Customer service and contact center
Customer service refers to the support organizations give customers after a purchase, and contact centers are the points where organizations can manage these interactions. Keep tabs on the evolution of customer service and contact center technologies and best practices to maintain service strategies properly.
Top Stories
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Opinion
21 Oct 2024
FTC's quixotic quest to fix CX with Click to Cancel rule
The Biden administration strives to improve CX with a rule that goes in effect in 180 days. What could possibly go wrong? People, process, tech and a U.S. election. Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2024
AWS' Amazon Q in Connect adds more contact center GenAI
AWS updates its contact center-specific version of its generative AI-powered agent, Amazon Q, for the company's Connect Contact Center as a Service platform. Continue Reading
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Definition
11 Oct 2024
What is the Salesforce Service Console?
The Salesforce Service Console is the centralized interface in Salesforce Service Cloud, an application devoted to customer service, support and customer experience. Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2024
Oracle Service platform adds autonomous AI agents
Oracle adds a number of agents and dashboards to Oracle Service and Field Service as the company strives to provide users with capabilities that enable 100% AI autonomy. Continue Reading
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Definition
10 Oct 2024
What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization is the science of improving a website to increase its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) when people search for products or services. Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2024
Zendesk upends pricing for AI in customer service
As it embeds generative AI into its customer service and employee service platform, Zendesk tries a novel idea: outcomes-based pricing based on tickets resolved. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Oct 2024
15 best practices for contact center agent training programs
Agents thrive when contact center training programs are built on KSAC profiles, performance analysis and recognition, personal coaching and shadowing, AI integration, and ROI. Continue Reading
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Definition
07 Oct 2024
Average handle time (AHT): What it is and how to improve it
Average handle time (AHT) is the average amount of time it takes a call center agent to complete a customer phone call. Continue Reading
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Definition
04 Oct 2024
What is contact center as a service (CCaaS)?
Contact center as a service (CCaaS) is a framework that combines contact center hosting principles and cloud-based contact center infrastructure. Continue Reading
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Tip
04 Oct 2024
Contact center fraud: How to detect and prevent it
Contact centers can be sitting ducks for fraudsters, but comprehensive agent training, authentication techniques and advanced technologies can protect businesses and customers. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Oct 2024
Contact center monitoring: A step-by-step guide
A well-designed monitoring program identifies customer pain points and gathers valuable intelligence that can improve agent performance and CX, as well as products and services. Continue Reading
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Definition
30 Sep 2024
What is a call center? Everything you need to know
A call center is a centralized department of customer service professionals who handle inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers. Continue Reading
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Definition
24 Sep 2024
What is a customer effort score (CES)?
Customer effort score (CES) is a system for evaluating how much effort is required on the part of a customer to achieve satisfaction in their experience with a company. Continue Reading
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Opinion
23 Sep 2024
Benioff’s Agentforce gambit might just work
At Dreamforce 2024 in San Francisco, Salesforce announced the potential for its customers to embed virtual agents on its platform, so avoiding what the supplier dubs DIY GenAI. Will it work? Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2024
HubSpot adds Breeze generative AI agents, analytics to platform
Hubspot users get their generative AI infusion that includes souped-up bots, a no-code workflow builder, sophisticated content generation and marketing analytics. Continue Reading
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Definition
17 Sep 2024
What is a virtual contact center?
A virtual contact center (VCC) is a type of call center in which an organization's representatives are geographically dispersed, rather than situated at workstations in one location. Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Sep 2024
What is skill-based routing (SBR)?
