Microsoft says AI saved $500M in its call center last year. The company’s chief commercial officer Judson Althoff revealed AI tools are boosting productivity across sales, customer service, and software engineering during a recent presentation.
The news comes just a week after Microsoft cut over 9,000 jobs in its third round of layoffs this year. Total layoffs now hover around 15,000 employees.
Althoff’s comments land tough amid massive staff cuts, especially since Microsoft reported a record $26 billion profit and $70 billion revenue in Q1. The company’s market value recently hit $3.74 trillion, outpacing Apple and trailing only Nvidia. 
Adding fuel to the fire, Xbox Game Studios producer Matt Turnbull posted, then deleted, a LinkedIn message suggesting laid-off workers use AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot to manage job loss stress. The move sparked backlash as tone-deaf given the layoffs.
It’s unclear if AI directly replaced workers or if the cuts are pandemic-era streamlining. What’s clear: Microsoft is investing big in AI this year. It pledged $80 billion into AI infrastructure for 2025 and is focused on hiring top AI researchers over middle management.
Judson Althoff said:
“AI tools are boosting productivity across sales, customer service, and software engineering.”
“We saved more than $500 million last year in our call center alone.”
