What AI platform does Verizon use?

Verizon assembled a four-layer AI tech stack in 2026 (a data and model layer, an agent factory, runtime engines and a control plane) from vendor components, and Dan Schulman called it newly completed in Oct 2026.

Which AI models does Verizon use?

Verizon works most closely with Google, whose Gemini models run its contact center platform and Customer Champion care service, and Anthropic, whose Claude Code it gave to about 33,000 technology employees (Jun 2026) and whose Mythos model it uses in cyber defense.

How far has AI spread at Verizon?

Verizon sits at Scaling: a company-wide four-layer AI tech stack was completed in 2026 and Dan Schulman said in Oct 2026 that the transformation increasingly runs through it, Verizon gave Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees by Jun 2026, Google's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats, AI runs in network operations, Alfonso Villanueva owns data, analytics and AI, and Verizon reports an AI-credited return of more than $200 million in network energy savings. Verizon sits short of Embedded: it has published no count of production use cases and no figure for how many of its roughly 93,300 employees use AI each week, its Gemini Enterprise rollout for employee productivity was a plan in Aug 2026, and its $9 billion cost program does not separate AI's share.

Verified Nov 1, 2026

Verizon

Scaling

Telecom
~93,300 employees
Four-layer AI stack (2026)
Gemini and Claude
Claude Code for ~33,000
$200M+ AI energy savings

Verizon deploys AI through a four-layer AI tech stack completed in 2026 from Google, Anthropic and other vendors' tools, and CEO Dan Schulman said in Oct 2026 that Verizon increasingly runs its transformation through it. Google's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats (Aug 2026), and Verizon gave Anthropic's Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees (Jun 2026). Alfonso Villanueva, Chief Transformation Officer and Consumer Group CEO, oversees data, analytics and AI, and Verizon credits AI with more than $200 million in network energy savings.

verizon.com

Their approach to AI

The platform: Verizon assembled a four-layer AI tech stack in 2026 (a data and model layer, an agent factory, runtime engines and a control plane) from vendor components, and Dan Schulman called it newly completed in Oct 2026.
The models: Verizon works most closely with Google, whose Gemini models run its contact center platform and Customer Champion care service, and Anthropic, whose Claude Code it gave to about 33,000 technology employees (Jun 2026) and whose Mythos model it uses in cyber defense.
The reach: Verizon gave Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees by Jun 2026, and Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats (Aug 2026); Verizon has not said how many of its roughly 93,300 employees use AI each week.
The catch: Verizon has tied one realized dollar return to its own use of AI, more than $200 million in network energy savings, and has not said how much of its $9 billion 2026 cost program or its 13,000-plus job cuts comes from AI.

Snapshot

Employees: ~93,300; Full-time equivalent at Sep 30, 2026; 89,900 at Dec 31, 2025, before Frontier joined on Jan 20, 2026
Capital expenditures: $17.0B (2025); $16.0B to $16.5B guided for 2026, including AI Connect builds
AI/ML headcount: Not disclosed; A trade report put the Data, Analytics and AI organization at more than 3,000 people under Mano Mannoochahr (Aug 2026); Verizon has not confirmed it
Who owns AI: Alfonso Villanueva; EVP, Chief Transformation Officer and CEO of the Consumer Group; oversees data analytics and AI
Platform: Four-layer AI tech stack; Assembled from vendor models and tools; planned substantially complete by Jul 2026, called completed in Oct 2026
Models: Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude; LLMs and small language models; Claude Mythos for cyber defense (Apr 2026)
Reach: ~33,000 with Claude Code; Technology employees given access by Jun 2026; no company-wide usage figure published
Use cases: Network, care, software, cyber, marketing; No count of production use cases published

Key findings

Verizon assembled a four-layer AI tech stack in 2026 from Google, Anthropic and other vendors' models and tools, and Dan Schulman said on Oct 26, 2026 that Verizon increasingly runs its transformation through the newly completed stack; in Aug 2026 Verizon expanded its Google Cloud partnership, with Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handling most inbound consumer calls and chats.
Verizon gave Anthropic's Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees in the first half of 2026, up from fewer than 500 users in Jan 2026, CTO Yago Tenorio told Light Reading in Jun 2026, and Verizon says AI agents in its network identify and resolve issues in less than two minutes.
Verizon credits AI in its network with more than $200 million in energy savings (Apr 2026), the only business return it has tied to AI; Dan Schulman's aim of cutting software vendor support costs by more than 70% with AI is a target, and Verizon has not said how much of its $9 billion 2026 cost program or its more than 13,000 job cuts comes from AI.
Alfonso Villanueva, a former PayPal strategy and data science executive, joined Verizon in Nov 2025 as Chief Transformation Officer with the Data, Analytics and AI team under him and has also run the Consumer Group since Feb 2026, permanently from Jul 2026; Mano Mannoochahr, who led that team as Chief Data, Analytics and AI Officer, left for Ford in 2026, and Verizon has not announced a successor.
Verizon AI Connect, which sells fiber routes, power and space to companies building AI infrastructure, reached about $4 billion in signed contracts by Oct 26, 2026, including a Google dark fiber deal worth more than $1 billion and an AWS deal worth more than $2 billion, with revenue starting in 2027.