Skill-based routing (SBR) is a strategy within customer service and contact centers to distribute incoming interactions -- phone calls, chats or emails -- based on the specific skills of the agents. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2024
Salesforce reveals more on Agentforce autonomous AI agents
Salesforce seizes on the concept of agentic AI to automate sales and service processes. The company holds fast to the idea the AI agents will assist humans -- not replace them. Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2024
Oracle focuses on CX platform as it exits ad business
Oracle rolls out generative AI tools for sellers, beefs up CDP to reinforce B2B buying and selling team interactions, and adds industry-specific features. Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2024
Salesforce Industries clouds for verticals adds 100 AI features
A new AI toolkit for Salesforce's industry-specific clouds delivers more than 100 features for companies in 15 industries to automate common tasks, each with their own data model. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Sep 2024
7 essential steps to create a contact center RFP
Successful contact center RFPs are built on collaboration, vendor research, countless questions and answers, scorecards, shortlists, trial runs, bakeoffs and the final decision. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Sep 2024
Benefits and challenges of contact center benchmarking
Contact center benchmarking can help organizations allocate spending and improve CX. Yet, common pitfalls, such as a lack of qualitative data, can negatively affect efforts. Continue Reading
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Definition
06 Sep 2024
What is multichannel marketing?
Multichannel marketing refers to the practice of companies interacting with customers via multiple direct and indirect channels to sell them goods and services. Continue Reading
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Definition
05 Sep 2024
What is a contact center?
A contact center is a central point from which organizations manage all customer interactions across various channels. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Sep 2024
Technical sales rise when you tap into soft skills
Evgeniy Kharam published a book exploring soft skills in technical sales to improve sales success and minimize turnover. In this Q&A, you'll find key takeaways from the book. Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2024
Salesforce Foundations opens up marketing, ecomm features
Enterprise Salesforce users will get Foundations, a basic set of tools and Data Cloud functionality to complement their Sales and Service modules. Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2024
Salesforce and Genesys discuss CX strategy, coopetition
Competing tech companies are partnering up to give customers what they need faster. Salesforce and Genesys share how they're doing just that in the contact center market. Continue Reading
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News
27 Aug 2024
FTC Click to Cancel, other regs coming to CX tech
The FTC, FCC and DOT are flexing their muscles to help consumers. Some rules are regulatory law; other proposals await the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Aug 2024
Contact center outsourcing: What businesses need to know
Businesses use contact center outsourcing to alleviate agent understaffing, expand customer service and reduce costs, but loss of control and service inconsistency are concerns. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Aug 2024
Why contact centers have high turnover and how to combat it
The alarming rise in contact center turnover rates negatively impacts agent morale, customer interactions and ROI. In many ways, AI is seen as both the cause and the solution. Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2024
Salesforce GenAI, data tools likely major Dreamforce themes
We read the tea leaves of Salesforce's summer product releases, executive interviews and Winter '25 release notes to figure out what's coming at Dreamforce. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Aug 2024
How to manage today's remote contact center agents
Technologies like agent analytics, video conferencing, collaboration tools, workforce management applications and cloud software can help manage remote contact centers. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Aug 2024
The ultimate contact center security checklist
If customers know organizations can keep their data safe in the contact center, they have more positive experiences. This checklist of best practices can help establish that trust. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Aug 2024
10 strategies to improve contact center agent performance
Call monitoring, skills-based routing, positive reinforcement, training resources and coaching can help contact center agents improve their performance and customer interactions. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Aug 2024
History and evolution of contact centers
Alexander Graham Bell, Steve Jobs and the Baby Bells played notable roles in the contact center's transformation into the front line of communication for businesses and customers. Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Aug 2024
What is call management?
Call management is a process in which inbound telephone calls are routed to call center agents. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Aug 2024
The ultimate guide to contact center modernization
Advanced technologies, omnichannel support, agent performance, data security and ROI are keys to modernizing contact centers, but AI integration and customer personalization dominate. Continue Reading
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Answer
12 Aug 2024
10 must-have contact center skills for agents in 2024
Contact center agents must have a wide range of interpersonal and technological skills to interact with customers and resolve their issues in a timely and empathetic manner. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Aug 2024
10 best practices for contact center quality assurance
To ensure quality and results in the contact center, businesses must define clear metrics, use real-time analytics, seek customer feedback, upskill agents and automate everywhere. Continue Reading
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Report
09 Aug 2024
15 essential contact center features
Today's multifunctional contact centers must cut through the product hype and incorporate software features that meet customer demands for fast, seamless and personalized service. Continue Reading
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Definition
05 Aug 2024
What is a 360-degree customer view?
The 360-degree customer view is a comprehensive approach to understanding customers by compiling their individual data from various touchpoints into a single view. Continue Reading
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Tip
01 Aug 2024
8 contact center metrics to improve agent performance and CX
These metrics measure and report on productivity and effectiveness at the contact center agent level to ensure performance aligns with the overall mission of the organization. Continue Reading
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News
01 Aug 2024
SupportLogic acquires xFind for customer service experience AI
Startup SupportLogic buys xFind to add generative AI to its service analytics platform, and in the process takes on much larger competition such as Qualtrics, Medallia and Verint. Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Jul 2024
7 contact center trends for 2024 and beyond
As contact centers trend toward becoming viable profit centers, AI's influence is at the core of conversational analytics, omnichannel communications and a mobile-first strategy. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Jul 2024
Contact center compliance checklist for modern workforces
A contact center compliance checklist can serve as a starting point for contact center managers as they seek to comply with internal and external requirements. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jul 2024
How to improve the contact center experience for customers
Customers want their contact center interactions to be fast, seamless, tailored and personal in the form of mobile apps, self-service, improved IVR and knowledgeable human agents. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Jul 2024
What are virtual agents and how are they being used?
A virtual agent -- sometimes called an intelligent virtual agent (IVA) -- is a software program or cloud service that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to provide automated services or guidance to humans. Continue Reading
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Definition
24 Jul 2024
What is first call resolution (FCR)?
First call resolution (FCR) is when contact center agents properly address a customer's needs the first time they call so there is no need for the customer to follow up with a second call. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Jul 2024
12 top contact center platforms of 2024
Which came first: the evolution of the contact center or the evolution of its supporting software? It's the old chicken-and-egg debate. Either way, AI is the catalyst. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Jul 2024
What is an abandoned call?
An abandoned call is a call or other type of contact initiated to a call center or contact center that is ended before any conversation occurs. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jul 2024
8 contact center challenges in 2024 and how to overcome them
Multifunctional contact centers must meet the expectations of savvy customers, hire and maintain qualified agents, monetize data, safeguard information and modernize operations. Continue Reading
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Definition
19 Jul 2024
What is an inbound call?
An inbound call is typically initiated by a customer to a call center or contact center. Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Jul 2024
What is an outbound call?
An outbound call is one initiated by a contact center agent to prospective customers and focuses on sales, lead generation, telemarketing and fundraising. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jul 2024
How knowledge management benefits customer service
As knowledge management helps employees and customers find answers, it can improve customer service. Benefits include effective self-service and increased customer satisfaction. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2024
Salesforce to release autonomous AI customer service agents
Salesforce's next generation of customer service chatbots will use sharpened AI tools -- and, in theory, wits -- to choose their own adventure among Flows and actions. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Jul 2024
10 types of contact centers explained
Contact centers are the front line of communication between the enterprise and customers. But no two facilities are alike, so it's best to know which type fits business goals. Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Jul 2024
contact center burnout
Contact center burnout refers to physical, emotional and mental exhaustion experienced by contact center employees. Continue Reading
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Definition
10 Jul 2024
contact center agent (call center agent)
A contact center agent is a person who handles incoming or outgoing customer communications for an organization. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Jul 2024
5 key contact center AI features and their benefits
As multifunctional contact centers evolve in complexity and importance, AI and GenAI integration are advancing self-service chatbots, customer insights and agent monitoring. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Jul 2024
8 benefits of a modern contact center
Contact centers and their multifunctional capabilities can provide businesses with a competitive edge through improved agent performance, customer engagement and brand loyalty. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2024
AWS' Amazon Q adds Connect contact center integration
Amazon Connect, AWS' contact center platform, takes aim at solving the customer service agent's biggest problem: app switching during customer calls. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Jun 2024
Call center vs. contact center: What's the difference?
