Short answer
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is when a company contracts a specialist provider to operate defined business processes. In customer experience, that can include contact centers, customer service, technical support, sales, back-office processing and other workflows. AI is shifting BPO from labor-only delivery toward mixed human-and-digital operations.
What does BPO stand for?
BPO stands for business process outsourcing. The provider is responsible for executing a process or group of processes according to agreed service levels, controls and business outcomes.
What is customer-service BPO?
Customer-service BPO typically includes voice, chat, messaging, email, social care, technical support, sales, retention, complaints and related back-office work.
What are onshore, nearshore and offshore BPO?
Onshore delivery is in the client’s country. Nearshore uses a nearby country or region, often for time-zone and cultural proximity. Offshore uses a more distant delivery market to access scale, skills or economics.
How AI is changing BPO
Generative AI, agentic AI, Voice AI, automation and analytics can reduce repetitive work and augment agents. The strategic question is increasingly not “people or AI?” but which tasks should be autonomous, assisted or human-led.