United Kingdom, Nov. 3 -- Artificial intelligence is set to replace large sections of the global customer service workforce within the next few years, as companies increasingly turn to automated "AI agents" to handle customer queries.

According to forecasts by business and technology research firm Gartner, AI systems will autonomously resolve up to 80 percent of common customer service issues by 2029.

The rise of the technology has sparked fears millions of call centre jobs - many based in countries such as India and the Philippines - are at risk.

Last year, K Krithivasan, chief executive of Indian technology giant Tata Consultancy Services, told the Financial Times AI may soon mean there is "minimal need" for call centres across Asia....