A recurrent trend of the past few years, contact centre automation in agent communication with customers is still rising. Gartner expects it to grow fivefold by 2026, amounting to 10% of interactions. Driven by the trend, businesses have embraced AI technologies and tools like natural language processing (NLP), predictive analytics, and sentiment analysis to power voice and chatbots, smart IVRs, and virtual assistants. In 2023, generative AI entered the game to change it forever. Now, digital transformation at contact centres is happening at an accelerated pace. With 2025 approaching, we’ve compiled a list of automation trends businesses need to know.
It may come as a surprise, but most businesses do not want to eliminate all contact centre agents and replace them with intelligent virtual ones. On the contrary, they constantly need to hire and train new ones. Responding to customer queries is hard work, and studies indicate that 74% of call centre agents are at risk of burnout. This condition affects agent productivity, forcing businesses to retrain employees or hire new ones. So, AI technologies can take the toll of cold outreach, routine tasks, and first-line support to enable human agents to be more present when a human needs a human.
Today’s customers want the best treatment possible: empathy, care, and commitment convert into loyalty to the brand. For example, there are often tricky circumstances where personal interaction with clients is crucial, as dealing with the problem, even conducting a mini-investigation to solve it, is something intelligent virtual agents still cannot do alone. Human employees often become caught up in time-consuming routine tasks. They are physically unable to provide these levels of service. So, AI technologies can take the load of the mundane, such as first-like support, answering frequently asked questions, or tasks that rarely go off-script. We expect more businesses to delegate simple tasks to AI-powered agents, freeing up employees’ time for challenging tasks.
Recent surveys show that 93% of customers expect agents to resolve their questions or issues on the first call. However, contact centre staff often operate in complex environments. They juggle multiple databases and systems to find necessary information. So, consolidating various tools and channels into a user-friendly interface helps agents work more efficiently. This is even more true when businesses employ an AI assistant that searches for information across multiple internal systems and knowledge bases. For example, Tovie AI’s Data Agent offers nearly instant access to data, allowing for faster responses and ultimately improving the overall customer experience. In 2025, we’ll see more GenAI-powered tools enhancing contact centre agent desktops.
With customers expecting faster resolutions, self-service offers a way to reduce wait times and provide 24/7 support. In fact, 73% of customers prefer to solve issues on their own. A recent Verint report highlights that brands using AI for self-service are up to twice as likely to improve self-service containment and first-contact resolution across digital and voice channels.
AI’s ability to enhance self-service, streamline operations, improve personalisation, and cut response times is revolutionising customer engagement and making interactions faster, more efficient, and ultimately more effective. AI-powered agents, like chatbots, voice bots or smart IVR, enable customers to handle simple inquiries without needing to speak to an agent. This reduces operational costs and boosts customer satisfaction by providing instant, on-demand solutions. The Verint report also points out that 76% of businesses not yet using AI for self-service plan to adopt it in the next year. So, we expect more contact centres to broaden their self-service capabilities.
Another way to free up human agents is to deploy voice bots to address a problem before it occurs. From reminders to multiple confirmations, a voice assistant can proactively initiate contact with customers to gather necessary information rather than passively awaiting customer calls. Those are universal use cases to deploy across diverse sectors: utility companies, insurance providers, and similar entities will benefit significantly from proactive outreach. With his approach, contact centres will redefine customer engagement and service delivery by transitioning from a reactive to a proactive model.
According to Deloitte, 81% of call centre leaders have invested in voice and text analytics to gain insights that improve customer experience and quality assurance. Contact centres can enhance decision-making by 36% using big data analytics to identify new sales and customer experience opportunities. We expect more contact centres to employ generative AI capabilities for voice analytics and sophisticated information processing. This technology powers voice assistants to register peculiarities in background noises, users’ voices, and behaviour. It can identify a range of vulnerabilities, from health-related issues and financial hardships to signs of suicidal behaviour.
For example, one of Tovie AI’s recent projects for the public sector features a voice assistant that captures and analyses user verbal cues. The AI system defines the nature of these challenges and flags them for the attention of human agents, who can then intervene as necessary. This approach equips human agents with priceless real-time insights, ensuring critical cases receive the urgent attention they require.
In 2025, we expect AI and GenAI, in particular, to further augment human agent capabilities. From better self-service to advanced voice analytics, AI tools allow for more efficient and personalised customer experiences. These enhancements will enable contact centre staff to focus on more complex, empathetic interactions. By balancing human capabilities with AI technologies, businesses can meet rising customer demands, reduce burnout, and increase customer satisfaction. Automation has proven to be beyond the hype. It is an essential tool for success in the rapidly changing world of customer service.