AI is transforming call centers by automating routine tasks, allowing agents to focus on deeper, human connections. The key to success is balancing innovation with the irreplaceable value of human touchpoints.

In our most recent podcast episode of the Next Gen Call Center, we interview Asli Uysal, VP of Enterprise Transformational Accounts at Avaya. Avaya is a global leader in customer experience solutions, delivering contact center and unified communications platforms trusted by over 90% of Fortune 100 companies, including Apple, AT&T, Dell, and CVS Health. With over 20 years of experience in the contact center industry, Asli leads strategic initiatives that transform enterprise customer engagement through innovative, AI-powered solutions.

Key Takeaways:

AI + Human Touch. Asli highlighted that while AI is transforming call centers, it’s not about replacing humans. The human connection is more valuable than ever. AI should enhance—not replace—the experience, especially by automating low-value tasks so agents can focus on what really matters: human-to-human interaction.

Flexibility is Key. Companies don’t have to fully dive into the cloud or rip and replace everything. Asli shared how Avaya is pushing for hybrid solutions that bring innovation without disrupting existing infrastructures.

Art Meets Technology. Asli’s unique background in both art and tech allows her to see technology solutions as a composition of building blocks—an approach that fuels creative problem-solving. It’s not just about tech; it’s about how it all fits together.

The AI Trap. Poorly implemented AI can actually drive customers away. Asli shared how some AI systems end up pushing customers to expensive human channels—unintentionally creating more costs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the call center industry—but is it truly driving transformation, or is it just another buzzword? As with most advancements, the reality is more nuanced.

In this episode of The Next Gen Call Center, we talk with Ram Sundaram, Director of AI Development at Genesys. Leading a team that develops AI solutions for enterprises handling millions of customer interactions, Ram has over a decade of hands-on experience in the world of conversational AI. His journey spans from the early days of Hidden Markov Models and deep learning NLP to today’s cutting-edge LLMs and SLMs. With previous roles at Broadcom and Microsoft’s Core Speech Team, Ram offers a unique insider's perspective on how AI has evolved and what it means for the future of customer service.

Here are some key takeaways:

The Evolution of AI in Call Centers: Significant advancements in AI have taken place, from early rule-based systems to today's sophisticated language models. Staying updated on the latest developments is crucial to fully leverage AI's potential in call centers.

The Importance of Practical AI: AI solutions must deliver real-world value, not just remain theoretical concepts. Engineering and building scalable, practical solutions that can be deployed in real environments is essential.

The Future of AI in Call Centers: AI will increasingly automate routine tasks, enhance agent efficiency, and provide supervisors with better insights. There is also potential for AI to personalize customer experiences and optimize customer-agent matching.

Challenges in Developing AI Solutions: High-quality data, skilled engineers, and a clear understanding of business problems are key to successful AI development. Continuous innovation and iteration are necessary to keep AI solutions relevant.

Ethical Implications of AI: Ethical considerations such as privacy, job displacement, and potential bias must be addressed. Responsible development of AI solutions that prioritize ethical standards is essential.

Imagine a world where call center agents can effortlessly understand customers with thick accents, and background noise becomes a thing of the past. This future is closer than you think, thanks to advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and specifically, audio-based Large Language Models (LLMs). AI and audio-based LLMs are poised to revolutionize the call center landscape for enterprises and BPOs.

In a recent interview, we had the privilege of discussing these groundbreaking concepts with James Fan, the Chief Technology Officer of Tomato.ai. Before joining Tomato.ai, James served as a Senior Manager at Google, where he played a pivotal role in developing the CCAI analytics solution and led the Google Cloud Speech Group. Additionally, James founded and successfully exited Hello Vera, a contact center start-up.

Here are some key takeaways

AI is not a replacement for human agents. James emphasizes that AI is designed to augment human capabilities, empowering agents to provide a more personalized and efficient service.

Modern Call Center Challenges: Balancing cost-efficiency and customer experience remains a significant challenge for enterprises.

Addressing the Accent Challenge. Tomato.ai’s technology was born from the need to bridge the communication gap caused by accents. Their solutions directly address a pain point for many call centers.

Seamless Integration is Key. Tomato.ai integrate seamlessly with existing call center infrastructure, minimizing disruption and maximizing ROI.

Overcoming Implementation Hurdles. Successful AI implementation requires thorough testing, phased deployment, and addressing concerns about AI’s impact on the workforce.

Call centers are the backbone of many customer service operations. But let's be honest, keeping your team happy and productive can feel like an uphill battle. High turnover, low morale, and frustrated customers - sound familiar?

In episode we interview Dave D'Arcy, Managing Director of Laughing Leadership, who has over 30+ years designing and managing call centers for companies like Sky, Vodafone, Vonage, and RingCentral. We delve into the secrets of building a high-performing call center team. From prioritizing agent experience to embracing new AI tech, this video offers actionable advice to elevate your call center from just functional to fantastic.

Here are some key takeaways

Employee experience is key to customer experience. Happy staff lead to happy customers.

AI is a powerful tool to enhance agent performance. It can automate tasks and provide real-time support, but it won't replace human agents.

Start small and focus on a specific goal when implementing AI. Identify a process that you want to improve and find an AI solution that can help.

Listen to your team members and empower them to make decisions. This will boost morale and improve overall call center performance.