Where Verizon sits

Stage: Scaling
Verizon sits at Scaling: a company-wide four-layer AI tech stack was completed in 2026 and Dan Schulman said in Oct 2026 that the transformation increasingly runs through it, Verizon gave Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees by Jun 2026, Google's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats, AI runs in network operations, Alfonso Villanueva owns data, analytics and AI, and Verizon reports an AI-credited return of more than $200 million in network energy savings. Verizon sits short of Embedded: it has published no count of production use cases and no figure for how many of its roughly 93,300 employees use AI each week, its Gemini Enterprise rollout for employee productivity was a plan in Aug 2026, and its $9 billion cost program does not separate AI's share.
How the stages are defined
Ownership: Alfonso Villanueva, EVP, Chief Transformation Officer and Consumer Group CEO, who oversees data analytics and AI
Platform: Hybrid: Four-layer AI stack assembled in 2026 from vendor models and tools
Models: Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude, plus small language models
Hosting: Gemini on Google Cloud, with data moving to Google's Agentic Data Cloud; AWS is the preferred public cloud; where the AI stack and Claude run is not published
Reach: Claude Code for ~33,000 technology staff (Jun 2026); no company-wide usage figure

How they deploy

From AI-first to AI-native

Dan Schulman, CEO since Oct 2025, said on his first earnings call that Verizon would use AI to simplify offers, improve the customer experience and reduce churn, and in Jan 2026 that Verizon was determined to be an AI-first company deploying AI at scale. Schulman said in Apr 2026 that he wants Verizon to be AI-native, using AI in three areas: operating efficiency, customer satisfaction, and the value proposition offered to each customer. Schulman told a May 2026 investor conference that AI is existential for Verizon, not optional, and said in Jun 2026 that AI could take over a large percentage of Verizon's customer service work, with people and AI handling complex cases together.

Buy the models, assemble the stack

Verizon's AI tech stack has four layers, Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026: a data and intelligence layer with large and small language models, a development factory where agents are built and observed before release, runtime engines that put agents into business functions, and a control plane for security, identity, guardrails, safety, observability and traceability. Schulman said the stack is assembled from Google, Anthropic and other vendors rather than built from scratch, and that Verizon would finish in months work that an earlier project had scheduled over four years. Schulman said on Oct 26, 2026 that the stack was newly completed. In Aug 2026 Verizon expanded its Google Cloud partnership and said it will use Gemini Enterprise for agent orchestration and employee productivity across its core business functions.

AI inside the cost program

Verizon launched 10 transformation workstreams in 2026, one of them becoming an AI-first company, each run by a cross-functional team with monthly and annual targets (Apr 2026). The workstreams sit behind a $9 billion 2026 cost program of $5 billion in operating savings and $4 billion in capital savings, and CFO Tony Skiadas said in Sep 2026 that more work on the AI and technology stacks and further AI in the network and customer care are among Verizon's cost opportunities for 2027 and 2028.

An offer for every customer

Verizon runs an initiative called Every Customer Has a Name to combine structured, unstructured and external data into a tailored offer for each customer, Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026, building on the Segment of Me personalization tool Verizon described in Jan 2025. Schulman said in Sep 2026 that Verizon holds more than 300 data points on each customer, which AI now lets it correlate for much smaller segments.

Selling to AI builders

Verizon launched AI Connect in Jan 2025 to sell fiber, edge compute sites, power, space and cooling to hyperscalers and enterprises running AI workloads, and Kyle Malady put the addressable market at more than $40 billion that month. Verizon signed a dark fiber deal with Google worth more than $1 billion (Jul 2026) and one with AWS worth more than $2 billion (Oct 2026), reaching about $4 billion in signed contracts, and is retrofitting central offices as edge data centers for AI inference. Dan Schulman said the margins are equal to or greater than Verizon's existing ones and revenue begins in 2027.

Deployment model: Verizon runs AI as a central program inside its company-wide transformation. The Transformation Organization, created in Nov 2025 under Alfonso Villanueva, holds the Data, Analytics and AI team alongside strategy and corporate development, procurement, supply chain and sustainability, and Villanueva's remit includes building an AI-first digital infrastructure. Mano Mannoochahr led the Data, Analytics and AI team until he left for Ford in 2026. Global Networks and Technology under Joe Russo, with CTO Yago Tenorio, runs AI in network operations and gave Claude Code to its technology staff; Abdu Mudesir takes over the group at the end of Q1 2027. Verizon Business under Kyle Malady sells AI Connect, and a separate AI Governance organization runs Verizon's centralized Responsible AI Program. Each of the 10 transformation workstreams launched in 2026 has its own cross-functional team and targets, with a governance process that reviews progress and reallocates resources.
Model providers: Verizon uses Google's Gemini models through Google Cloud for its Customer Champion care service (Jun 2025) and its contact center platform, now Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (Aug 2026), and Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that Verizon works very closely with Google, Anthropic and other AI vendors, with large and small language models in the data layer of its stack. Verizon gave Anthropic's Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees and also uses Google's Gemini coding tool (Jun 2026). Verizon says it has worked with Anthropic's Mythos model across its cybersecurity work as part of Project Glasswing; Anthropic names other launch partners and says it extended access to more than 40 additional organizations, which matches Schulman's May 2026 description of Verizon as one of the first 40 companies with access. Verizon is building customer service voice agents with Sierra and Google (Apr 2026).
Data and infrastructure: Verizon named AWS its preferred strategic public cloud provider for digital transformation in its Nov 2025 AWS release. Google Cloud said in Aug 2026 that Verizon is in a multi-year move from legacy data lakes to Google's Agentic Data Cloud as a single source of truth, and that Google Cloud is the data platform partner for an autonomous network intelligence framework that predicts and resolves network anomalies. Verizon has not said where its AI stack runs or where it reaches Anthropic's models. The data and intelligence layer of the stack formats Verizon's structured and unstructured data for models (Apr 2026), and Verizon's Responsible AI principles call for privacy by design, including review of the data used to train models. Verizon also owns over 1 million miles of fiber (Aug 2024) and thousands of central offices, which it is converting into edge sites for other companies' AI inference.

