Negotiating better rates for recurring bills is one of those life admin tasks that never gets done. Even with prices going up each year, it’s easier just to stay where I am, especially when I’m in a busy season of life. (Aren’t we all?) 

But in this economy, even small savings are worth the effort. I’ve used AI to help draft negotiation scripts and identify places in my budget where there’s bloat, but I still had to make the phone calls myself. 

There’s nothing I despise more than spending my lunch break yelling, “Speak to a human!” So surely, if these companies make us talk to AI agents, we as customers can use AI agents, too.

I came across Kudos, a voice agent that calls providers on your behalf and negotiates end-to-end. Or so it says. I’ve found that a lot of AI companies overpromise and underdeliver on their capabilities, so I wanted to test out whether true autonomous negotiation is here.

Kudos connects with 60 providers, including most major mobile, internet and cable companies. I wanted to try out negotiating my wife’s AT&T phone plan first.

Before using it, you should note that Kudos doesn’t allow for negotiations and cancellations that require a physical letter or providers that operate on fixed fees – negotiation is only possible with companies that have dedicated retention departments and offers, such as phone, cable, internet and credit card providers. Kudos is planning to roll out an AI negotiator for credit cards with annual fees in the coming weeks. 

Getting set up with the AI agent

First, I downloaded the Kudos app, made an account and followed the prompts. I selected the “lower my bills” category, picked AT&T and uploaded a bill. 

This is what the dashboard looks like:

Kudos/Screenshot by CNET

Once I uploaded a bill, it requested a one-time passcode to begin the process. I added this into Kudos, but it kept saying it couldn’t complete verification. 

Kudos/Screenshot by CNET

The agent got through eventually, because I saw a message saying, “The agent spoke with rep Kiara who confirmed no loyalty or retention discount is available on the current mobile plan (currently $71 per line). The rep offered to switch to a newer plan at $50 per line with the same features, but the agent declined as it involved a plan change. The rep also offered discounted internet service as compensation, but the customer does not have AT&T Internet.”

The bot also noted that its first verification attempt failed, but the second succeeded.

I reached out to support, and they confirmed the AI agent was offered a new plan with the same features for $50 per line, but declined because Kudos doesn’t make changes without explicit permission. To access the $20-per-month savings, I’d need to retry the request and add that instruction to the notes before starting a new call. 

I attempted another AI agent call to see if it could send the code quicker, and it didn’t, so I wasn’t able to fully grasp how it works or whether it’s worth the time. I got these messages, but no code.

Kudos/Screenshot by CNET

I reached out to support, and they confirmed the issue, which was that there was a passcode on the account. This needed to be entered in the PIN section, rather than the one-time password. 

Something did end up processing because I got a text message and recording from AT&T’s own AI assistant saying, “We reviewed your account and confirmed there are no loyalty or retention discounts without changing your plan. Your current discounts are maximized and no credits can be applied to your existing setup.”

Next, I tried with a second bill, this time from Verizon, but it said the call center was closed, even though it was 10.45 a.m. on a Thursday.

Kudos/Screenshot by CNET

I got a notification a few minutes later that it was in the queue, so I was able to complete that. I queried the call with support, and they sent the full recording. They offered a $10 discount plus an additional $10 off with autopay, but because the agent doesn’t accept autopay changes, the negotiation would have resulted in a $10 monthly saving. But to apply the discount, the agent ran into the verification issue again. 

Kudos support said the savings would have been $20 a month or $240 a year if the one-time passcode worked, and if I’d given the agent custom instructions to accept autopay. 

At this point, I had spent a while trying to troubleshoot, but it was handy to know that Verizon offered a $10 discount to the agent. I could call back (myself this time) and complete the steps without the tech troubles. I also didn’t know about the autopay discount. 

The verdict on using AI agents for bill negotiations

Using AI agents to bypass automated representatives is an interesting use case, and I would like to try it again at some stage – possibly for a more substantial bill like a credit card annual fee.

But for these tests, I had to jump through too many hoops in my efforts to secure a cheaper deal. I ended up coming away with a plan to call the companies myself, albeit with information the AI agent obtained (but rejected when offered).

The goal was to test-run whether an AI agent could negotiate a better rate on my behalf faster and more easily than I could call customer service, and the answer was no.

If you have the time and patience to play around with these tools to see what’s possible, it can be a learning experience. At the very least, it was entertaining to hear how these call center representatives interacted with an AI agent.

Amanda Smith is a freelance journalist and writer. She reports on culture, society, human interest and technology. Her stories hold a mirror to society, reflecting both its malaise and its beauty. Amanda’s work has been published in National Geographic, The Guardian, Business Insider, Vice, News Corp, Singapore Airlines, Travel + Leisure, and Food & Wine. Amanda is an Australian living in the cultural center of gravity that is New York City.

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