Automation and agents.
In a digital world fuelled by AI and automation, it’s easy to assume that agents are being replaced. In this article, we explore why agents’ roles are more important than ever, and how they’re going to evolve in the future.
The media depicts a future where technology is stealing people’s jobs and everything is automated—but it’s far from the truth. Instead, AI- powered technologies are creating new opportunities for agents and transforming their roles into more valuable components of the modern contact center.
And this is quickly being recognized in the industry—as cited in Forrester’s 2020 Predictions report, a key use of AI will be to support agents in their efforts to provide truly differentiated experiences.
So let’s explore how AI is rapidly changing the role of the contact center, why agents are still critical in a digital future, and the human tasks that AI will never be able to replace.
For contact center agents, it’s no longer just a case of answering a phone and solving a customer’s problem. They’re under much greater pressure to deliver smart engagements and meet customers’ rising expectations. And as customer engagement channels continue to expand, it’s a task that’s becoming more difficult.
Just look at messaging, for example. It demands that agents handle multiple engagements at once, as well as understand customers’ emotional state from just the words they type—both skills that aren’t required of a traditional phone agent.
Today’s most forward-thinking contact centers are using AI to fill the gaps in agents’ skillsets, and it’s changing their role in three critical ways:
And the pressure extends even further. Today’s customers expect agents to know everything about them—whether it’s their order history, details about their case, or even what they talked (or chatted) about with other agents.
It’s an overwhelming responsibility that no agent can handle alone. But with the right technology by their side, it suddenly becomes more achievable.
It can’t be ignored, there are some parts of the customer engagement process that are being automated, and agents are being replaced—but it’s far from a threat.
Instead, automation is simply picking up the lower-value tasks, handling basic customer interactions like authentication, providing updates on an order, or changing a password.
By automating these tasks, agents have more time to focus on complex customer cases, and they’re less likely to become fatigued and demotivated by menial, repetitive interactions. Plus, it means they’re having genuinely meaningful conversations with customers—and ultimately, that benefits both parties.
AI and agents each have their strengths—but they’re even stronger when they work together.
That’s why the modern contact center should be designed around the Agent- AI relationship, and structured in a way that supports their collaboration, helping them work together to deliver unique value for customers.
The digital future doesn’t just look bright for AI—it looks bright for agents, contact centers, and customers.
Discover more about Agent AI.
Automating low-value tasks is an effective way to boost efficiency and lower costs in your contact center, but there are some tasks that AI will never be able to handle: