SAN FRANCISCO - Verizon said an AI assistant for the company's customer service representatives built using Google models had cut down on call times and freed them up to sell products to customers, leading to a surge in sales. An AI assistant on their screen helps the customer service agents figure out the right answers to customers' queries. Verizon first started deploying the new AI features in July 2024, ramping them up to full scale in January. Sales through its 28,000-person service team