Market Overview

The adoption of AI services in call centers began gaining momentum around 2018. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, call centers were compelled to reduce the number of on-site operators to prevent the spread of infection. This situation significantly increased the demand for automation, fueling rapid growth in the market for AI solutions offered by call center outsourcing providers.
As call centers continued to face operator shortages even after the lift of activity restrictions related to the pandemic, the demand for call center automation kept growing. In FY2023, the market size of AI services by call center businesses is estimated to have reached six billion yen, which represents 120% of the previous fiscal year (based on the sales of businesses).

Noteworthy Topics

Market Anticipates Continued Growth In FY2024 Due To “Operator Shortages,” “Increase in Customer Interaction through Non-contact Channels,” and “Rise of Generative AI”

The demand for call center automation continued to grow in 2024 as a result of ongoing call center operator shortages. The rise in customer engagement through non-contact channels, driven in part by the widespread adoption of remote work, has been accompanied by growing demand for AI services that support these channels, such as websites and social media.
Furthermore, the emphasis on generative AI in general also prompted user enterprises to consider employing generative AI in their call center operations. In light of the situation, the market for AI services provided by call center outsourcers is expected to grow to nine billion yen in FY2024, 150% of the preceding fiscal year.

Future Outlook

The introduction of AI services in call centers is projected to continue its upward trajectory in FY2025 and beyond, fueled by increasing demand for call center automation stemming from operator shortages and the growing need for customer interaction across a broader range of non-contact channels.


This growth is expected to accelerate further as advancements are made in techniques to mitigate AI hallucinations* (enhancing the reliability and effectiveness of AI-driven solutions).
Against this backdrop, we forecast that the domestic market size for AI services by call center businesses will achieve a CAGR of 30.8% between FY2022 and FY2028, reaching 25 billion yen by FY2028.

*AI hallucination refers to a phenomenon where an AI system produces illogical or inaccurate outputs due to misinterpretation of data.

Research Outline