Platforms and internal tools

Verizon AI tech stack2026
Verizon's AI tech stack has a data and intelligence layer with large and small language models, a development factory for building and testing agents, runtime engines that run agents in business functions, and a control plane covering security, identity, guardrails, safety, observability and traceability. Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that the stack would be substantially complete by Jul 2026 and fully done by Nov 2026, and on Oct 26, 2026 called it newly completed.
Models
Google, Anthropic and other vendors; large and small language models
Source
Gemini Enterprise for Customer ExperienceBy Aug 2026
Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience is the Google Cloud contact center platform Verizon uses for consumer care; Google said in Aug 2026 that it handles the majority of Verizon's inbound consumer calls and chats each month, leaving complex cases to care representatives.
Models
Google Gemini
Source
Claude Code for the technology teamBy Jan 2026
Verizon opened Anthropic's Claude Code to its whole technology team within about six weeks of Jan 2026, for coding and for work such as modelling, capacity planning, capital deployment, forecasting and automation, CTO Yago Tenorio told Light Reading in Jun 2026.
Users
About 33,000 technology employees given access; fewer than 500 users in Jan 2026
Models
Anthropic Claude
Source
Customer ChampionJun 2025
Customer Champion gives Verizon customers with complex issues a dedicated expert who uses Google Cloud's AI, including Gemini models, to follow the problem through to resolution and keep the customer updated by app, text or call back.
Models
Google Gemini
Source
Verizon Assistant in the My Verizon appJun 2025
Verizon Assistant is an AI assistant in the redesigned My Verizon app, launched with a redesign that lets customers sign up, manage upgrades, add lines and ask billing questions in the app.
Source
FastPassBy Jan 2025
FastPass is an AI tool in Verizon's mobility call centers that pairs each caller with the best available care representative, which Hans Vestberg cited in Jan 2025 as an example of AI driving efficiency.
Source
Segment of MeBy Jan 2025
Segment of Me is a Verizon tool that uses AI to personalize offers and products for each customer; Verizon's 2026 Every Customer Has a Name initiative extends the same aim with all of its structured, unstructured and external data.
Source
Verizon AI ConnectJan 2025
Verizon AI Connect is a suite of fiber, edge compute, power, space and cooling products that Verizon Business sells to hyperscalers, cloud providers and enterprises running AI workloads; Google Cloud and Meta were early buyers (Jan 2025).
Source
Verizon Business AssistantMar 2025
Verizon Business Assistant is a generative AI text messaging service Verizon sells to small businesses; it answers common customer questions around the clock and hands harder ones to a staff member.
Source
5G Private Network with Enterprise AIDec 2024
Verizon's 5G Private Network with Enterprise AI combines Verizon private 5G and private mobile edge compute with NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and NIM microservices to run AI on customers' premises; Verizon planned demonstrations from early 2025.
Models
NVIDIA AI Enterprise and NIM microservices
Source

Vendors and partners

Google CloudBy Jan 2025
Gemini Enterprise for care, agents and employee productivity; Agentic Data Cloud; Customer Champion; AI Connect customer · Google said in Jan 2025 that Verizon would use Google Cloud's AI and data platform for its customer, employee and network experience, and the two collaborated on AI for network maintenance and anomaly detection. Google and Verizon announced an expanded strategic partnership on Aug 24, 2026 covering customer care, agent orchestration, employee productivity, network operations, marketing and data, and Google signed a dark fiber deal with Verizon worth more than $1 billion in Jul 2026.
AnthropicBy Jan 2026
Claude Code across the technology team; Mythos model for cyber defense through Project Glasswing · Verizon gave Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees by Jun 2026. Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that Verizon is very close to Anthropic and part of Project Glasswing, and in May 2026 that Verizon was one of the first 40 companies to work with Mythos.
Amazon Web Services
Preferred strategic public cloud; AI Connect customer · Verizon's Nov 2025 release describes AWS as its preferred strategic public cloud provider for digital transformation. AWS signed an AI Connect fiber deal with Verizon in Nov 2025 and a second deal worth more than $2 billion in Oct 2026.
SierraEarly 2026
Customer service voice agents · Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that Verizon had spent three months working with Sierra and Google, among others, on voice agents in customer service.
NVIDIADec 2024
AI software for Verizon's private 5G and edge compute offer
MetaJan 2025
AI Connect early customer
VultrJan 2025
GPU cloud provider deploying its GPU service in a Verizon data center · Kyle Malady said in Jan 2025 that Vultr would first put its GPU-as-a-service equipment in one Verizon data center and use Verizon's fiber to distribute it, SDxCentral reported.
CorningSep 2026
Fiber supplier for broadband and AI Connect routes · Verizon agreed on Sep 8, 2026 to buy more than 80 million miles of fiber from Corning from 2027 through 2032 for broadband expansion and long-haul routes for AI customers.

Leadership

AI, data and platform leaders

Alfonso Villanueva

Executive Vice President, CEO of Verizon Consumer Group and Chief Transformation Officer

Alfonso Villanueva joined Verizon on Nov 20, 2025 as Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer, with strategy, corporate development, data analytics and AI, procurement, supply chain and sustainability under him, and became interim CEO of the Consumer Group in Feb 2026; Semafor reported in Jul 2026 that the Consumer role was becoming permanent and that Villanueva stays Chief Transformation Officer. Villanueva was earlier EVP of Strategy, Corporate Development and Data Science at PayPal, a McKinsey senior partner leading its Asia Pacific telecom, media and technology practice, and Chief Innovation Officer at SingTel.