Call centers still live and die by the phone, while time and technologies have demanded more complex contact centers that service customers over multiple channels of communication. Continue Reading
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Definition
14 Jun 2024
contact center schedule adherence
Contact center schedule adherence is a standard metric used in business contact centers to determine whether contact center agents are working the amount of time they are scheduled to work. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jun 2024
RingCentral pushes AI deeper into sales tech, integrates Teams
Among other new features, RingCentral pushes its RingSense conversational intelligence deeper into the sales market with new integrations, where it meets a crowd of tech competitors. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jun 2024
Pegasystems' Blueprint enables automation with no code
Pegasystems uses generative AI to simplify previously difficult development tasks that unite back-office and front-office data, and launches a GenAI-led learning system. Continue Reading
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News
03 Jun 2024
Build or buy fintech AI? To Mastercard, the answer is 'both'
Mastercard's operations CTO discusses the company's data principles, global contact center outlay, and its rubric for building vs. buying AI -- not just the generative kind. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 May 2024
12 benefits of customer retention
Customer retention can help organizations better understand their current customers' needs, issues and desires, so they can better support them and target more prospects. Continue Reading
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Feature
30 May 2024
Knowledge management metrics: How to track KM effectiveness
Measuring knowledge management effectiveness requires quantitative and qualitative data. Metrics like the balanced scorecard method can help organizations improve their strategies. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 May 2024
How CPaaS improves CX operations and efficiency
Organizations have ramped up their use of communications platform as a service and APIs to expand communication channels between customers and contact center agents. Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2024
Salesforce Service Cloud adds Einstein generative AI tools
Salesforce Service Cloud will soon get generative AI tools that contact centers could theoretically use to turn CX from a cost center into a profit center. Continue Reading
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Opinion
21 May 2024
Generative AI's role in the rebirth of knowledge management
Generative AI could help organizations realize the tacit knowledge-sharing benefits that were touted in the late 1990s for the discipline of knowledge management. Continue Reading
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News
15 May 2024
Avaya looks ahead with acquisition, cloud CX, RingCentral deal
Rumors of Avaya's demise have been greatly exaggerated, CEO Alan Masarek assures longtime customers while making acquisitions, partnership deals and building a SaaS CX stack. Continue Reading
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News
14 May 2024
Genesys debuts customer service GenAI, journey management
Customer journey management and a bevy of generative AI tools, including more trademark empathy detection, were added to Genesys Cloud's contact center platform. Continue Reading
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News
07 May 2024
Sprinklr's AI digital twin for CX emulates whole companies
Sprinklr CEO Ragy Thomas 'bets the company' on its moonshot digital twin technology that emulates a whole customer's organization, with AI assistance, to complete CX tasks. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 May 2024
Why your -- and everyone else's -- customer service stinks
Frustration with customer service teams isn't new. But there are some reasons why it is seemingly getting worse. Continue Reading
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Definition
01 May 2024
chatbot
A chatbot is a software or computer program that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions. Continue Reading
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Answer
01 May 2024
How to enable a Teams-contact center integration
Explore the three ways Microsoft supports integrating a contact center with Teams to enable more advanced calling and collaboration features for agents. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2024
Salesforce Financial Services Cloud gets GenAI for banking
If Salesforce can talk the highly conservative, highly skeptical and highly regulated financial industry into adopting GenAI, the company could win over a lot more customers. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2024
Oracle expands generative AI across its CX applications
Oracle beefs up its Fusion Cloud Customer Experience applications with GenAI tools for users of its sales, field service, marketing and contact center. Continue Reading
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News
24 Apr 2024
HubSpot embraces GenAI with Service Hub updates and more
A reimagined, generative AI-infused Content Hub leads the way for a passel of HubSpot updates for users of its sales, service, marketing and digital payment platforms. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Apr 2024
Will AI replace customer service reps?
