AT&T CEO details AI operational gains

AT&T CEO and chair John Stankey says the company is past the buzz and is using AI to change day-to-day operations, from running its network to handling customers. The operator is using AI tools to analyse how it segments and serves different regions and customer groups, aiming to tighten business processes rather than simply add new products.

Stankey also tied these AI efforts to AT&T’s heavy spending on fibre and spectrum, including recent acquisitions to expand its fibre footprint. He argued that in the US, the core network is fibre, with various access technologies attached, and that this fibre base is critical for the AI boom even if most attention goes to data centres and power. AT&T is seeing gains from bundled fibre and mobile offers, which he says cut customer churn by replacing multiple contracts with a single package. Looking ahead, he expects satellite links to sit alongside fibre and mobile. In the interview, he also touches on how older US regulations still shape today’s competitive market, spectrum pressures, and the 150th anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell’s first phone call.