Contact Centres

Contact centres are being transformed by AI, automation, and new customer expectations. Explore how AI chatbots, virtual agents, and agent assist tools are reshaping customer support, improving efficiency, and enabling more scalable, high-quality service experiences.

Customer Intelligence

Was CX Left Behind by Cisco's AI Pivot? Its Latest Results Add a New Clue

Aug 14, 2026

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2 min read

Was CX Left Behind by Cisco's AI Pivot? Its Latest Results Add a New Clue

Cisco says agentic AI is driving a networking supercycle. Its own customer operations offer a glimpse of what that looks like in practice

James Stephen

Agent Experience

What is AI Agent Assist? How AI Helps Customer Service Agents

Aug 13, 2026

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5 min read

What is AI Agent Assist? How AI Helps Customer Service Agents

How AI helps customer service teams find information, automate routine work and handle more complex conversations

James Stephen

Customer Intelligence

AI Agents Are Moving into Production. The Next Challenge Is Scaling Them

Aug 11, 2026

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3 min read

AI Agents Are Moving into Production. The Next Challenge Is Scaling Them

Enterprise AI is moving beyond pilots as agents take on real work, shifting the challenge from adoption to reliable, scalable deployment

James Stephen

AI Strategy

Aug 10, 2026

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5 min read

What is an AI-Native Contact Centre?

AI-native contact centres are moving beyond AI-assisted service, redesigning customer operations around autonomous systems, orchestration and human expertise

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+11

8x8 Reports Record Revenue as Enterprise AI Adoption More Than Doubles

Aug 6, 2026

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2 min read

8x8 Reports Record Revenue as Enterprise AI Adoption More Than Doubles

Behind the record quarter, customers were deploying AI at scale, signalling a shift from experimentation to operational use

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+12

Can AI Transform Customer Service Without Layoffs? Noem.ai Thinks So

Jul 29, 2026

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2 min read

Can AI Transform Customer Service Without Layoffs? Noem.ai Thinks So

Vendor case studies suggest AI can automate routine customer enquiries without cutting staff, adding to evidence that layoffs are a leadership choice rather than an inevitable outcome

James Stephen

AI Strategy

Cresta Expands Synthetic Customers into Human Agent Training with New AI Simulator

Jul 10, 2026

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1 min read

Cresta Expands Synthetic Customers into Human Agent Training with New AI Simulator

The company's latest launch applies its synthetic customer technology to agent coaching and onboarding, suggesting simulation is becoming a core capability for both human and AI workforces

James Stephen

Customer Support

+10

Microsoft Makes Service Agent Generally Available Across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365

Jul 2, 2026

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2 min read

Microsoft Makes Service Agent Generally Available Across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365

Governance, Microsoft 365 integration and expanded MCP support mark the shift from conversational copilot to operational agent

James Stephen

Strategy & Leadership

Genesys Acquires Pinkfish as the CX AI Race Moves to Enterprise Execution

Jul 1, 2026

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2 min read

Genesys Acquires Pinkfish as the CX AI Race Moves to Enterprise Execution

The acquisition reflects a broader shift in customer experience AI from generating responses to completing work across enterprise systems

James Stephen

Customer Support

8x8 Reports 99% Reduction in University Clearing Wait Times

Jun 30, 2026

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2 min read

8x8 Reports 99% Reduction in University Clearing Wait Times

The company says AI-powered routing and self-service reduced student wait times from more than 18 minutes to under eight seconds, dramatically improving this critical customer journey

James Stephen

Customer Intelligence

+12

Five9 Research Finds Fresh Challenges for CX AI as Adoption Hits 92%

Jun 26, 2026

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2 min read

Five9 Research Finds Fresh Challenges for CX AI as Adoption Hits 92%

New research indicates AI is now commonplace in customer service as the real competitive challenge shifts to execution, orchestration and customer trust

James Stephen

Customer Intelligence

Can AI Finally Solve Enterprise-Wide Routing? 8x8 Thinks So

Jun 25, 2026

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2 min read

Can AI Finally Solve Enterprise-Wide Routing? 8x8 Thinks So

A new AI Routing engine claims to automatically discover, maintain and match expertise across the whole organisation, not just the contact centre

James Stephen

AI Strategy

Salesforce's AI Agent 'Bobbi' Goes Beyond the Call of Duty for UK Police

Jun 19, 2026

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2 min read

Salesforce's AI Agent 'Bobbi' Goes Beyond the Call of Duty for UK Police

The Agentforce-built assistant is cutting call volume for two police forces in the UK, but its most significant impact may be the vulnerable people it is helping reach support services for the first time

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+10

Salesforce Acquires Fin to Accelerate Enterprise AI Agent Adoption

Jun 16, 2026

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2 min read

Salesforce Acquires Fin to Accelerate Enterprise AI Agent Adoption

Fin's technology strengthens Salesforce's push to make autonomous customer service a practical reality for large enterprises

