I spend a lot of time talking to CX leaders, and lately, the conversation always circles back to the same topic: Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is an undeniable excitement in the air, a sense that we are on the precipice of a revolution. But when I look at the hard data, I see something else entirely. I see what the latest industry research calls an “operational disconnect.”
Here is the reality check: most organisations we speak to are planning to use AI to enhance their customer experience (CX). Yet, fewer than 25% have actually managed to implement it.
That is a massive gap. It begs the question I find myself asking constantly: If we all know AI is the future, why are so many of us stuck in the past?
The “budget” excuse (and the real problem)
Let’s be honest about the biggest hurdle. It’s money. In the “What Contact Centres Are Doing Right Now” report, over 68% confirmed that a lack of funds is the primary obstacle stopping them from running an ideal operation.
I feel your frustration. We are still fighting an uphill battle against company leadership that views the contact centre as a traditional “cost centre” rather than the value-generating engine we know it is.
But it isn’t just about empty wallets. It’s about territory. I’ve seen too many CX initiatives stall because of conflicting business priorities – something 55.2% of organisations struggle with. Often, this happens because IT departments hold the keys to the data and the budget, meaning broader enterprise projects steamroll our specific CX needs.
Warning: Don’t automate a broken process
I see many businesses rushing toward AI with a narrow focus on cost cutting and contact reduction. But as experts in the field have warned, if your underlying service journeys are already broken, adding AI will only serve to frustrate your customers faster.
You cannot use technology to bandage a flawed process. AI shouldn’t be about replacing your people; it should be about supplementing them.
The unsung hero: AI in the back-end
When we talk about AI, we tend to default to the image of a chatbot or a digital assistant. But some of the most exciting work I’m seeing isn’t happening on the front lines – it’s happening in the back-end.
Consider Quality Assurance (QA). Traditionally, we’ve only been able to manually review about 1-3% of calls. That always struck me as a terrifyingly low safety net. Today, with AI-driven automated monitoring and Large Language Models (LLMs), we can check 100% of calls for compliance.
Imagine the peace of mind that comes from total oversight – knowing that digital agents are performing mandatory security checks during live interactions, saving your human team minutes on every single engagement while mitigating risk. That is where the immediate value lies – watch the video to learn more.
From “Agent” to “Advisor”
For too long, the traditional agent role was defined by scripted workflows and the stress of juggling multiple systems to manage simple transactions. We have to change that picture. As we divert these transactional engagements – such as FAQs – to self-service bots and instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, automation effectively becomes “the agent of the past”.
This shift frees the human staff member to evolve into an Empowered Advisor focused on complex engagements. However, this means your team is now left handling the most emotionally charged and difficult issues.
To support them, we must use AI to handle the administrative heavy lifting. This reduces the cognitive load, allowing advisors to stop worrying about technical functionality and start genuinely listening with empathy. This is critical in an era where 41.6% of industry professionals believe that analytical thinking and problem-solving will be the most vital skills in the contact centre of the future.
The bottom line
Think of AI in your contact centre like an electric bicycle for a courier. It doesn’t replace the rider who knows the city and smiles at the client. It just provides a power-assist on the steep hills, ensuring they arrive faster and with enough energy left to provide great service.
The gap between planning for AI and implementing it is wide, but it is bridgeable. It starts by fixing our processes, fighting for our budget, and remembering that at the end of the day, technology is there to make us more human, not less.
Empower your team with the tools to deliver exceptional customer service while boosting productivity and driving business growth. Reduce manual tasks, improve response times and increase agent productivity by leveraging virtual agents using AI in contact centres. Contact us today.
By Kelvin Brown, Customer Operations Executive at Telviva.