Contact centers are at a turning point.
AI is everywhere, speeding up processes, automating routine tasks, and promising 24/7 coverage.
Yet customers and agents still want what technology alone can’t deliver: empathy, connection, and trust.
That’s the dilemma for leaders in 2025. The challenge isn’t whether to use AI; it’s how to weave it together with human intelligence to create experiences that actually matter.
Calabrio’s latest research highlights four priorities every contact center should be thinking about.
1. Closing the Agent Disconnect with Emotional Intelligence and AI
AI is now a near-universal presence in contact centers, with 98% of leaders admitting to using the technology.
But here’s the twist: 61% also admit customer conversations are getting harder, not easier.
Perhaps it’s because, while powerful, AI sometimes still struggles to replicate the empathy needed in emotional moments.
That work falls squarely on agents. With bots handling routine queries, human teams are left to tackle the trickiest, most emotionally charged interactions.
Yet, while leaders say they value empathy, adaptability, and resilience, their actions often don’t back it up.
Calabrio’s research underlines the problem:
- 64% of organizations aren’t prioritizing emotional intelligence or social interaction training.
- 59% fail to provide ongoing coaching for AI-driven workflows.
- Nearly a third of leaders admit their agents don’t trust AI.
In short, they talk the talk but fail to walk the walk.
Given these findings, there’s no surprise that there’s a clear disconnect between agents and leaders.
Leaders expect agents to shine where AI falls short, but many feel underprepared.
Closing that gap takes more than new tech. It means investment in coaching, feedback, and skills development that help people bring the empathy customers crave.
2. Meeting Rising Customer Expectations
Customer expectations aren’t standing still.
In the modern contact center, customers expect more personalized interactions with faster resolutions at any hour of the day.
- 40% of leaders say their customers expect round-the-clock service.
- 36% report rising demand for personalization and speed.
Little surprise, then, that most centers are leaning on AI.
A striking 83% believe AI will unlock 24/7 support, while 79% think it will elevate the contact center into a genuine strategic business driver.
However, technology alone isn’t enough.
Customer channel preferences are shifting fast. Voice still matters, but digital, self-service, and social are all on the rise.
More than half of contact centers now offer self-service, and another third are planning to roll it out.
The sticking point is integration, with just 36% of leaders saying they’ve achieved a true omnichannel setup.
For customers, that means inconsistent experiences. They don’t care about the back-end complexity – they just want things to work smoothly.