Reshoring Jobs Through AI Customer Service

Situation

• Companies traditionally outsourced customer service operations to large overseas call centers to manage costs while handling high volumes
• These operations typically required large teams of agents in lower-cost regions
• A friend of Dan Shipper's company was operating with this traditional model - a large offshore call center with numerous employees
• The company was exploring ways to maintain service levels while potentially restructuring operations

Actions

• The company identified AI-powered customer service platforms as a potential alternative to their traditional call center model
• They decided to experiment with a radical restructuring: replacing their entire offshore call center operation with just two US-based employees
• These employees were equipped with advanced AI customer service tools that dramatically amplified their capabilities
• The company maintained the AI-human hybrid approach rather than attempting full automation (Dan specifically noted that Klarna's claims of full automation were "bullshit")
• They relocated these positions to the US, potentially paying slightly less than they would for a traditional US call center but more than offshore rates

Results

• The two US-based employees with AI tools were able to handle the same workload as the entire previous offshore call center
• The company maintained their customer service output levels despite the dramatic reduction in headcount
• This approach allowed them to reshore jobs that had previously been sent overseas
• The company achieved significant operational efficiency while bringing jobs back to the US market

Key Lessons

• AI as workforce multiplier: AI tools can dramatically increase individual productivity, allowing one person to do the work previously requiring many
• Reshoring potential: Rather than eliminating jobs entirely, AI may enable companies to bring previously outsourced positions back to domestic markets
• Hybrid approach works best: The most effective implementation maintained human oversight and judgment while using AI to handle volume and routine tasks
• Skill transformation: The nature of customer service work changes - from handling individual interactions to managing AI systems that handle interactions
• Cost-benefit recalculation: The economics of outsourcing change when AI dramatically increases per-employee productivity
• Geographic flexibility: Companies can reconsider location decisions based on AI capabilities rather than just labor costs
• Workforce transition: This represents a shift from large teams of specialists to smaller teams of AI-empowered generalists

This case illustrates how AI can transform not just the efficiency of operations but potentially reverse decades-long trends in global labor distribution, creating new opportunities for domestic employment in roles previously deemed too expensive to maintain locally.