Did you know that 78% of customers say a positive experience with a call center agent can increase their loyalty to a brand? But with rising call volumes and complex customer needs, it’s getting tougher for agents to deliver exceptional service. This begs the question – can technology, specifically AI, become the secret weapon for boosting agent experience and customer satisfaction?

In a recent interview, we discussed these topics and more with Nerys Corfield, Director of Injection Consulting Limited. Nerys’ has a quarter-century of hands-on experience consulting some of the worlds leading call centers for clients like Volkswagen, Vodafone, British Gas, the National Apprenticeship Service and Sky. She is also a leading thought leader in the space judging prestigious awards like the European Contact Center and Customer Service Awards; Chairing the DMA Contact Center Council for 3 years and being a regular on the webinar, keynote and podcast circuit.

Here are some key takeaways

Call centers are still facing challenges from the late 90s, such as lack of investment in training and supporting advisors.

The cost of managing voice interactions is rising, and businesses are looking for ways to leverage technology like AI to augment agents or to move customers to self-served channels.

It is imperative to bridge the gap between Operations and IT teams when implementing AI solutions.

AI can help agents by providing them with real-time interaction guidance and automating tasks like call summarization.

Call centers should develop a roadmap for AI implementation, which includes understanding their pain points, setting goals, and measuring success.

Call centers are experiencing an unprecedented revolution catalyzed by AI. With a vast array of solutions like call transcription, voice generation, agent assist tools, and even virtual agents, crafting a strategic and practical approach is crucial for success.

In this episode, we interview Ping Wu, the CEO of Cresta, one of the leading AI unicorns (valued at $1.6 billion) in the call center space. Prior to Cresta, Ping was a Senior Director of Engineering at Google, where he helped pioneer several AI products such as Vertex AI and CCAI.

Here are some key takeaways

Agent Empowerment. AI automates repetitive tasks like real-time transcription and cost summarization. This frees up agents to tackle complex inquiries and provide more personalized service.

Real-Time Agent Guidance. AI becomes a virtual coach, offering agents instant insights and knowledge base access during calls, leading to improved performance and resolution times.

Data-Driven Call Optimization. AI unlocks valuable insights from every call, empowering businesses to identify areas for improvement and optimize future interactions.

Starting Smart with AI. The video emphasizes starting with low-tech, high-impact AI solutions to ensure cost-effective implementation and a smooth transition.

The call center industry is undergoing a major transformation driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI). But is AI a magic bullet for cutting costs?

In a recent video, we dive into these questions with Mark McKercher, CEO of CX by Us, which is an advisory company focused on call centers. Formerly Mark has held leadership positions at Roku, Samsung, Google, and Amazon.

Here are some takeaways

AI is on the rise, but temper expectations on cost savings. McKercher advises against overpromising immediate savings from AI solutions.

Focus on customer experience first. Don’t let AI overshadow the human element in customer service.

Data governance is critical. Ensure your data is organized and accessible before deploying AI.

Balance stakeholder needs. Be transparent with leadership about the time it takes to see ROI from AI.

Empower your agents. AI should augment agents, not replace them. Make sure they understand this.

The BPO call center industry is undergoing a major transformation due to AI. AI can automate tasks, improve agent productivity, and enhance customer satisfaction. BPOs that embrace AI will be well-positioned to thrive in the future. Are traditional BPO call centers a thing of the past?

In a recent episode, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Radzicki, President of GMI, a global outsourcing company, former CIO of the Valor Global, a BPO focused on the Telcos, Healthcare, and Tech sectors, and the former CTO of Telus International, a divesified BPO with over 50,000 agents. Jim brings a wealth of experience from the BPO industry, having started his career as a call center agent and rising to the C-Suite in some of the world’s largest call center BPOs.

Here are some takeaways 

BPO call centers are increasingly adopting AI solutions such as call summarization to agent assists platforms.

AI can improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction by providing real-time guidance and automating tasks.

BPOs can leverage their expertise to train AI models and offer new services such as data anotation.

AI will not replace human agents, but it will change the way they work.

The key to successful AI implementation is to start small and scale gradually.

In today’s competitive business landscape, Business Process Outsourcers (BPO) running offshore call centers are under increasing pressure to deliver exceptional customer service while keeping costs under control. The good news? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the call center landscape, offering a powerful solution to these challenges. But with a variety of AI solutions available, how should BPOs prioritize their investments?

We recently interviewed Ofer Ronen, the Founder and CEO of Tomato.ai, and asked him this very question. Before raising $12.1M for Tomato.ai, Ofer successfully sold two start-ups to Google, and one to IAC. He also played a pivotal role in pioneering Google Contact Center AI, where he helped transform some of the largest call centers with AI, including a couple of Fortune 20 companies, driving over $500M in bookings.

Ofer’s Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to AI Implementation

BPOs shouldn’t rush into implementing the most complex AI solutions first. A strategic “crawl, walk, run” approach is key.

Crawl Begin with quick wins that deliver immediate value. Call summarization and voice augmentation are excellent starting points, as they improve efficiency and customer experience without a major overhaul.

Walk Once initial solutions are established, move on to AI-powered agent assist. This empowers agents and elevates the quality of their interactions.

Run Finally, consider implementing virtual agents for basic inquiries, allowing human agents to focus on complex issues and relationship building.

This phased approach ensures a smooth integration of AI while maximizing its benefits.