Home Depot Replaces Phone Menus With AI Voice Agent
Home Depot is shutting down traditional phone menu systems and replacing them with an AI voice agent that resolves customer calls four times faster, the company announced.
Instead of navigating numbered options, customers now describe their issue in natural language. The AI agent determines why they're calling within 10 seconds and routes them to a solution or human associate.
What the System Does
The voice agent, built on Google Gemini for Customer Experience, handles common inquiries from start to finish. It checks order status, confirms product availability, provides store information, and offers real-time translation for multilingual support.
For customers describing a project, the system builds a ready-to-buy shopping cart based on real-time inventory. It can text product links, initiate service requests, and complete purchases over the phone.
A direct path to a human associate remains available at any point.
Pilot Results and Rollout
Home Depot tested the system in 50 stores before expanding it company-wide. Pilot locations reported higher job satisfaction among associates, who spent less time on phone routing and more time helping in-store customers.
The retailer plans to deploy the AI voice agent to all U.S. stores over the next year.
Why This Matters for Support Teams
For customer support professionals, this shift reflects a broader move toward AI for Customer Support that handles routing and initial problem diagnosis. The system doesn't eliminate human agents-it frees them from repetitive menu navigation to focus on complex issues.
Home Depot's approach also demonstrates how AI Agents & Automation can integrate with existing business data. The system draws from Home Depot's product catalog and inventory systems to provide accurate, contextual solutions rather than generic responses.
Jordan Broggi, executive vice president of customer experience and president of online, said the shift moves customer service from "please listen to these options" to "how can I help?"
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