AI can streamline customer interactions and save organizations money, but will it replace customer service agents? Maybe, but customer service will always require a human touch. Continue Reading
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News
16 Apr 2024
Zendesk users get generative AI infusion for customer service
Zendesk customers get their shot of GenAI, which comes in the form of agent tools, self-service workflow assistants and workforce management features. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Apr 2024
How agent assist technology works in the contact center
Contact centers that invest in agent assist technology can help their agents become more productive and eliminate tedious tasks to make their jobs easier. Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2024
Why Alphabet might acquire HubSpot: Data, data and more data
If Alphabet were to buy HubSpot, it would come with a hefty price when interest rates are high. Experts discuss what HubSpot assets might interest Google's parent company most. Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2024
AWS, Google release contact center GenAI tools
AWS releases contact center workforce management features and post-call summaries powered by GenAI; Google previews its own for Contact Center AI Platform. Continue Reading
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Tip
01 Apr 2024
How to find the customer journey moments of truth
A moment of truth can turn a potentially positive experience into a negative one, and vice versa. Understanding moments of truth requires a complete knowledge of the customer journey. Continue Reading
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Opinion
28 Mar 2024
IT leaders curb GenAI enthusiasm at Enterprise Connect
IT leaders at Enterprise Connect expressed enthusiasm for GenAI experimentation in customer experience as well as circumspection that vendors should take on board. Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2024
Avaya simplifies contact center line, inks Zoom partnership
Zoom to work natively in Avaya hardware-software work collaboration environments; Avaya revamps contact center lineup to reflect changing CX landscape. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Mar 2024
18 real-world use cases of the metaverse, plus examples
Use cases for the still-developing metaverse are growing as the technologies that enable this next iteration of the internet mature. Here are 18 enterprise and consumer examples. Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2024
Talkdesk releases on-prem AI contact center automation suite
Contact center as a service users have a leg up on generative AI integrations because of the nature of cloud infrastructure, but on-premises customer service will get theirs. Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2024
Cisco releases Webex AI Assistant for office, contact center
Cisco brings AI Assistant for Webex to Enterprise Connect. Analysts break down the timing and potential for the new features available for office collaboration and contact center. Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2024
Salesforce Field Service users get generative AI helpers
Salesforce launches Einstein 1 Field Service Edition. Field technicians get a generative AI boost to help navigate through scheduling and technical content. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Mar 2024
How AI is transforming the BPO industry and contact centers
Everyone is talking about AI, but which organizations are adopting it? BPOs are a great example, especially AI for internal CX strategies and contact centers. Continue Reading
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News
13 Mar 2024
Zendesk to acquire AI customer service bot startup Ultimate
Zendesk continues its acquisition spree with plans to buy partner Ultimate, making way for more straightforward integration of virtual agents. Continue Reading
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News
21 Feb 2024
GenAI chatbots for customer care create new level of liability
Air Canada found liable for promises its chatbot made against the airline's policy; CX leaders discuss best practices for using generative AI in chatbots. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Feb 2024
What does a knowledge manager do?
Knowledge managers use technical skills to maintain knowledge base software and interpersonal skills to encourage employees to share best practices with each other. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Jan 2024
Field service management software vendors to know in 2024
The world of hybrid work turned nice-to-have field service features -- like remote project management and automation -- into vital capabilities. Learn which features vendors offer. Continue Reading
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Opinion
30 Jan 2024
How contact center modernization plays into AI strategies
Contact center workers want to work in different ways, so more leaders are experimenting with GenAI. ESG research explores the maturity of contact center tech. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2024
Pegasystems unveils AI assistant for knowledge management
The workflow automation vendor aims to simplify informational querying processes with an iterative conversational interface that can automatically search all data sources. Continue Reading
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Definition
19 Jan 2024
conversational AI (conversational artificial intelligence)
Conversational AI (conversational artificial intelligence) is a type of AI that enables computers to understand, process and generate human language. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Jan 2024
4 ways to support contact center calling redundancy
Cloud-based unified communications systems offer more reliability, but that doesn't mean they're immune from system failures. Learn how to safeguard your contact centers. Continue Reading