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+10

Why Customer Experience Needs a Reasoning Layer, Not Just Automation

Jun 15, 2026

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3 min read

Why Customer Experience Needs a Reasoning Layer, Not Just Automation

Guest article by Martijn Gribnau, Chief Customer Success Officer at Quant

Martijn Gribnau

Chatbots & Virtual Agents

+11

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for Customer Experience Explained

Jun 12, 2026

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4 min read

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for Customer Experience Explained

Why your AI is only as good as the knowledge behind it

James Stephen

AI Strategy

Decagon Launches 'First' Self-Improving AI Agent for Customer Experience

Jun 10, 2026

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3 min read

Decagon Launches 'First' Self-Improving AI Agent for Customer Experience

Decagon's new Duet Autopilot platform aims to automate not just customer interactions, but the optimisation of AI agents themselves, pointing towards a future of continuously improving customer experience systems

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+10

AI Agents vs AI Copilots: What's the Difference?

Jun 9, 2026

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4 min read

AI Agents vs AI Copilots: What's the Difference?

Copilots and agents both use AI, but they operate in fundamentally different ways. Here is what CX leaders need to know.

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+10

AI Agents Are Becoming a Workforce Category

Jun 3, 2026

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3 min read

AI Agents Are Becoming a Workforce Category

As vendors introduce observability, governance, and workforce management for AI agents, the contact centre may be creating an entirely new category of worker

James Stephen

Customer Support

Cisco Live: Webex Contact Center Gets AI Concierge, Agent Observability, and Workforce Management

Jun 3, 2026

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2 min read

Cisco Live: Webex Contact Center Gets AI Concierge, Agent Observability, and Workforce Management

AI Concierge, AI Agent 360, and a new workforce engagement suite signal Cisco’s push to position Webex Contact Center for a blended human and AI workforce

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+11

Afiniti’s New AI Decisioning Platform Reflects a Changing Contact Centre Market

Jun 1, 2026

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3 min read

Afiniti’s New AI Decisioning Platform Reflects a Changing Contact Centre Market

As AI agents become commonplace, the focus is moving from managing interactions to deciding what should happen next

James Stephen

Chatbots & Virtual Agents

+13

Top Conversational AI Platforms for Enterprises

May 28, 2026

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4 min read

Top Conversational AI Platforms for Enterprises

From global scale to deep customisation, how the leading platforms stack up for enterprise buyers in 2026

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+11

May 26, 2026

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4 min read

How to Launch a CX AI Pilot

Most CX AI pilots don't fail because the technology doesn't work. The problem is almost always what surrounds it

James Stephen

AI Strategy

+11

Gartner: One-Size Governance Will Kill Your AI Agent Programme

May 26, 2026

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2 min read

Gartner: One-Size Governance Will Kill Your AI Agent Programme

New research warns that applying uniform controls across all AI agents is a leading cause of enterprise failure

James Stephen

AI Strategy

8x8 Bets on Open Architecture as AI Reshapes the Contact Centre

May 21, 2026

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2 min read

8x8 Bets on Open Architecture as AI Reshapes the Contact Centre

8x8 closes its first GAAP-profitable fiscal year since 2015 and sets out why open, integrated platforms are now a prerequisite for AI-era CX, not a preference.

James Stephen

Contact Centres

Was CX Left Behind by Cisco's AI Pivot? Its Latest Results Add a New Clue

What is AI Agent Assist? How AI Helps Customer Service Agents

AI Agents Are Moving into Production. The Next Challenge Is Scaling Them

What is an AI-Native Contact Centre?

8x8 Reports Record Revenue as Enterprise AI Adoption More Than Doubles

Can AI Transform Customer Service Without Layoffs? Noem.ai Thinks So

Cresta Expands Synthetic Customers into Human Agent Training with New AI Simulator

Microsoft Makes Service Agent Generally Available Across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365

Genesys Acquires Pinkfish as the CX AI Race Moves to Enterprise Execution

8x8 Reports 99% Reduction in University Clearing Wait Times

Five9 Research Finds Fresh Challenges for CX AI as Adoption Hits 92%

Can AI Finally Solve Enterprise-Wide Routing? 8x8 Thinks So

Salesforce's AI Agent 'Bobbi' Goes Beyond the Call of Duty for UK Police

Salesforce Acquires Fin to Accelerate Enterprise AI Agent Adoption

Why Customer Experience Needs a Reasoning Layer, Not Just Automation

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for Customer Experience Explained

Decagon Launches 'First' Self-Improving AI Agent for Customer Experience

AI Agents vs AI Copilots: What's the Difference?

AI Agents Are Becoming a Workforce Category

Cisco Live: Webex Contact Center Gets AI Concierge, Agent Observability, and Workforce Management

Afiniti’s New AI Decisioning Platform Reflects a Changing Contact Centre Market

Top Conversational AI Platforms for Enterprises

How to Launch a CX AI Pilot

Gartner: One-Size Governance Will Kill Your AI Agent Programme

8x8 Bets on Open Architecture as AI Reshapes the Contact Centre

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