Analyst: Dr. Doreen Galli
Published May 1, 2023
ABSTRACT
The Call & Contact Center Expo was held in Las Vegas from April 26-27. The conference featured 94 educational sessions across 8 theatres. This two-day packed event featured 94 educational sessions. Attendees witnessed numerous examples of generative AI changing their industry right before their eyes. Finding and securing remote talent were also showcased. Unfortunately, the conference organizers were unable to provide any attendance or show metrics by the time of press; they are in the unique position of being the only conference to fail in this regard.
Conference Vibe
The Call & Contact Center Expo was best described as short and sweet and to the point. There were eight presentation theaters with constant sessions during the two-day expo held in the Las Vegas Convention Center South Upper Hall. Each day featured a Vegas 10am start and ended by 4pm so conversations could continue through offsite business dinners. Exhibitors considered it a successful conference and were pleased with those in attendance. Some attendees represented start-ups looking to decide on a solution. There were a surprising number of outsourcers also looking to acquire technology for their customers. Overall, attendees were delighted at the plethora of generative AI sessions.
Advancements in Generative AI: Key insights and best practices
The Call & Contact Center Expo showcased significant advancements in generative AI. Several key insights emerged regarding the application of generative AI for call centers. First generative AI or AI based on large language models (LLM), is already being successfully deployed in production. Birch.ai demonstrated how their technology is used to summarize complex after call work (1). SliceX.ai showcased their solution which can readily summarize content out of the box (2). Tomato.ai demonstrated their solution that remarkably changes the accent of contact center worker (3).
Second, generative AI works best when combined with human agents conversational AI, and remote process automation. As noted by Thrio, it took 77 years for the telephone to get 100 million users and 16 years for mobile phones, whereas Chat GPT only took two months. Effective utilization of generative AI requires integrating it with remote process automation, connecting the new tool with human agents and other technologies (4). Typically, the process involves pre-filtering data to remove personal identifiable information (PII) then applying generative AI. Finally conversational AI or similar technologies are then deployed to remove hallucinations – when generates incorrect or baseless claims. Laivly emphasized the importance of combining generative AI and human agents (5). Kore.ai improved poorly trained agent performance through generative and conversational AI (6). Smartbots.ai discussed the deployment journey depending on your legacy technologies in place and willingness to jump into new solutions (7). Openstream.ai which built their business on conversational AI, expressed some caution, and warned of the potential risks associated with this emerging technology (8). Fiber.ai had a new product for automated customer support leveraging AI and was seeking customers (9). Finally, Talon displayed their browser based on Chrome that can ensure the wrong data doesn’t get entered on web based generative AI solutions. (10).
Finding and Securing Remote Workers
During the pandemic, contact centers faced significant challenges and underwent major changes. Finding and retaining talent became a crucial task for the industry. Scalepex highlighted the advantages of tapping into the talent pool in Mexico (11). Google emphasized the benefits of ChromeOS for remote and on-site call center employees during their presentation (12).
Addressing the concerns surrounding cybersecurity in the context of remote work, Pentamix delved into the topic (13). They shed light on the importance of securing the remote workforce and ensuring data protection. Additionally, Magnitech discussed the significance of training staff in both onsite and remote environments, emphasizing the need for cybersecurity awareness (14).
In response to the increasing need for endpoint security, Watchguard presented their solution (15), offering a comprehensive approach to safeguarding endpoints and protecting sensitive information.
Overall, these presentations and discussions at the conference provided valuable insights into talent acquisition, technology adoption, cybersecurity, and endpoint security in the evolving landscape of contact centers.
Citations
- https://youtu.be/tHNF5wgh-5k
- https://youtu.be/2P7jsQ304B0
- https://youtu.be/KKt0ovf6MNY
- https://youtu.be/TMUg90OSrtE
- https://youtu.be/45CwV4cJcrY
- https://youtu.be/118azbGDmqU
- https://youtu.be/lAgN1LW76QQ
- https://youtu.be/9Xkjqc03Xlg
- https://youtu.be/0vhI5DacQmI
- https://youtu.be/bpunVddukro
- https://youtu.be/u9GmSS3r96s
- https://youtu.be/Kl66fES8yDk
- https://youtu.be/edSloMJ1hOw
- https://youtu.be/N4rd6g_KCp0
- https://youtu.be/3ixavDXVNmI
*When vendors’ names are shared as examples in this document, it is to provide a concrete example of what was on display at the conference, not an evaluation or recommendation. Evaluation and recommendation of these vendors are beyond the scope of this specific research document. Other examples products in the same category may have also been on display.
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