Why people power is at the heart of Virgin’s AI revolution

AI is transforming industries and redefining roles. But how do you bring your people on the journey when the pace of change is so fast? It’s a question I’m asked frequently – and at Virgin, we think the answer is simple.

Technology is not just about making the workplace more efficient, it’s about using it to free people so they can focus on what only people can do: connect, create, be curious and care.

Think about the best customer experience you’ve ever had. Chances are, it wasn’t just the slick tech or seamless process that stood out, but how someone made you feel. Technology is powerful, but the experiences that stay with us are created by people. That’s where the real magic happens.

At Virgin Group, Virgin’s global HQ, we work with more than 40 Virgin companies around the world spanning six industries, employing 60,000 people and serving millions of customers.

For more than 50 years, one thing has connected us: our people experience. Whatever Virgin company you work for or interact with, it’s our people who bring the Virgin brand to life – and that’s what sets us apart.

From a Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member calming a nervous flyer, to a Virgin Media broadband engineer making sure a family stays connected on Christmas Eve, to a Virgin StartUp adviser going that extra mile for a new business founder, our values shine through.

Our values at Virgin are to be human, be brave and be visionary. These same values guide our teams as they innovate, lead and bring the Virgin magic to life. And those same principles now guide how we embed AI into our businesses.

Many Virgin companies are already using AI to reimagine how our people can serve customers better. In 2024, Virgin Media O2 launched Daisy AI, a chatbot designed to waste fraudsters’ time. Daisy has chatted to more than 1,000 scammers, sometimes keeping them talking for more than 40 minutes about her “family” and her cat, Fluffy. She became a social media sensation, raising awareness of fraud while generating insights that helped strengthen customer protection.

At Virgin Voyages, ViVi, a generative AI-powered digital human, handles complex customer queries in Virgin’s signature tone of voice. Since launch, ViVi has reduced customer inquiries by 20 per cent, freeing human agents to focus on meaningful interactions where empathy matters most. This is AI at its best – amplifying our humanity rather than replacing it. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic is set to become the first European airline to use OpenAI’s real-time voice technology.

As part of its digital transformation, the airline is developing a voice-activated AI assistant for its mobile app, in partnership with OpenAI and Tomoro.ai. This will mean passengers can speak in multiple languages to the app for travel planning and flight inquiries, as opposed to having a text-based conversation with a chatbot.

As the digital world accelerates, it’s important that everyone feels part of the transformation. At Virgin HQ, every team member now has access to ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot – alongside clear use policies – and we regularly celebrate and spotlight those who are bravely experimenting with new tools.

We are also looking at how leadership evolves. Our new Trailblazers leadership programme focuses on strengthening the skills only humans can bring: empathy, self-awareness, courage and inclusive decision-making. Our in-person development days are deliberately immersive and playful, creating space for real human behaviours to surface and be explored.

Recruitment is evolving too. At Virgin Group we use AI to write smarter job adverts and generate tailored interview questions. But when it comes to selecting people, we’ve made a clear decision against AI screening. Every application is reviewed by a human being because we believe potential can’t be measured by an algorithm.

We don’t want to automatically dismiss people, such as those with a previous criminal conviction, a CV gap or non-traditional qualifications or career paths. As AI continues to reshape the workplace, the opportunity for business leaders is not just to adopt new tools, but to reimagine the role people can play in supercharging growth.

The most successful organisations will be those that use technology to amplify human strengths, recognising that it’s the human touch that defines the experiences customers remember and the brands they trust. In an AI-powered world, it’s our humanity, alongside technology, that will unlock the greatest potential in our people and our businesses.