Yago Tenorio

Chief Technology Officer

Yago Tenorio joined Verizon from Vodafone in late 2024 as Chief Technology Officer and reported to Joe Russo in Jun 2026, Light Reading reported. Tenorio told Light Reading in Jun 2026 that Verizon had given Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees and runs AI agents in its network, with the aim of TM Forum Level 4 network autonomy across all domains.

Joe Russo

Executive Vice President and President, Global Networks and Technology

Joe Russo leads Verizon's technology and product development, including its wireless network, Fios and global IP network, where Verizon now uses AI to fix network faults and cut energy use. Russo joined Bell Atlantic as an intern in 1995 and helped develop and launch Fios; Verizon said in Jun 2026 that Russo will retire and that Abdu Mudesir, formerly Deutsche Telekom's head of technology and product, takes over the group at the end of Q1 2027.

Executives

Dan Schulman

Chief Executive Officer

Dan Schulman became Verizon's CEO on Oct 4, 2025, after joining its board in 2018 and serving as lead independent director from Dec 2024, and Verizon extended his contract's initial term to Dec 2028 in Jul 2026. Schulman ran PayPal as President and CEO for nine years until 2023 and earlier held senior roles at AT&T, Priceline, Virgin Mobile USA and American Express; Schulman sets Verizon's AI agenda on earnings calls and investor conferences.

Tony Skiadas

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Tony Skiadas became Verizon's CFO on May 1, 2023 after serving as Senior Vice President and Controller, and began his career at Bell Atlantic Mobile in 1996. Skiadas reports Verizon's $9 billion cost program, which includes AI enablement on the IT side (Jan 2026), and named further AI in the network and customer care among Verizon's cost opportunities for 2027 and 2028 (Sep 2026).

Kyle Malady

Executive Vice President and CEO, Verizon Business Group

Kyle Malady runs Verizon Business, which sells AI Connect, and previously led Verizon's Global Networks and Technology group. Malady began his career as a cell site technician at NYNEX Mobile and chairs the wireless industry association CTIA.

Christina Schelling

Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer

Christina Schelling leads Verizon's global people strategy and, according to her Verizon biography, has accelerated AI fluency and adoption across the company. Schelling joined Verizon in 2022 and earlier led human resources for global corporate functions at The Estée Lauder Companies and held senior roles at Prudential and American Express.

Vandana Venkatesh

Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Vandana Venkatesh leads Verizon's Legal, Corporate Security and Cyber Security teams; Verizon's Responsible AI Program draws on Cyber Security, Privacy, Legal and Human Rights experts. Venkatesh held roles supporting Verizon's business units and corporate functions before becoming Chief Legal Officer.

AI org map

Central Transformation Organization owns data and AI; network, care and business units deploy it

Verizon created a Transformation Organization in Nov 2025 under Alfonso Villanueva and moved the Data, Analytics and AI team into it, together with strategy and corporate development, procurement, supply chain and sustainability. Villanueva also took over the Consumer Group in Feb 2026 after Sowmyanarayan Sampath stepped down, so one executive runs both the Consumer Group and Verizon's data and AI work; Mano Mannoochahr, who led the Data, Analytics and AI team, left for Ford in 2026. Joe Russo's Global Networks and Technology group, with CTO Yago Tenorio, runs network AI and passes to Abdu Mudesir at the end of Q1 2027, and Kyle Malady's Verizon Business Group sells AI Connect.

Verizon has not published how many data scientists or AI engineers it employs. National CIO Review reported in Aug 2026 that Mano Mannoochahr had overseen more than 3,000 employees as Verizon's Chief Data, Analytics and AI Officer, a figure Verizon has not confirmed. Verizon's AI work sits in three places: the Data, Analytics and AI team inside Alfonso Villanueva's Transformation Organization, which Verizon charges with building an AI-first digital infrastructure; Global Networks and Technology under Joe Russo, whose roughly 33,000-person technology team was given Claude Code and which runs AI in network operations; and the customer care and digital teams that use AI with customers. Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that Verizon had recruited many people with AI skills in the previous seven months.

Reporting lines

Chief Executive Officer
Dan Schulman
- Transformation Organization
  Alfonso Villanueva
  Strategy, corporate development, data analytics and AI, procurement, supply chain and sustainability; created Nov 2025
  - Data, Analytics and AI
    Led by Mano Mannoochahr, Chief Data, Analytics and AI Officer from Mar 2025, until he left for Ford in 2026; successor not announced
- Verizon Consumer Group
  Alfonso Villanueva, CEO
  Interim CEO from Feb 2026; Semafor reported in Jul 2026 that the role would be made permanent
- Global Networks and Technology
  Joe Russo
  Network AI for autonomous fault repair and energy optimization; Abdu Mudesir succeeds Russo at the end of Q1 2027
  - Chief Technology Officer
    Yago Tenorio
    Reporting line as reported by Light Reading in Jun 2026
- Verizon Business Group
  Kyle Malady, CEO
  Sells AI Connect
- Finance
  Tony Skiadas, CFO
- Human Resources
  Christina Schelling, Chief People Officer
  Leads AI fluency and adoption across Verizon, per her Verizon biography
- Legal and Security
  Vandana Venkatesh, Chief Legal Officer
  Legal, Corporate Security and Cyber Security
AI Governance organization
Runs the centralized Responsible AI Program with Cyber Security, Privacy, Legal and Human Rights; leader and reporting line not published

Verizon's leadership page, checked Nov 1, 2026, lists no Chief AI Officer, Chief Data Officer, CTO or CIO; Yago Tenorio is CTO and reported to Joe Russo in Jun 2026, and Verizon has not announced a successor to Mano Mannoochahr as Chief Data, Analytics and AI Officer. Verizon does not publish reporting lines; the lines to the CEO are inferred from the leadership page and Dan Schulman's announcements. Verizon's management governance page says cross-functional councils overseen by the CEO approve strategic technology initiatives.

