In the past decade, contact centers have witnessed the rise of omnichannel, virtual assistants, and even the beginnings of the metaverse.
The increasing adoption of new technologies and the rise of CX-driven disruptors are increasing the expectations of modern, digital-native customers eager to resolve issues in as few interactions as possible.
In the past two years, agents have moved to remote work in significant numbers, making cloud platforms more critical than ever. As such, many operations now enjoy easier technology integrations, making it easier to embed innovations into the contact center ecosystem.
As these new realities converge, it is fascinating to consider what lies next in the evolution of contact center technology and the future of CX? Here are the top ten trends to watch.
1. Self-Service By Default
Self-service will no longer target only simple, transactional queries. Instead, it will become the default method for query resolution, replacing a large volume of inbound calls.
The customers who still choose to reach out to contact centers will likely bring more complex problems that need human intervention, necessitating a culture change as contact centers learn to deal with problematic callers regularly.
2. Conversational AI and Conversational Intelligence
Conversational AI refers to the use of AI-powered chatbots and voicebots. These technologies automate a large portion of the query resolution, especially for common issues and FAQs. As with self-service solutions, conversational AI can also help complete simple tasks like order cancellation through an intuitive chat flow.
Meanwhile, conversational intelligence applies advanced analytics techniques to text and voice conversations, uncovering hidden data. Both contact center technologies will gain from advancements in data processing.
3. The "Mainstreamization" of Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)
Gartner has already recognized Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) as an essential technology segment for enterprises with its addition of the technology into its Magic Quadrant program.
It will be the mainstream solution for any company looking to adopt contact center systems in the future. After all, CCaaS supports flexible, pay-as-you-go implementations with a near-zero hardware footprint, ideal for both small companies and remote work environments.
4. The Birth of XCaaS
Even as CCaaS replaces legacy cloud technologies, another new trend will slowly redefine the future of CX: Experience Communications as a Service (XCaaS). It bundles CCaaS and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) into a single solution so that operations can manage both internal and external communication with one license.
While this was previously done on an ad-hoc or DIY basis, providers like Webex, RingCentral, and Avaya have started to offer pre-configured XCaaS platforms. Meanwhile, other prominent CCaaS vendors have announced Microsoft Teams integrations, and leading UCaaS provider Zoom has launched its own CCaaS platform.
5. IVR Turns Into Intelligent Bots
IVR is one of the oldest contact center technologies still in use. But, the software is evolving. As McKinsey & Company states: "“IVR systems are evolving from dumb menu systems into smart ‘voicebots’ capable of handling complex customer queries.” These voicebots will not only route customers, but we will also see software used more for self-service, supporting customers that contact the business via smart speakers and smart displays.
Discover more about this exciting contact center technology trend by reading our article: The Future of Voicebots: Much More Than an IVR Alternative.
6. New RPA Use Cases
Contact centers primarily implement robotic process automation (RPA) to look after the small but iterative and mundane tasks that occupy so much of an agent’s time. Indeed, RPA bots can copy-paste data between systems, launch applications, and even auto-generate post-call summaries to make agents' lives easier.