Telecom networks are far from being sentient, but they are becoming more and more responsive and automated, which helps service providers lower their operating costs. Two of the largest service providers in the US are using AI and machine learning in a variety of ways. Here's a quick glimpse of what they've talked about doing lately with improved network monitoring and testing and what's ahead as the network edge becomes more responsive to an influx of users, devices and changing network conditions. Network monitoring Adam Koeppe, SVP for technology strategy, architecture and planning at Verizon, said AI makes it possible to improve network performance by capturing data from the interactions of tens of thousands of network nodes with hundreds of millions of customers.