Where the AI workforce sits

Transformation Organization, including Data, Analytics and AI
Verizon has not published how many data scientists or AI engineers it employs; a trade report put the team at more than 3,000 people under Mano Mannoochahr.
Not disclosed
Global Networks and Technology
Verizon runs AI agents for autonomous network repair, energy optimization and fiber protection in the network organization, whose technology team of about 33,000 was given Claude Code.
Not disclosed
Customer care and digital
Care representatives use AI tools, Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats, and voice agents were being tested in 2026.
Not disclosed

Named people

Executive sponsors

Dan Schulman
Chief Executive Officer
Tony Skiadas
Chief Financial Officer · Reports the cost program that includes AI enablement
Christina Schelling
Chief People Officer · Credited by Verizon with accelerating AI fluency and adoption

Transformation Organization: data, analytics and AI

Not disclosed

Verizon has not announced who leads the Data, Analytics and AI team since Mano Mannoochahr left for Ford in 2026.

Alfonso Villanueva
EVP; CEO, Verizon Consumer Group; Chief Transformation Officer

Network and technology

Joe Russo
EVP and President, Global Networks and Technology · Retiring; Abdu Mudesir takes over at the end of Q1 2027
Yago Tenorio
Chief Technology Officer · Reported to Joe Russo (Jun 2026)

Verizon Business and AI Connect

Kyle Malady
EVP and CEO, Verizon Business Group

Legal and security

Vandana Venkatesh
EVP and Chief Legal Officer · Leads Legal, Corporate Security and Cyber Security

Use cases

Verizon has named AI use cases in network operations, customer care, marketing, software development and cybersecurity but has published no total count. Verizon credits AI with one business return so far, more than $200 million in network energy savings (Apr 2026); Dan Schulman's aim of cutting software vendor support costs by more than 70% with AI is a target, not a reported result. Verizon has not separated AI's share of its $9 billion 2026 cost program, and AI Connect, which sells fiber and edge sites to AI builders instead of using AI internally, had about $4 billion in signed contracts by Oct 2026.

Use case	Area	Status	ROI
Autonomous network fault repair Verizon runs AI agents in its network around the clock that detect anomalies, find the faulty domain or element and resolve issues in less than two minutes, and its closed-loop automation made more than 70 million network configuration changes autonomously in 2025 (Jun 2026). Dan Schulman said up to 85% of network domain issues are resolved autonomously (Apr 2026) and later described 85% as on track (May 2026), and Verizon is building an autonomous network intelligence framework with Google Cloud as data platform partner (Aug 2026).	Global Networks and Technology	In production
Network energy optimization Verizon uses AI across its network to optimize energy use, work Dan Schulman said runs at industrial scale.	Global Networks and Technology	In production	More than $200 million in energy savings credited to AI in the network (Apr 2026)
Network equipment kits Verizon used AI to cut the bill of materials for network deployments from more than 1 million combinations to about 20 kits (Apr 2026).	Global Networks and Technology	In production
Fiber cut prevention Verizon uses AI and machine learning to sort more than 10 million 811 dig requests a year and flag high-risk excavations near its fiber, so crews can contact the excavator in advance (Aug 2024).	Global Networks and Technology	In production
Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience Verizon's Google Cloud contact center platform, now Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, handles the majority of Verizon's inbound consumer calls and chats each month, leaving complex cases to care representatives (Aug 2026).	Consumer customer care	In production
Customer Champion and AI tools for care representatives Verizon gives customers with complex issues a dedicated Customer Champion who uses Google Cloud AI, including Gemini models (Jun 2025), and Hans Vestberg said in Jul 2025 that the same launch gave care representatives an AI tool to understand customer problems.	Consumer customer care	In production
FastPass call routing FastPass pairs callers in Verizon's mobility call centers with the best available care representative.	Consumer customer care	In production
Customer service voice agents Verizon began testing and fine-tuning voice agents built with Sierra, Google and others in some customer service operations in early 2026, and Dan Schulman tied them to a 1,280 basis point year-over-year rise in customer satisfaction scores in Mar 2026.	Consumer customer care	Pilot
Verizon Assistant in the My Verizon app Verizon Assistant is an AI assistant in the redesigned My Verizon app, where customers can sign up, manage upgrades, add lines and ask billing questions.	Consumer digital	In production
Segment of Me personalization Segment of Me uses AI to personalize offers and products for Verizon customers.	Marketing	In production
Content and campaign automation Verizon uses Google Cloud's data and AI tools to automate marketing content creation and campaign orchestration for sales and retention (Aug 2026).	Marketing	In production
Every Customer Has a Name Every Customer Has a Name aims to put all of Verizon's structured, unstructured and external data into a tailored offer for each customer, drawing on more than 300 data points per customer.	Marketing	Announced
Claude Code across software development Verizon gave Anthropic's Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees in the first half of 2026, up from fewer than 500 users in Jan 2026, for work from coding to capacity planning and forecasting (Jun 2026). Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that Verizon is deploying Claude Code across the software development lifecycle, sees room to raise software delivery by 40% or more, and aims to cut its spending on software vendor support by more than 70%.	Technology	In production
Gemini Enterprise for employees and agents Verizon will use Google's Gemini Enterprise for agent orchestration and employee productivity across its core business functions (Aug 2026).	Enterprise	Announced
Cyber defense with Claude Mythos Verizon has worked with Anthropic's Mythos model across its cybersecurity efforts as part of Project Glasswing (Apr 2026).	Cybersecurity	Pilot
Verizon Business Assistant Verizon sells small businesses a generative AI text assistant that answers routine customer questions and hands harder ones to staff.	Verizon Business	In production
AI on private 5G networks with NVIDIA Verizon's 5G Private Network with Enterprise AI runs NVIDIA AI software over Verizon private 5G and edge compute on customer premises, with demonstrations planned from early 2025.	Verizon Business	Announced

