In this episode of Reimagining the Contact Center, Marc Bernstein sits down with customer experience legend Shep Hyken to unpack the evolving relationship between AI and human empathy in customer service.

Together, they dive into: the rise of self-service everything, the danger of “artificial incompetence," why empathy still matters—even in a world ruled by bots, the tension between customer convenience and human connection, what a no-human future might mean for loyalty, trust, and brand memory.

Whether you're building an AI roadmap or just trying to keep your CX human, this episode will challenge your assumptions and sharpen your strategy.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:33 AI for Consumers

15:25 Human Empathy

17:35 Artificial Incompetence

22:40 A Future With No Humans

33:04 What Companies Will Still Hire People?

40:15 AI in 3 Years

In this episode of Reimagining the Contact Center, Marc Bernstein sits down with Lily Clifford, Founder and CEO of Rime, to unpack the emotional mechanics of spoken language, the cultural expectations we attach to voice technology, and why some AI voices make us uneasy while others feel oddly familiar.

Marc and Lily explore how human communication isn’t just about words—it’s about cadence, intention, and identity. They discuss the risks of blurring the line between synthetic and human, how different generations are reshaping voice tech expectations, and why making a voice “believable” is more about respect than realism.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:08 Mechanics of the Human Voice

04:33 Foundations of Human Conversations

09:52 Where is the Bottleneck?

14:40 Social Standards or AI Voice

18:45 Human Likeness of AI Voice

21:27 Ecosystem of Voices

27:48 Indistinguishable from Human Voice

33:45 What is Next for Rime?

40:00 AI in 3 Years

AI is everywhere—but are we using it wisely?

In this episode of Reimagining the Contact Center, Marc Bernstein sits down with Sam Wilson, CEO of 8x8, to dissect the current wave of AI adoption in CCaaS and beyond.

Sam shares his perspective on balancing innovation with customer trust, integrating AI that actually works, and redefining what “good” looks like in the modern contact center.

Whether you're a tech-forward leader or a skeptic with scars from failed pilots, this episode will shift how you think about AI’s role in your operation.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:00 Impact of AI on CCaaS

10:05 Contact Center Disruption

12:40 AI vs. Human Hallucinations

15:40 Agent Assist

20:50 Prioritizing AI Investments

30:07 Per Agent Use Cases

34:30 AI Outcomes

42:40 AI in 3 Years

What does it really take to bring AI into the workforce—for real? In this episode of Reimagining the Contact Center, Marc Bernstein sits down with Charanya “CK” Kannan, CEO and Co-founder of Pinkfish, to explore the new rules of AI adoption.

CK brings the hard-earned perspective of a founder who’s seen it all—and still bets big on AI. The two dive deep into why agentic AI is leaving RPA in the dust, what it means to pace your automation strategy, and why every org needs a champion who understands what AI can (and can’t) do.

This one’s for the leaders who know that automation isn’t about moving fast—it’s about moving smart.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:00 CKs Background & The Evolution of AI

04:42 Founding Pinkfish

06:56 Pace to Automate

10:38 Joining the Workforce with AI Knowledge

12:28 RPA vs. Agentic AI

18:13 Being the Champion for AI

23:04 AI Inferring & Use Cases

28:26 Browser Capture Tools & App Builds

34:42 AI in 3 Years

In this episode, Marc Bernstein sits down with Will Bodewes, CEO of Phonely. This one's about architecture, not aspiration. Will breaks down the anatomy of a voice agent, from speech generation and LLM orchestration to real-time prompting and user control. You'll hear why hallucinations aren't what you think, how “agent guidelines” shape human-like behavior, and why flow-based design is the new gold standard for AI in the contact center.

Plus, how Phonely customers go live in 30 days, what really drives conversion, and why the future of AI isn’t about doing everything—it’s about doing the right things, repeatedly, without fail.

