Verizon CEO wants to start treating customers like humans
Verizon doesn't want to lean on network superiority claims any longer.
Verizon wants to humanize the carrier experience. | Image by NBC News
As the wireless war heats up and wireless growth cools off, carriers have resorted to boasting and mud-slinging to steal each other's customers. However, proclaiming network supremacy isn't enough to win over customers anymore, according to Verizon Chief Executive Officer, Dan Schulman.
More than just lines on an account
When Schulman took the helm in October, Verizon was closing its third straight quarter of customer losses. He was brought in to turn things around, and the Q4 results suggest a deep commitment to that goal.
As the 5G market matures and growth begins to plateau, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have taken to flaunting cherry-picked network reports to woo customers.
While Schulman still believes Verizon has the best network, he admits that its lead has narrowed. The company is shifting its focus toward the nuances of the customers experience.
We probably do have, objectively speaking, the best network, but the differential on that is less than it used to be, and we now need to do all of the basic stuff.
Dan Schulman, Verizon CEO, April 2026
More importantly, Verizon's CEO no longer wants to treat customers like mere accounts, per Bloomberg.
You have to treat people like humans, not like accounts.
Dan Schulman, Verizon CEO, April 2026
Untangling the relationship
From the very day he reluctantly took over as CEO, Schulman has expressed a desire to fix Verizon's relationship with its customers. The CEO has no qualms about acknowledging that rivals offering better deals have been poaching its customers.
To boost user-friendliness, Verizon wants to simplify plans and streamline promotions.
It's not all rainbows and sunshine, of course. As Schulman works to maintain Verizon's dominance as America's largest carrier by subscriber base, he has had to make some tough calls along the way, including laying off about 13,000 employees, or around 20% of the workforce.
As luck would have it, Verizon's network went down for nearly ten hours in January.
Schulman aims to rein in costs and has embraced AI to make the company more efficient. Verizon has started using AI company Anthropic's powerful new model, Mythos.
The CEO doubled down on his ambitions to integrate AI into workflows, admonishing those who are wary of it. The CEO said that it's the age of AI and everything is going to change.
It's not all rainbows and sunshine, of course. As Schulman works to maintain Verizon's dominance as America's largest carrier by subscriber base, he has had to make some tough calls along the way, including laying off about 13,000 employees, or around 20% of the workforce.
As luck would have it, Verizon's network went down for nearly ten hours in January.
Embracing AI
Schulman aims to rein in costs and has embraced AI to make the company more efficient. Verizon has started using AI company Anthropic's powerful new model, Mythos.
The CEO doubled down on his ambitions to integrate AI into workflows, admonishing those who are wary of it. The CEO said that it's the age of AI and everything is going to change.
It’s just a fact: living in the age of AI, it’s going to change everything. If you’re scared of it, that’s problematic. You need to embrace it for all that it is.
Dan Schulman, Verizon CEO, April 2026
How should Verizon go about treating its customers as humans?
Get straight to the point instead of marketing fluff.
13.57%
If you can raise prices, you must be willing to lower them.
33.57%
Don't replace humans with AI.
36.43%
Don't tack on unnecessary fees.
16.43%
The good and the bad
Verizon's single-minded focus on high-value customers who didn't flinch at the series of price increases the company instituted cost it 2.25 million subscribers in the past three years.
Verizon overplayed its hand, assuming it would be able to rely on its premium image to justify price hikes.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile was emerging as the 5G leader, and other alternatives were sprouting up in the form of MVNOs and cable companies for customers.
Schulman previously agreed that Verizon raised prices without also providing more value to customers. Subscribers can now rest easy that they won't be saddled with needless price hikes.
On the other hand, Verizon's insistence on using AI means more frustrating call center experiences. While AI tools continue to improve, carrier subscribers have often expressed frustration about chatbots' inability to understand and solve their problems like a human employee would.
Carrier wars fatigue is setting in
Whether it's hurling accusations of deceptive marketing campaigns against each other or asserting they have superior networks, carriers risk alienating customers with these strategies.
However, the good news for customers is that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon also ramped up promotions some months back, though they are now taking a more restrained approach.
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