Adoption

Verizon has not published how many employees use AI tools each week. Verizon gave Anthropic's Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees by Jun 2026, up from fewer than 500 users in Jan 2026, and said in Aug 2026 that it will use Gemini Enterprise for employee productivity across its core business functions. Verizon spread AI in stages: machine learning in network operations such as fiber-cut prevention by 2024, several generative AI products at scale and an AI tool for care representatives by 2025, and in 2026 a company-wide four-layer AI stack, Claude Code across the technology team, Gemini Enterprise handling most inbound consumer calls and chats, and voice agent tests in customer service. Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that Verizon had done more on AI in the previous three months than in the previous three to four years.

By the numbers

Technology employees given Claude Code: ~33,000; Up from fewer than 500 users in Jan 2026; CTO Yago Tenorio to Light Reading, Jun 2026

Network energy savings credited to AI: $200M+; Dan Schulman on the Q1 2026 earnings call, Apr 27, 2026

Network domain issues fixed autonomously: Up to 85%; Apr 2026 call as corrected by Verizon; in May 2026 Verizon described 85% as on track, not yet reached

AI Connect signed contracts: ~$4B; Oct 26, 2026, including Google ($1B+) and AWS ($2B+); revenue starts in 2027

2026 capital expenditures: $16.0-16.5B; Guidance including AI Connect builds (Oct 2026); $17.0B in 2025

Employees: ~93,300; Full-time equivalent at Sep 30, 2026; 99,600 at Mar 31, 2026 after the Frontier acquisition

Rollout, first pilot to today

Aug 2024
Verizon said it uses AI and machine learning to screen more than 10 million 811 dig requests a year for high-risk excavations near its fiber, and set out an AI strategy covering internal operations, products and new AI revenue.
Verizon
Jan 2025
Hans Vestberg said Verizon already had several generative AI products at scale and cited FastPass call routing and Segment of Me personalization as examples of its AI strategy, and Verizon launched AI Connect with a funnel of more than $1 billion.
Q4 2024 earnings call and AI update
Jun 2025
Verizon launched Customer Champion, dedicated experts for complex issues who use Google Cloud AI and Gemini models, and an AI assistant in the My Verizon app.
Verizon
Oct 2025
Dan Schulman became CEO and said Verizon had barely scratched the surface of AI, pledging to use it to simplify offers, improve customer experience and reduce churn.
Q3 2025 earnings call
Nov 2025
Verizon created a Transformation Organization under Alfonso Villanueva that includes the Data, Analytics and AI team.
Verizon
Jan 2026
Dan Schulman said Verizon was determined to be an AI-first company deploying AI at scale, with predictive models to head off customer problems.
Q4 2025 earnings call
Apr 2026
Dan Schulman described Verizon's four-layer AI tech stack, Claude Code across software development, voice agent tests with Sierra and Google, and more than $200 million in network energy savings from AI.
Q1 2026 earnings call
Jun 2026
Verizon had given Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees, up from fewer than 500 users in Jan 2026, and ran AI agents in its network around the clock.
Light Reading
Jul 2026
Dan Schulman said Verizon was rapidly becoming an AI-centric company and that AI models fix network issues in minutes instead of hours.
Q2 2026 earnings call
Aug 2026
Verizon and Google Cloud expanded their partnership: Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats, and Verizon will use Gemini Enterprise for agents and employee productivity.
Google Cloud
Oct 2026
Dan Schulman said Verizon increasingly runs its transformation through its newly completed AI tech stack.
Q3 2026 earnings call

Economics & controls

Spend and ROI

Capital spending

Verizon does not publish a technology budget. Verizon's capital expenditures, including capitalized software, were $17.0 billion in 2025 and $11.9 billion in the first nine months of 2026, and Verizon guides to $16.0 billion to $16.5 billion for 2026, including success-based spending on AI Connect builds. Tony Skiadas said in Sep 2026 that the 2026 cost program includes $4 billion of capital savings.

What AI itself costs

Verizon has not disclosed what it spends on AI models, the AI tech stack, Claude Code, Gemini Enterprise or AI hires. Dan Schulman said in Oct 2026 that the extra capital for AI Connect contracts is modest, success-based and tied to signed deals.

Reported ROI

Verizon credits AI in its network with more than $200 million in energy savings (Apr 2026), the only realized business return it has tied to AI. Verizon has not said how much of its $9 billion 2026 cost program, $5 billion of operating savings and $4 billion of capital savings, comes from AI. Verizon said its cost of acquisition and retention in Mar 2026 was about 35% below the end of 2025 and credited the drop to transformation work that includes the beginning of AI-enabled processes alongside channel mix, modelling and offer changes, without separating AI's part (Apr 2026).

