Deployable AI use cases in big firms very limited: Teleperformance CEO

Julien talked about the hype and reality of artificial intelligence (AI), and the importance of India as well as other new emerging countries in the business

For Paris-headquartered business process management giant Teleperformance (now rebranded TP), India accounts for over 20 per cent of its 500,000-strong workforce, and the country is also its most profitable and high-growth market. Teleperfomance Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Daniel Julien, who was recently in New Delhi, talked about the hype and reality of artificial intelligence (AI), and the importance of India and other emerging countries in the business, with Surajeet Das Gupta in a video interview. Edited excerpts: 

Teleperformance has many top global companies as their clients with whom you work closely. How are they using AI and digital solutions? How do you see these technologies affecting the balance between human employees and productivity? 

Among our clients, we see a cautious approach to AI deployment, especially among the top 100 most valuable companies. Many are concerned about the complexity of AI, legal issues, and the emotional needs of customers. For us, GenAI helps by enabling faster access to knowledge bases and improving customer interactions, but we don’t see AI replacing humans. The balance between AI and human resources is crucial, and we continue to prioritise human involvement in customer service, even with AI enhancements. 

 You have a bird’s eye view on how global corporates are implementing AI in their companies. Where are they now? 

There’s a lot of hype surrounding AI, especially from middle and senior management levels, driven by anxiety about competition and innovation. However, the number of deployable use cases in large organisations is still limited, with just 5-10 scalable use cases. We’re a few years away from seeing widespread AI application across industries. While many organisations are exploring AI, the actual application remains limited, especially in large organisations. AI adoption is still in its infancy, and companies need to invest significantly to develop scalable solutions. 

How far has AI penetration reached within companies, especially for customer experience management? 

AI penetration is slower than some headlines suggest. Many companies still need to catch up with basic digitalisation tools like robotic process automation (RPA) and optical character recognition (OCR). For us, AI is more about improving internal processes, like recruitment and training, rather than completely replacing human interaction. While AI has its place, the adoption rate in customer experience management remains low, and we’re still in the early stages of exploring its full potential. 

 For Teleperformance, how important is India in the overall business plan? 

Today, the group is projected to make roughly $11 billion in revenues, with our major markets being the US, and Europe. But our largest production geographies are India and the Philippines for English services, Latin America for Spanish, and North Africa for French. We also have a multilingual hub in Malaysia for Asian languages. India is our largest subsidiary, with around 100,000 employees, making up 20 per cent of the 500,000 global workforce. Not only is India a major centre for our operations, but it's also one of our fastest-growing regions. We've built a deep bench of talent here to lead digital integration and CX (customer experience) transformation efforts, which are often tested in India before being implemented globally. India is a key hub for excellence in digital solutions and efficiency. 

You mentioned that India contributes 20 per cent of your workforce, but how much does it contribute to your revenues? 

Its contribution to our revenues is around 10 per cent. The price point for services in India is lower compared to markets like the US or Mexico.  

However, India remains a significant source of profitability due to its integrated digital and human resources. We're continuing to aggressively develop our presence here. 

 With 100,000 employees in India, what’s the plan for further growth? Where do you see this number going? 

In the last 12 months, we've already added 10,000 people, growing from 90,000 to 100,000. We expect this trend to continue for the next few years, although the pace may be influenced by how much digitalisation affects human headcount. 

What’s the competitive landscape like in India? Are other countries offering similar pricing for services? 

India remains a leader in customer experience outsourcing due to its talent pool, scalability, and education system. 

 

While other regions, like Africa, offer similar pricing for English services, they don’t yet match India’s scale and capabilities. The Philippines has also reached maturity, but India still holds the edge in terms of population size and service capabilities. 

Egypt is growing rapidly and has a lot of potential, especially for English services. We have around 25,000 employees there, and while it’s not as large as India, it’s an emerging market for us. Pricing in Egypt is slightly higher than that in India but not significantly.