By telecompetitor.com
Publication Date: 2026-02-19 14:00:00
Network automation has become the top use case for artificial intelligence (AI) among telecommunications companies, according to a new report from NVIDIA. The report also found that integration of generative AI and agentic AI will drive return on investment industry-wide.
These AI tools drive profitability because they reduce outages, save energy, and obviate the need for manual intervention said Chetan Sharma, CEO of Chetan Sharma Consulting, who contributed to the report.
The focus on AI-native networks and autonomous operations has overtaken customer service optimization as the leading use case for investment, according to findings from the firm’s fourth annual State of AI in Telecommunications survey.
The report also showed that AI has become profitable for 90% of telco operators. That’s a substantial increase compared to 2025, when only half of telcos told NVIDIA they had deployed AI. At the time, 44% said customer experience optimization was their top area of AI investment.
A year later, telco operators identified three top use cases for AI investment. Half of respondents pointed to network automation as a top use case, while 41% identified customer service and 33% cited internal optimizations.
The survey also identified a surge in edge computing…
