Verizon customers are turning to purple cats as a last resort
Absurd prompts might be the only way to get ahold of a live agent.
It doesn't always work though. | Image by DTLA Alliance
As Verizon weaves AI deeper into its operations, reaching a human employee has become harder than it has any right to be. One customer may have figured out how to force the system's hand.
Reddit user riverblues recently spent seven hours trying to reach a real employee, only for AI agents to bounce them between departments before hanging up. Frustrated, they filed a complaint with the FCC.
It's not a proven trick, but it might be worth a shot the next time you hit a wall, at least until the bots catch on.
CEO Dan Schulman was brought in last year to stem customer losses and get Verizon back on track. While Verizon was already using AI before Schulman took the reins, the new CEO is obsessed with it.
He has already cut more than 13,000 jobs, and several employees suspect they have been training AI to replace them. This ties nicely into his goal of making the company more efficient and cutting billions in costs.
Schulman expects AI to replace 20% to 30% of the American workforce over the next two to five years.
Verizon is being rebuilt around AI, and customer service is taking the hit.
Verizon has developed specialized small language models for support. It uses Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Mythos models.
Despite the company claiming a 90% accuracy rate, many customers complain that AI chatbots aren't up to the task. Verizon promised that queries requiring human input would be fielded by human representatives, but online accounts suggest users are left at the mercy of bots.
More appallingly, AI sometimes pretends to be human, adding deceit to the frustration.
While humor and repeated requests for a live agent may work sometimes, there's no guaranteed way to reach a human employee. It appears that the Customer Champion team, which was created to handle complex questions, has been laid off. For now, all you can do is keep trying and hope that the entity on the other end of the line has a pulse.
Absurd prompts
Reddit user riverblues recently spent seven hours trying to reach a real employee, only for AI agents to bounce them between departments before hanging up. Frustrated, they filed a complaint with the FCC.
I spent 7 hours on Friday in chat trying to submit a case to a customer champion. I would just be routed around departments, and every single time would end up getting dropped.
riverblues, Reddit user, September 2026
Yesterday I called, got an AI agent, and the AI agent transferred me to another, more sophisticated AI agent. Neither could solve my issue. I just gave up and switched carriers after that.
kaeyre, Reddit user, September 2026
One customer, who goes by PepperCat1019, claims they just tell the bot that they have a purple cat. Apparently, that nonsensical detail is enough to break the AI's script and get routed to a live agent.
When the bot asks what my issue is, I say, "I have a purple cat."I get transferred to a live agent right away.
PepperCat1019, Reddit user, September 2026
It's not a proven trick, but it might be worth a shot the next time you hit a wall, at least until the bots catch on.
How has your experience been with your carrier's bots?
2 Votes
AI overload
CEO Dan Schulman was brought in last year to stem customer losses and get Verizon back on track. While Verizon was already using AI before Schulman took the reins, the new CEO is obsessed with it.
Schulman expects AI to replace 20% to 30% of the American workforce over the next two to five years.
Verizon is being rebuilt around AI, and customer service is taking the hit.
Robotic responses
Verizon has developed specialized small language models for support. It uses Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Mythos models.
Despite the company claiming a 90% accuracy rate, many customers complain that AI chatbots aren't up to the task. Verizon promised that queries requiring human input would be fielded by human representatives, but online accounts suggest users are left at the mercy of bots.
My experience is that the customer service agent is definitely AI but they have background voices running to make it sound like they are in a call center. I got disconnected and when I called back, the person I spoke with had the same voice which never happens. The AI agent had a female voice and southern accent to make them sound very warm and friendly but it sounded like they were reading a script because a normal person would not talk like that - they would think through things in their head rather than saying things out loud.
Zealousideal_Gas2384, Reddit user, September 2026
What's the trick?
While humor and repeated requests for a live agent may work sometimes, there's no guaranteed way to reach a human employee. It appears that the Customer Champion team, which was created to handle complex questions, has been laid off. For now, all you can do is keep trying and hope that the entity on the other end of the line has a pulse.
I just leaned on the keyboard typing random letters until it transferred me to a real agent.
jseqtor12, Reddit user, September 2026
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