Verizon Consumer Group: Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO

Sowmyanarayan Sampath.



Tayo "TAYOJR" Kuku

Sowmyanarayan Sampath took over as Verizon Consumer Group's CEO in March, and the job has made it clear how essential the internet has become.

"If a kid doesn't have connectivity earlier, he can't play video games, do homework. If there is no connectivity, a mom cannot log into a Zoom call from home," Sampath told BI. "Connectivity is the bridge to everything."

Internet access is so important that people are willing to pay a bit more for good service, he said.

To Sampath, that means using AI at a scale that allows workers to reduce all the information they have to keep in their heads — a challenge Sampath observed while taking calls during a night shift in the Philippines. "Over the years we made our systems pretty complex, so we've made a very sharp turn to simplify," he said.

This means implementing AI broadly. AI will allow Verizon to understand "the sentiment of the customer, pick up cues, and then serve up what is best," he said.

Sampath's 2024 goal is to be "the world's best AI-applied company" and use it every day, within internal workflows, and then customer interactions. "I'm not that excited by doing these pilots and trials," he said, adding that responsible AI use is a priority. "I don't want the algo doing things I wouldn't do myself."

Correction: January 3, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the title for LinkedIn's Dan Shapero. It is chief operating officer, not chief technology officer.