Ready or Not, AI Is Rewiring the Contact Center—Is Yours Falling Behind?
The transformation isn’t coming. It’s here.
Gartner projects AI could handle up to 95% of all customer interactions by 2025, and global enterprises are reacting accordingly. Metrigy reports organizations are boosting AI investment by over 70% for customer self-service and AI-assisted agents.
If your contact center is still relying on manual workflows, long call queues, and swivel-chair processes, you’re not just behind—you’re bleeding efficiency and frustrating customers.
But it’s not too late to change that.
Let’s look at four providers leading the AI-powered contact center evolution and explore how you can follow suit with a proven 5-step adoption framework.
Who Should Read This?
This is for you if you’re a:
- CX leader seeking automation without compromising service quality
- Contact center executive exploring omnichannel AI capabilities
- IT leader tasked with evaluating enterprise-grade platforms
The Core Idea: AI in the Contact Center Isn’t About Replacement—It’s About Amplification
Forget the “robots replacing humans” narrative. Today’s AI enhances agent performance, boosts supervisor visibility, and provides customers with faster, more personalized interactions.
From virtual agents resolving Tier-1 inquiries to copilots drafting summaries and real-time coaching, AI is changing every layer of contact center operations.
5 Game-Changing Components of AI-Driven Contact Centers
1. AI Virtual Agents: Self-Service That Actually Works
✓ Zoom: Their Virtual Agent resolves 97% of internal customer queries, reducing live agent load dramatically. ✓ Five9: Blends NLP with generative AI for IVAs that can perform tasks, not just answer FAQs. ✓ Nextiva: Omnichannel bots pull data from a unified knowledge base, ensuring consistency. ✓ RingCentral: Offers open APIs for “bring your own bot” flexibility + AIR receptionist powered by GenAI.
Bottom line: Modern virtual agents do more than deflect—they deliver.
2. Agent Assist: Your Reps, Only Faster and Smarter
✓ Zoom’s AI Companion and Five9’s Agent Assist summarize calls, surface insights, and reduce after-call work. ✓ RingCX and Nextiva offer dynamic scripting and live guidance that improve resolution speed and compliance.
Why it matters: Reps can focus on empathy and problem-solving, not note-taking or guesswork.
3. Supervisor Assist & Real-Time Analytics
✓ RingCentral’s Supervisor Assist monitors conversations live and flags risky interactions instantly. ✓ Five9 uses AI to auto-score calls and detect coaching moments across 100% of interactions. ✓ Nextiva gives supervisors real-time dashboards with sentiment trends and root-cause analytics.
What to watch: AI is taking quality assurance from random sampling to total visibility.
4. Generative AI: From Response Drafting to Auto-Dispositions
✓ Zoom and Five9 use GenAI to write call summaries, suggest follow-ups, and route workflows. ✓ Nextiva translates in real time and drafts disposition codes. ✓ RingCentral leverages GenAI to handle inbound voice calls naturally and auto-summarize across channels.
Quick stat: Companies using AI Agent Assist have seen average handle times drop by ~30 seconds.
5. Omnichannel + Unified Data Context
✓ All four platforms provide AI continuity across chat, voice, social, SMS, and more. ✓ Nextiva and Zoom shine in preserving context across touchpoints. ✓ Five9 and RingCX focus on blending AI workflows regardless of channel.
Takeaway: If your bot can’t pick up where the last interaction left off, you’re not omnichannel—you’re siloed.
Common Questions & Concerns
Will AI replace my agents? No—it will make them more effective. Companies using AI often hire fewer but better-trained agents who resolve issues faster, with less burnout.
What about hallucinations or errors? The best platforms, like Five9, allow you to set guardrails around GenAI. Combine AI with human review to keep quality high.
Is it too expensive? Not necessarily. Zoom bundles AI Companion into every license tier, lowering barriers to entry. Plus, savings from automation often offset the costs quickly.
Real-World ROI: Results That Speak for Themselves
✓ One Nextiva user saw a 154% increase in voice channel efficiency after adopting AI. ✓ Five9 clients report a 30-second reduction in average handle time with Agent Assist. ✓ Zoom’s own use of ZVA resolved 97% of inquiries via self-service, minimizing live call volume.
When implemented well, AI isn’t an expense. It’s a multiplier.
Your 5-Step Framework for AI Success
Step 1: Define Your Vision
Set a clear goal—deflect 30% of calls in 12 months? Improve CSAT by 15 points? Use those to build your business case.
Step 2: Start with Customer Pain Points
Let journey maps guide you. Where are customers getting stuck? Automate those touchpoints first.
Step 3: Empower (Don’t Replace) Your Agents
Give them AI copilots, not competitors. Prioritize tools that make agents faster and more confident.
Step 4: Measure Relentlessly
Track CSAT, handle time, bot containment, AI usage rates. Adjust often.
Step 5: Choose the Right Partners
Vet platforms based on integration ease, security, and AI maturity. Bring in experts to avoid missteps.
Ready to Rewire Your Contact Center With AI?
Book a free AI readiness assessment today with VIcom. We’ll evaluate your current CX tech stack and deliver a tailored roadmap to get started.