Whether you're building an AI roadmap or just tired of buzzwords, this one’s for you.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:03 Setting Up LLMs

05:10 Prompts & Giving Users Control

06:47 Setting Up On Phonely

09:50 Agent Guidelines

14:02 First Day, Month, and Year Using Phonely

18:40 AI Agent Use Cases & Limitations

24:13 Customers' Comfort & Learnings

32:10 AI in 3 Years

In this episode of Reimagining the Contact Center, Balto CEO Marc Bernstein sits down with Calabrio’s CTO for a wide-ranging, mind-bending conversation about the true impact of AI. Not just on operations. Not just on outcomes. But on how we think, lead, and find meaning in work. This one’s part neuroscience, part strategy, part spiritual reset for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the AI buzz. Don’t miss it.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:00 Different AI Eras

02:00 Past Clarity With AI

08:20 What AI Does To The Human Brain

12:55 Break Through The Noise

16:48 Barrier To Great Contact Center Value

21:18 WEM Category

25:50 AI Agents vs. Human Agents

29:20 AI in 3 Years

Marc Bernstein speaks with Daniel Ziv, VP of Experience Management and Analytics at Verint, about why Verint doesn’t call itself an AI company—but an AI outcomes company. They dive into the difference between building tech and delivering results, unpack Verint’s Da Vinci and Genie Bots, and debate the power of open platforms in driving speed, control, and integration. Together, they paint a vision of AI that’s not just smart—but purpose-built to solve real business problems.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:13 Use Cases & Key Outcomes

04:40 Value First Approach

07:40 Open vs. Closed Platform

13:00 Micro Workflows

15:30 Narrow Intelligence

17:40 Relationship Building

19:05 Verint Da Vinci

25:18 Setting Up Bots

31:19 AI in 3 Years

Marc Bernstein speaks with Alex Levin, Founder & CEO of Regal.ai, about how AI is reshaping contact centers. They explore why AI agents are now the cheapest, most effective way to handle interactions, the barriers to full AI adoption, and when we’ll see 90% AI-powered contact centers. Looking ahead, they predict a future where AI removes friction from customer service, making great experiences effortless.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:58 Founding Regal.ai

07:00 Valuable & Cost Effective

10:54 AI Agent Barriers

13:45 Technology vs. People

16:20 AI Agent Process

21:00 Future of AI Intelligence

26:17 Regal.ai in 1 Year

31:44 Companies Who Are Ready

33:26 AI in 3 Years

Marc Bernstein sits down with Isaiah Granet, Founder & CEO of Bland AI, to explore how Voice AI agents are revolutionizing customer service and making long hold times a thing of the past. They dive into how Bland AI is designing conversational AI that feels personal, responsive, and as effortless as talking to an old friend.

The discussion covers the evolution of voice as the preferred customer service channel, why AI-driven conversations can outperform human interactions, and how companies can create seamless, frustration-free customer experiences. They also tackle the impact of AI on jobs, exploring whether automation will replace workers or open up new opportunities for more meaningful roles.

Looking ahead, they imagine a future where customers interact with AI-powered personal assistants instead of navigating clunky phone trees—an era where great service is just a voice command away.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:57 Voice AI Agent using Gen AI

02:30 Founding Story

07:35 Engagement with Voice AI

10:30 LLM Data

12:40 Training AI on Social Skills

17:00 Different AI Tools

19:40 Strategies as AI Leaders

24:00 AI Taking Jobs

36:22 AI in 3 Years

Ricardo Herreros-Symons and Marc Bernstein explore the rapidly evolving world of contact center AI, from real-time automation to the next frontier of seamless, natural-sounding conversations. They discuss how AI is enhancing agent performance, handling complex interactions, and redefining customer service. Together, they examine the balance between cutting-edge speech recognition technology and maintaining human-like interactions, highlighting what’s next for AI in the contact center space.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:10 Contact Center AI

03:40 AI Intelligence

07:35 Natural Language

10:45 Getting it Right with AI

17:45 Speechmatics

22:40 Speechmatics Demo

26:35 Automated Use Cases

30:15 AI in 3 Years