AI targets

Dan Schulman said in Apr 2026 that Verizon sees a way to cut its spending on software vendor support by more than 70% through its use of AI, and room to raise software delivery by 40% or more; Verizon has not reported either as a result. Tony Skiadas said in Sep 2026 that further AI in the network and customer care is among Verizon's cost opportunities for 2027 and 2028.

AI Connect revenue

Verizon's AI Connect funnel grew from more than $1 billion in Jan 2025 to $2 billion in Jul 2025, and signed contracts reached about $4 billion by Oct 26, 2026, led by Google (more than $1 billion) and AWS (more than $2 billion). Dan Schulman said the first long-term edge computing contracts should bring hundreds of millions of dollars over their term, with margins equal to or greater than Verizon's existing ones, and that the revenue starts in 2027.

Headcount

Verizon announced the elimination of more than 13,000 positions on Nov 20, 2025 to cut its cost structure, along with a significant reduction in outside labor. Verizon had about 89,900 full-time equivalent employees at Dec 31, 2025, 99,600 at Mar 31, 2026 after the Frontier acquisition and 93,300 at Sep 30, 2026, and recorded $397 million of severance charges for further workforce reductions in the first nine months of 2026. Verizon has not attributed the cuts to AI, though Dan Schulman's Nov 2025 letter set up a $20 million Reskilling and Career Transition Fund for departing employees focused on the skills needed in the age of AI, and Schulman said in Jun 2026 that AI could take over a large percentage of customer service work.

Governance and risk

Responsible AI Program

Verizon's AI Governance organization runs a centralized, enterprise-wide Responsible AI Program with a dedicated team and support from Cyber Security, Privacy, Legal and Human Rights, using a risk-based approach. Verizon's Responsible AI principles cover governance, privacy by design, reducing bias and other harms, technical soundness measured with industry metrics, and transparency about how Verizon uses and monitors AI.

Control plane for agents

Verizon's AI tech stack surrounds its agent layers with a control plane for security, identity, guardrails, safety, observability and traceability, and Dan Schulman said in May 2026 that Verizon watches how agents run before releasing them into production. Light Reading reported in Jun 2026 that Verizon keeps people in the loop as it moves its network agents toward TM Forum Level 4 autonomy, and Schulman said in Oct 2026 that Verizon will not let outside AI agents onto its platforms unless it is certain they act for a real customer and within that customer's permission.

Cyber defense

Dan Schulman said in May 2026 that working with Anthropic's Mythos model showed Verizon the only defense is through AI models, that 85% of network domain issues are on track to be fixed autonomously and must move toward 100%, and that network elements Verizon cannot patch remotely must come out of the network. Verizon's 2025 Form 10-K warns that AI may make cyberattacks more frequent, more severe and harder to detect.

Disclosed risks and regulation

Verizon's 2025 Form 10-K says Verizon intends to expand AI in network deployment and maintenance, customer and employee support, sales, marketing and administration, that deploying generative AI carries technological, regulatory and ethical risks, and that there is no assurance AI will make Verizon more efficient or profitable. The 10-K notes that Colorado has passed comprehensive AI legislation and that the effect of AI regulation on Verizon is unclear.

Board and management oversight

Verizon's 2026 proxy statement lists responsible AI among the topics of its 2025 shareholder engagement and repeats that Verizon is determined to be an AI-first company deploying AI at scale. Verizon's management councils, overseen by the CEO, approve strategic technology initiatives across the company.

Recent signals

Oct 26, 2026
Verizon reported an AWS AI infrastructure deal worth more than $2 billion and about $4 billion in AI Connect contracts, and Dan Schulman said Verizon increasingly runs its transformation through its newly completed AI tech stack.
Q3 2026 earnings call transcript
Sep 23, 2026
Verizon launched Verizon AI Skills for America, $70 million of free AI training for job seekers, educators and small businesses, combining $50 million of new funding with its $20 million reskilling fund and courses from IBM, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, Coursera and OpenAI.
Verizon
Sep 9, 2026
Tony Skiadas said more work on Verizon's AI and technology stacks and further AI in the network and customer care are among its cost opportunities for 2027 and 2028.
Citi Global TMT Conference transcript
Sep 8, 2026
Verizon agreed to buy more than 80 million miles of fiber from Corning from 2027 through 2032, for broadband and for AI Connect routes between data centers.
Light Reading
Aug 24, 2026
Google Cloud and Verizon announced a strategic partnership under which Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats and Verizon will use Gemini Enterprise for agent orchestration and employee productivity.
Google Cloud
Aug 2026
Ford named Mano Mannoochahr, who led Verizon's Data, Analytics and AI team as Chief Data, Analytics and AI Officer, its Chief AI and Data Officer.
CDO Magazine
Jul 29, 2026
Semafor reported that Verizon would make Alfonso Villanueva the permanent head of its consumer business, with Villanueva remaining Chief Transformation Officer.
Semafor
Jul 24, 2026
Verizon signed a dark fiber deal with Google worth more than $1 billion, and Dan Schulman said Verizon is rapidly becoming an AI-centric company with AI models fixing network issues in minutes.
Q2 2026 earnings call transcript
Jun 24, 2026
CTO Yago Tenorio said Verizon had given Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees and that AI agents in its network resolve issues in less than two minutes.
Light Reading
Jun 4, 2026
Dan Schulman said at the Bloomberg Tech conference that AI could take over a large percentage of Verizon's customer service work, after about three months of AI agents in customer service.
HR Dive
Jun 3, 2026
Verizon hired former Deutsche Telekom technology chief Abdu Mudesir, whom Dan Schulman called a pioneer in AI-driven network automation, to succeed Joe Russo at the end of Q1 2027.
Fierce Network
May 18, 2026
Dan Schulman told a JPMorgan conference that Verizon was one of the first 40 companies to work with Anthropic's Mythos model and that its AI tech stack would be mostly done by July and complete by November.
JPMorgan conference transcript
Apr 27, 2026
Dan Schulman set out Verizon's four-layer AI tech stack built with Google and Anthropic, Claude Code across software development, voice agent tests with Sierra and Google, and more than $200 million in network energy savings from AI.
Q1 2026 earnings call transcript
Feb 5, 2026
Sowmyanarayan Sampath stepped down as CEO of Verizon Consumer Group and Alfonso Villanueva, Chief Transformation Officer, became interim CEO of the group.
Verizon
Nov 14, 2025
Verizon named Alfonso Villanueva Chief Transformation Officer and put the Data, Analytics and AI team in his new Transformation Organization.
Verizon

