Will AI Replace Customer Service Jobs in Belgium? Here’s What to Do in 2025

Belgium needs this conversation in 2025 because public anxiety and practical reality are colliding: the EY Belgian AI Barometer found 74% of employees fear job losses even though only 12% say AI already shapes their daily tasks, and the same report notes a striking detail - three out of four application letters from young consultants were made with ChatGPT - showing familiarity and fear exist side-by-side (EY Belgian AI Barometer 2024 report on AI attitudes in Belgium).

European surveys add nuance - Cedefop's work on AI skills shows large shares of workers face task changes and varied AI use across sectors (Cedefop ARISA analysis on AI impact on employment) - so Belgium must pair clear regulation and employer-led training with fast, practical reskilling.

For customer service teams especially, learning to write prompts and use AI tools for augmentation is urgent; practical options like the AI Essentials for Work bootcamp syllabus map a realistic path from worry to workplace skills that keep Belgian jobs resilient.

Across Belgium, AI is already reshaping customer service from the back office to the chat window: homegrown specialists such as ML6, Cronos.ai and ACA are building real-time content, NLP and intelligent-routing solutions while platforms like Tidio and Watermelon let shops and SMEs spin up multilingual AI agents and chatbots in days, not months; the result is faster answers, more accurate routing, and agents freed to handle complex cases rather than copy‑paste requests.

Industry reports and vendor case studies show measurable wins - Devoteam notes generative AI and agent assist are becoming mainstream, and vendors highlight improvements like ticket triage, automatic summaries, and 24/7 self‑service - so Belgian teams must marry tool choice with GDPR‑aware data practice.

The practical payoff is tangible: some deployments give frontline staff back meaningful time every day (one testimonial cites “15–20 minutes back each day” for advisors), turning AI from a cost cutter into a capacity builder for empathy and problem‑solving.

For a snapshot of local providers and tool options, see the Top AI Customer Service Companies in Belgium and vendor guides to AI agents and chatbots.

“We believe in AI as Augmented Intelligence empowering people, not replacing them.” - ACA (noted in ensun)

In Belgium, the customer‑service roles most exposed to automation are the ones built around routine, high‑volume tasks: frontline representatives who spend their mornings answering the same five scripted queries, receptionists, basic ticket‑triage operators and clerical/administrative staff - all activities that analysis repeatedly flags as automatable (PwC and Nexford analysis of job automation risk).

European research shows jobs with frequent, repeatable tasks face the highest odds of replacement or heavy task‑shifting, while roles requiring autonomy, teamwork and customer‑service judgment are less likely to vanish outright (Cedefop analysis of EU automation risk and impacts on jobs).

The business case is already clear: a booming call‑center AI market (estimated at $3.25B in 2025) is designed to relieve humans of simple requests and scale IVAs and chatbots for multilingual, 24/7 coverage, which means routine voice and chat handling are where losses are likeliest (global call‑center AI market report and forecasts).

The takeaway for Belgian teams: expect task erosion first - not sudden mass layoffs - and focus reskilling on judgement, escalation, and GDPR‑safe AI oversight to keep roles resilient.

Many customer service roles in Belgium are likely to persist because regulation, oversight and the limits of current AI create practical and legal brakes on wholesale replacement: the EU AI Act's risk-based rules - and Belgium's own push for trustworthy AI - demand human oversight, documentation and transparency for systems that touch people's rights, and GPAI obligations already start to bite by 2 August 2025, raising the compliance bar for anyone hoping to fully automate customer interactions (Belgium AI Act guidance and compliance overview).

Boards and executives must own AI strategy and risk, from cybersecurity to training and procurement, which slows rapid offshoring of judgement-heavy work and keeps escalation, complaint handling and complex empathy firmly human tasks (Board-level AI oversight requirements in Belgium).

Plus, many customer-facing tools are classed as limited‑risk chatbots that require clear disclosures and deployer responsibility, so firms that value trust will opt for hybrid agent-plus-AI models rather than wholesale replacement (How the EU AI Act shapes customer service automation).

A vivid test: Belgian rules and board scrutiny mean organisations can't simply hand a board seat to a “robot” and walk away - human accountability stays central, and the most resilient customer service roles will be those built around judgement, oversight and GDPR‑safe empathy.

“Chatbots and AI agents are one of the most visible ways customers encounter AI.” - Lova Wahlquist, Ebbot

Belgian customer‑service workers should aim for a hybrid of technical fluency and human skills: growing demand exists for roles such as Prompt Engineers, Model Validators, Knowledge Engineers, AI Architects and Data/AI Governance leads - positions that Harnham flags as central to next‑wave AI work - and everyday skills like prompt design, model oversight, data hygiene and GDPR‑aware deployment will be essential.

The Belgian recruitment trends report for 2025 highlights the push to close skill gaps (Belgium recruitment trends 2025: closing the AI skills gap).

Wallonia already makes upskilling tangible with a training‑voucher scheme (a EUR 30 voucher buys one hour of approved AI training; almost 500,000 voucher hours were used in 2024), so practical courses and employer‑backed learning can rapidly shift people into these new roles (Wallonia AI training voucher scheme details).

