CX Today

CX Today’s Charlie Mitchell hosts a deep-dive discussion into how AI is reshaping contact center procurement, and how businesses can boost their customer service investments.Joining him for this conversation are two leading experts:Wayne Butterfield, Partner for AI, Automation & Contact Center Transformation at ISGChristoph Börner, VP of Engineering at CyaraTogether, they unpack how AI is transforming not only customer service, but also how contact centers buy, test, and trust technologies.💡 Why Is IT Taking Over Contact Center Procurement? 💡Butterfield and Börner explore why less than one in five AI buying decisions are now made by the contact center, and how the complexity of modern AI tools has shifted decision-making power toward IT.🤖 The Expanding AI Use Case Landscape 🤖From agent assist to AI-driven training and hybrid customer journeys, both experts share real-world examples of how AI is changing the agent role, and creating both opportunities and challenges.😬 Why Do Customers Still Distrust AI? 😬Despite the innovation, customer sentiment toward AI-driven service remains negative. The panel discusses why, pointing to poorly tested conversational journeys, missing micro-intents, and trust gaps between humans and machines.🔒 Building Trust & AI Assurance 🔒Börner highlights why trust is the "new currency" in AI engagement, and how rigorous testing and quality assurance can help avoid bias, inaccuracy, and reputational damage.For more on testing AI and CX Assurance, visit: https://cyara.com/Thanks for listening. If you'd like more like this, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our channel. You can also join in the conversation on our LinkedIn page.For more Customer Experience tech news, visit: https://www.cxtoday.comTranscript

Stuart Dorman breaks down how agentic AI can supercharge CX without losing the human touch. In this CX Today interview, Deputy Editor Rhys Fisher sits down with Stuart Dorman, Chief Innovation Officer at Sabio, to explore the game-changing potential of agentic AI in customer service. As organizations face mounting pressure to modernize and streamline operations, this conversation dives deep into how businesses can harness AI while still delivering empathy, consistency, and quality at scale. Whether you're AI-curious or already deploying solutions, this discussion is packed with real-world insights you won’t want to miss. Agentic AI is more than a buzzword – it's a mindset shift in how we serve customers. Stuart Dorman unpacks Sabio’s approach to blending AI and human-led service, offering a clear-eyed view on what works, what to watch out for, and how to get started. 

As someone who has spent hours waiting in contact center queues, I’m excited to see how Cisco is rewriting the CX playbook with agentic AI. At Enterprise Connect 2025, Senior Editor Charlie sits down with Vinod from Cisco to dive into how Webex is embedding AI into the very fabric of customer experience.Vinod explains that agentic AI isn’t a bolt-on feature but part of a holistic strategy, starting with infrastructure and observability, then moving up through mission-critical applications. The highlight? The launch of Webex AI Agent, capable of bidirectional, human-like conversations that connect to back-end systems, trigger workflows, and resolve actions such as appointment reschedules or refunds—all without human intervention.Cisco also showcases the AI Assistant, designed to reduce average handling time, improve first contact resolution, and give agents suggested responses so they can focus on what matters most: the customer. And with CPaaS and CCaaS integration, proactive AI agents can turn one-way messages into intelligent conversations.

As someone who’s felt the pain of clunky handoffs and fuzzy diagnostics, I care about tools that make customer journeys clearer and kinder. Maestro is Operata’s most ambitious step yet, expanding CX Observability from a primarily Amazon Connect footprint to 50+ CCaaS, Voice AI, AI customer service, CPaaS, and CRM platforms. It introduces a unified Customer Journey Trace, a smarter CX Copilot powered by AWS Bedrock and OpenAI GPT-5.0, and an open developer approach with an Insights Library and the first MCP server for CX Observability.John Mitchem, Co-Founder & CEO at Operata: “We launched Operata to solve observability in voice and contact centres. You can’t fix what you can’t see, especially now that AI agents and human agents share the same customer journey.”Why This Matters: Observability Is the New Control Plane for AI-Era CXModern contact centres are multi-platform and AI-augmented. Voice bots hand over to humans. Carriers, IVRs, CCaaS, CRMs, and LLMs all sit in the flow. Without end-to-end visibility, leaders are left guessing where quality drops or handoff failures occur. Customers feel it first; NPS follows.Mitchem again: “Start with your observability platform. Put the tools in place to judge whether new services reduce friction or create it. This has been true in IT for years and should be no different for your customers.”The Maestro Release: Three Pillars1) Global Platform for CX Observability Maestro supports 50+ platforms across CCaaS, AI Customer Service, Voice AI, CPaaS, and CRM, including Amazon Connect, Genesys Cloud, NICE CXone, Zoom, Talkdesk, 8x8, Twilio, Salesforce, and Zendesk. A new “Verified” designation flags ready-to-use data collection and integrations, with a one-to-three-day path to verify new platforms. Why it matters: Most enterprises are hybrid and multi-vendor. Maestro gives IT and Operations one consistent view across providers.2) One Picture Across CX Services Customer Journey Trace delivers a single, visual flame-graph timeline spanning telephony, IVR, CCaaS, AI, and human agents, with span-level metrics and context in one place. The new CX Copilot lets users ask natural-language questions, see visual results, and trigger next-best actions using Operata data. “Leaders need the whole story, not just the symptoms. Journey Trace exposes transfer delays and AI-to-human mis-handoffs — the places where trust quietly erodes.” — John Mitchem3) Open Standards for Developers, AI, and Data Teams Maestro aligns open data collection to industry standards for interoperability and scale. Insights Library: 50+ real-time CX insights, from low MOS to CX Risk ratings. Operata MCP Server: the first Model Context Protocol server for CX Observability, enabling LLMs and agentic AI to query insights securely and with context. Why it matters: As Voice AI and agentic workflows scale, context is everything. Structured, queryable CX context helps AI return relevant answers and actions.Built for IT & Ops — Now for Data, AI, and CX Leaders Observability has lived in IT. Maestro broadens the impact. Operations can spot issues before they hit NPS. CX leaders can see real experience impact across journeys. Developers and data teams can integrate Operata’s signals into their own systems. “There’s no one-size-fits-all AI. Model diversity matters, but context matters more. Operata provides journey context so your AI can answer what went wrong and how to fix it.” — John MitchemThe Bottom Line In a world where AI and humans share the same journey, visibility is power. The future belongs to teams that see clearly, act quickly, and learn continuously. Are you one of them?