Quick answers

How does Verizon deploy AI?: Verizon deploys AI through a four-layer AI tech stack completed in 2026 from Google, Anthropic and other vendors' tools, and CEO Dan Schulman said in Oct 2026 that Verizon increasingly runs its transformation through it. Google's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats (Aug 2026), and Verizon gave Anthropic's Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees (Jun 2026). Alfonso Villanueva, Chief Transformation Officer and Consumer Group CEO, oversees data, analytics and AI, and Verizon credits AI with more than $200 million in network energy savings.
What does Verizon use AI for?: Verizon has named AI use cases in network operations, customer care, marketing, software development and cybersecurity but has published no total count. Verizon credits AI with one business return so far, more than $200 million in network energy savings (Apr 2026); Dan Schulman's aim of cutting software vendor support costs by more than 70% with AI is a target, not a reported result. Verizon has not separated AI's share of its $9 billion 2026 cost program, and AI Connect, which sells fiber and edge sites to AI builders instead of using AI internally, had about $4 billion in signed contracts by Oct 2026.
Who leads AI at Verizon?: AI at Verizon is led by Alfonso Villanueva (Executive Vice President, CEO of Verizon Consumer Group and Chief Transformation Officer); Yago Tenorio (Chief Technology Officer); Joe Russo (Executive Vice President and President, Global Networks and Technology). Ownership of AI on the org chart: Alfonso Villanueva, EVP, Chief Transformation Officer and Consumer Group CEO, who oversees data analytics and AI.
What AI platform does Verizon use?: Verizon assembled a four-layer AI tech stack in 2026 (a data and model layer, an agent factory, runtime engines and a control plane) from vendor components, and Dan Schulman called it newly completed in Oct 2026.
Which AI models does Verizon use?: Verizon works most closely with Google, whose Gemini models run its contact center platform and Customer Champion care service, and Anthropic, whose Claude Code it gave to about 33,000 technology employees (Jun 2026) and whose Mythos model it uses in cyber defense.
How many Verizon employees use AI?: Verizon gave Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees by Jun 2026, and Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats (Aug 2026); Verizon has not said how many of its roughly 93,300 employees use AI each week.
How far has AI spread at Verizon?: Verizon sits at Scaling: a company-wide four-layer AI tech stack was completed in 2026 and Dan Schulman said in Oct 2026 that the transformation increasingly runs through it, Verizon gave Claude Code to about 33,000 technology employees by Jun 2026, Google's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience handles most inbound consumer calls and chats, AI runs in network operations, Alfonso Villanueva owns data, analytics and AI, and Verizon reports an AI-credited return of more than $200 million in network energy savings. Verizon sits short of Embedded: it has published no count of production use cases and no figure for how many of its roughly 93,300 employees use AI each week, its Gemini Enterprise rollout for employee productivity was a plan in Aug 2026, and its $9 billion cost program does not separate AI's share.

Open questions

How many Verizon employees use AI tools each week, how many of the about 33,000 technology employees given Claude Code use it, and when will Gemini Enterprise reach staff outside technology?
How many AI use cases does Verizon run in production, and how many are still pilots?
How much of Verizon's $9 billion 2026 cost program and of the more than 13,000 positions cut since Nov 2025 comes from AI?
Has Verizon cut its software vendor support costs by the more than 70% Dan Schulman targeted with AI, and what return have Claude Code and Gemini Enterprise delivered?
Where does Verizon's AI tech stack run, and does Verizon reach Anthropic's models through its own environment, AWS, Google Cloud or Anthropic directly?
Who leads Verizon's Data, Analytics and AI team since Mano Mannoochahr left for Ford, and who leads the AI Governance organization and to whom does it report?
What business return have Customer Champion, FastPass, Segment of Me, Verizon Assistant, Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience and the voice agents delivered?
Which network figure holds: up to 85% of domain issues resolved autonomously (Apr 2026) or 85% on track to be fixed autonomously (May 2026)?
What exactly rose by 1,280 in Mar 2026: customer satisfaction scores in basis points, as the Apr 2026 transcript says, or a percentage, as the May 2026 transcript says?
Which vendors besides Sierra and Google build Verizon's voice agents, given that the Apr 2026 transcript names one as "Levin Labs"?
What did Verizon find when it used Anthropic's Mythos model on its network and systems?
How much AI Connect revenue will Verizon recognize in 2027, and how much capital will the builds need?

Sources

Verizon

Filings and investor materials

Partners

News

Data confidence

Confirmed: Stated in a primary or reputable public source.
Estimated: Derived or approximated from public reporting.
Unconfirmed: Reported, but not yet corroborated.

Verizon profile · Enterprise AI diffusion report by Imagine · facts checked against their sources on Nov 1, 2026

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