Meanwhile, Belgian finance and services are formalising AI teams and rolling GenAI into operations, so expect employers to recruit for AI literacy, governance and decision‑support skills as much as coding - trainings that combine soft skills (empathy, escalation judgment) with prompt engineering and model validation will pay off fastest (read the 2025 Belgian AI Barometer for industry adoption trends: 2025 Belgian AI Barometer: AI adoption in finance).

“The changing environment of AI, encompassing traditional AI and the nascent GenAI and agentic AI, will unequivocally reveal which organizations possess superior data and enterprise architecture. This architectural strength will become the decisive competitive advantage for deploying AI services with optimal speed to market.” - Anthony Belpaire, Head of AI at BNP Paribas Fortis

Belgian companies should act in 2025 with a clear, practical playbook: establish accountable AI governance and risk checks first, then pick one or two high‑value, GDPR‑safe customer‑service pilots to prove ROI and operational fit - a “start small, scale fast” approach encouraged by PwC's Belgian AI guidance (PwC guidance on navigating AI adoption in Belgium).

Pair each pilot with measurable KPIs, strong cybersecurity and data‑governance controls (97% of CIOs flag security as a top hurdle), and an upskilling plan so staff move from fear to competence - Acerta notes Belgium already ranks high in AI use, but employers must boost AI literacy for widespread benefit (Acerta report: Belgian companies in Europe's top 3 for AI use).

Use open innovation to accelerate capability by partnering with startups and local specialists (90% of Belgian firms value collaboration), and hard‑wire compliance: prepare now for staged EU AI Act obligations and heavy sanctions (including multi‑million euro fines) so pilots don't become legal liabilities.

“The concept of open innovation isn't new. But the urgency to adopt it, especially in the age of AI, is imperative.” - Hans Cromphout, Sopra Steria (Brussels)

Belgium's path to 2030 will play out as a sequence of regulated, measured steps rather than a sudden cliff: companies already doubled AI adoption from about 13.8% in 2023 to 24.7% in 2024, and with national plans like DigitalWallonia4.ai and AI4Belgium feeding into the federal convergence plan, expect steady uptake across finance, health and public services while infrastructure and skills catch up (ActLegal report on Trustworthy AI in Belgium, Belgium national AI plan announcement (ACT UIA)).

Short‑term (2025–2026) will be dominated by compliance and pilots as GPAI transparency rules and phased AI Act obligations bite - some provisions already began in February 2025 and GPAI requirements take effect in August 2025, with broader AI Act obligations kicking in by August 2026 - so expect hybrid human+AI models and sandboxed experimentation rather than mass automation.

Mid‑decade (2027–2030) scenarios diverge: an innovation‑led outcome sees Belgium's ICT sector (now around USD 25 billion) scale AI and 5G for smart cities and services, meeting broader EU targets like the Digital Compass, while a regulation‑heavy path slows deployment but strengthens trust and jobs that require oversight; a wildcard is energy demand - servers may consume ~10% of global electricity by 2025 - so compute strategy and sustainability will shape which scenario wins.

For customer service teams the clear win is phased reskilling plus measured pilots that respect GDPR and the AI Act, keeping human judgment central as tools scale.

Practical, bite‑sized steps make reskilling real for Belgian customer service teams: start with AI literacy resources that map to Article 4 of the EU AI Act, then pick training that fits role and time‑horizon - from short, GDPR‑aware modules to deep bootcamps and bespoke team courses.

Wallonia's voucher scheme is a standout: a EUR 30 voucher covers one hour of approved training and nearly 500,000 voucher hours were used in 2024, so employers and workers can rapidly buy classroom or online hours at scale (see the Wallonia training voucher details at Cedefop).

For hands‑on options catalogued in Belgium, the Lecercle roundup lists university masters (KU Leuven, UCLouvain), intensive bootcamps like BeCode (7 months, internship), Le Wagon and shorter offerings from Quality Training - choose prompt engineering, conversational AI or GDPR‑focused short courses to protect customers while boosting productivity.

For organisation‑level upskilling and conversational AI governance, consider bespoke programmes such as Bell Integration's Conversational AI training that combine governance, agent‑assist and deterministic flows to reduce hallucinations and secure predictable outcomes.

Belgian customer service workers have reason for cautious optimism: with AI driving hyper‑personalisation, omnichannel conversational marketing and faster agent assist tools, the immediate threat is task‑erosion - not wholesale displacement - and the clearest antidote is practical reskilling paired with measured pilots and strong governance.

Local analysis shows companies will use AI to automate routine work and sharpen CX by 2025 (2025 digital trends in Belgium), industry specialists map concrete use cases and pilots that free agents for judgment work (Devoteam guide to AI in customer service), and global CX research shows well‑trained teams using AI deliver faster, more human experiences (and higher ROI).

Practical moves for Belgian workers: use public levers like Wallonia's training vouchers, join short, role‑focused courses, and build prompt and oversight skills - resources such as the AI Essentials for Work bootcamp syllabus (Nucamp) outline one 15‑week path to workplace AI fluency.

The roadmap is clear: pilot carefully, learn fast, and keep human judgment at the centre so AI becomes a tool that expands careers rather than ends them.

“We believe in AI as Augmented Intelligence empowering people, not replacing them.” - ACA