Service"
Gartner — "Gartner Predicts Half of Companies That Cut Customer Service Staff Due to AI Will Rehire by 2027"
Business Wire — "Gartner Survey Finds 85% of Service and Support Leaders are Expanding Human Agent Responsibilities"
California Legislative Information — "AB-1609 Customer service chatbots"