Ask ChatGPT whether AI will replace humans in the customer service industry, and it will offer a diplomatic answer, the summary of which is "they will work side by side".

Humans though, are not so optimistic.

Last year, the chief executive of Indian technology firm Tata Consultancy Services, K Krithivasan, told the Financial Times that AI may soon mean that there is by 2029, predicts business and technology research firm Gartner.

There is currently a lot of hype around "AI agents". That is the term given to AI systems that can operate more autonomously and make decisions.

They could turbo-charge current non-AI chatbots, known as "rule-based chatbots", which can only answer a set list of questions.