Executive VP & CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, Verizon
Search every verified Sowmyanarayan Sampath interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Sowmyanarayan Sampath, Executive Vice President and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, has spoken extensively in 2024 and 2025 about the integration of artificial intelligence into Verizon’s operations and customer experience. He described AI as "the only deflationary tool we have in our economy for the next two decades" and outlined three areas where Verizon captures value from AI: improving operations, driving better products, and participating in the AI ecosystem to generate revenue. Sampath highlighted the launch of "Project 624," which included a redesigned app and the "Verizon Assistant," an AI tool that can perform tasks such as checking bills and explaining charges. He stated that Verizon works closely with Google as an "R&D partner" and that the company aims to be "the best deployed conversational AI tool in the world." Sampath also discussed the impact of AI on the workforce, predicting that up to 40-50% of customer care agent capacity could be freed up over three years and redeployed to other areas. Sampath has also addressed Verizon’s M&A strategy, digital inclusion, and the importance of culture. He said that the company’s acquisition of Tracfone "went quite poorly" for the first three years because "M&A was the strategy," but that Verizon has since turned around the business, moving from "losing market share 13 quarters in a row to actually gaining market share for the last three quarters." On digital inclusion, he noted that 42 million Americans lack sustained internet access and called affordability a major challenge. Sampath described Verizon’s approach to localization, dividing the country into 55 territories and giving store managers flexibility to tailor their locations. He also stated that Verizon has an AI governance council and maintains a "human in the loop" approach to AI deployment.
“When you do an M&A it's a combination of narrative and valuation. I think people spend too much time on the narrative and don't fully understand why you did the acquisition.”
“The first big one is be very clear why you're doing the acquisition. Second is funding. We all get so excited by synergies. You have to take this in this. But you also got to fund the growth because there's, you know, there's no free lunch.”
“In large M&A transactions, I think the first thing is, are you aligned on your belief system or your value system? And the answer nine out of ten times is no. Because companies have come in from very different places.”
“And the second is how do you execute culture. I think culture for me is the sum total of every single interaction you have as a company. The tone that the conversation we are having is culture.”
“What doesn't change is relentless focus on client outcomes. It goes back to the fundamentals. Are you working on the problems I want you to work on? Are you driving the outcomes I want you to drive?”
“I've had a 22 year relationship with BCG in different forms. There are 2 or 3 things that don't change and a couple of things that have changed. What doesn't change is relentless focus on client outcomes.”
“We bought Tracfone. We bought it in four years ago, and the first three years of the integration went quite poorly. I think the reason it went poorly was because M&A was the strategy.”
“We went from losing market share 13 quarters in a row to actually gaining market share for the last three quarters, and will continue to see that trend over the next 8 to 10 quarters as well.”
“You also got to fund the growth because there's, you know, there's no free lunch. You got to fund growth.”
“I see AI in three buckets on where we capture value. The first is applied AI where we use AI to improve our operations to improve our experience. The second is leverage AI to drive better products... The third is how we take part in the AI ecosystem to drive more revenue just from the ecosystem alone.”
“The single biggest opportunity for us is customer care. We have I would think probably one of the largest pools of customer care agents in the world and they do an incredible job every single day answering questions, selling to customers, taking care of customers.”
“When you pair an agent who has empathy, connection and emotional connection with customers with data and they bring the two together, you get a personalized engine that's very tough to beat.”
“You take the capacity that's freed up, it could be as high as 40–50% over the next 3 years and deploy that in other areas.”
“We want to be the best deployed conversational AI tool in the world. Conversational AI is the most difficult part of AI where customers are talking either through chat or through voice.”
“We launched the Verizon Assistant, which is the world's most advanced AI app in the space that we have. You can check your bill, it can tell you why your bill went up... It can do hundreds of things that typically chat bots have never been able to do.”
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