T-Mobile has announced a partnership with OpenAI to develop IntentCX, an AI-driven way to handle customer service interactions. It’s set to launch in 2025, but IntentCX is supposed to go beyond the capabilities of current AI chatbots.

The technology will be trained on billions of data points from past customer interactions, including real-time network and service experiences. While T-Mobile claimed this technology has benefits, like faster responses and improved customer satisfaction, the use of extensive customer data raises concerns. You’ve probably heard the “used for training purposes” line in customer support calls, but now that might be used for training AI, too.

This new AI feature is supposed to leverage T-Mobile’s extensive customer interaction data with OpenAI. IntentCX will provide service and solutions, engage in complex conversations across languages, and even take proactive actions on behalf of customers. It will even be able to connect directly to T-Mobile’s operational systems to address customer needs preemptively. AI taking “preemptive and proactive actions on behalf of customers can lead to issues. While T-Mobile says this will be done with customer permission, it never clarifies the extent of control customers will have over these actions.

The potential for AI to misinterpret customer intent or provide inaccurate information is always a real concern because AI isn’t perfect and makes mistakes often. Humans make mistakes, too, but they have accountability, and AI messing up doesn’t lead to it being punished. While T-Mobile claims that IntentCX will be trained on “award-winning” customer service approaches, the complexities of human interaction could lead to misunderstandings and frustrating customer experiences.

What’s worse is that carriers, including T-Mobile, have a history of data breaches and leaks. This raises questions about the security and ethical implications of using even more customer data to power AI systems. A human can’t be hacked into exposing sensitive customer information, but there is a chance the AI can give information to the wrong person. T-Mobile will collaborate with Open AI to develop additional AI-enabled services and tools. It isn’t stated if the companies are using T-Mobile customer information just for customer service, or whether personal data is going toward helping the AI company outside of the customer service realm.

Source: Business Wire