Microsoft has launched a "standalone" CCaaS solution: the Dynamics 365 Contact Center.
Generally available on July 1, 2024, the solution connects to a business’s existing CRM system and applies generative AI to “every” customer engagement channel.
In doing so, Microsoft labels its solution “Copilot-first”, with GenAI-fuelled use cases that support customers, agents, and other contact center users.
But it’s not all a Copilot story. Microsoft has added IVR tech from Nuance, intelligent unified routing, and real-time reporting to the platform.
Moreover, as Jeff Comstock, CVP of Dynamics 365 Customer Service, writes in a Dynamics blog post:
Dynamics 365 Contact Center is built natively on the Microsoft cloud to deliver extensive scalability and reliability across voice and digital channels, and routing, while at the same time allowing organizations to retain their existing investments in CRM or custom apps.
Yet, unsurprisingly, the emphasis is once again on Copilot and generative AI, with the tech giant promising to infuse the latter across every contact center workflow.
That goes beyond communication channels to self-service, agent experience, and triaging – with the overarching goal of bolstering customer, employee, and business outcomes.
Native GenAI Capabilities for Contact Center Agents
When a customer contact reaches the agent desktop, the Dynamics 365 Contact Center presents a “360-degree view of the customer”. GenAI bolsters that agent view with live voice transcriptions and sentiment insights.
Meanwhile, real-time translation is supported across digital channels, and conversation summaries are available to streamline agent wrap time.
The latter is an example of how GenAI automates agent tasks across the platform. Others include auto-drafting customer emails and generating suggested responses across other channels.
For these three use cases, agents can leverage Copilot, which lives natively on the platform.
Meanwhile, agents can also utilize the virtual assistant to ask questions and receive answers grounded by the business’s knowledge sources.
Enthused by this concept, end-user Stephen Currie, VP of Operations at Synoptek, said:
For our support teams, efficient problem-solving and smooth customer interactions are key to delivering exceptional service. With Dynamics 365 Contact Center, and by leveraging its AI capabilities, we see a future where our support teams will deliver that level of service every day.
Many service teams will already leverage these AI capabilities through Copilot for Service.
Indeed, Microsoft's own customer service team leverages the Copilot. Since then, it has recorded a 12 percent decrease in average handling time (AHT) and a 13 percent reduction in cases where agents need peer assistance to find a resolution.
Native GenAI Capabilities for Other Critical Contact Center Stakeholders
Microsoft claims that GenAI will help it offer “next-generation” self-service to customers via the Dynamics 365 Contact Center.
To do so, the tech giant serves up pre-integrated, customer-facing Copilots across voice and all digital channels.
These combine Nuance technology and Microsoft Copilot's studio no-/low-code designer and – according to Microsoft – will deliver context-aware, personalized, and rich self-serve experiences.
Meanwhile, Microsoft also aims to help contact center managers and supervisors enhance operational efficiency through GenAI-augmented, real-time reporting.