In this engaging conversation, Alan Ranger, VP Marketing at Cognigy, explores the future of customer experience through the lens of AI and human collaboration. He highlights how their Agent Ops platform enables AI to handle identification and intent, allowing humans to focus on high-value tasks. Alan addresses concerns about job displacement with transparency and training strategies. Plus, he shares an impressive case study of Lufthansa's AI managing 10,000 messages in a minute during a crisis, showcasing the scalability of AI solutions.

In this CX Today exclusive, Giuseppe Careri, Chief Technology Officer at XCALLY sits down with Deputy Editor Rhys Fisher, to explore the real-world impact of AI in customer service and experience. Careri, shares how the company blends automation with a human touch to maximize the potential of AI in the customer experience sector. With 14+ years of hands-on development experience at XCALLY, Giuseppe offers a deep dive into the practical applications of AI – from voice bots and sentiment analysis to agent assist tools. If you’re curious about how AI can streamline CX operations without losing that critical human element, this conversation is a must-watch. AI is everywhere in CX – but is it actually making things better? In this conversation, Careri shares how his team is striking the balance between smart automation and meaningful human interaction. 

In this conversation, Jay Patel, SVP & GM of Webex Customer Experience Solutions at Cisco, delves into the transformative impact of AI on contact center roles. He highlights how AI enhances agent workflows with pre-call summaries and automation. For supervisors, real-time coaching and dashboards improve performance monitoring. Managers leverage topic analytics and sentiment analysis for better decision-making. Jay also discusses the rise of virtual agents, which offers customers proactive service experiences. This is a must-listen for anyone in customer service!

In a lively discussion, Matt Clare, VP of Product Marketing at UJET and an expert in contact-center technology, dives into the future of customer experience. He challenges traditional metrics like deflection and containment, advocating for a focus on customer satisfaction and lifetime value. Clare emphasizes the critical role of human agents for empathetic and high-stakes interactions while exploring how AI is transforming agent tools from simple suggestions to robust coaching systems, ensuring agents are ready for future demands.

CX Today's Charlie Mitchell hosts a panel customer experience analysts to discuss the latest headlines shaking up the space.This month’s lineup includes:Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK ResearchLiz Miller, VP & Principal Analyst at Constellation ResearchRebecca Wettemann, CEO & Principal Analyst at Valoir Shelly Kramer, resident & CEO at Kramer & CompanyMichael Fauscette, Founder, CEO & Chief Analyst at Arion ResearchDerek Top, Senior Analyst at Opus ResearchDuring the discussion, the panel dives into three major CX stories:💡 ServiceNow Unveils "AI Experience" 💡ServiceNow has launched a unified AI platform designed to bring together data, workflows, and automation across the enterprise. The analysts unpack what this means for platformization, adoption, and the move toward truly role-aware, embedded AI in the flow of work.🧠 Oracle’s New Role-Based AI Agents 🧠Oracle rolls out AI agents for service, sales, and marketing within its Fusion suite, at no extra cost for customers. The panel explores what this means for the rise of specialized, task-focused agents and the future of multi-agent collaboration.🎤 Qualtrics Acquires PG Forsta for $6.75 Billion 🎤Qualtrics doubles down on the Voice of the Customer (VoC) market with a blockbuster acquisition, combining three of Gartner’s top five leaders (as PG Forsta recently snapped up InMoment). Our analysts discuss how this reshapes the VOC landscape.For more CX technology news, visit: 👉 https://www.cxtoday.comHosted by Charlie Mitchell, Head of Publication at CX Today News - Customer Experience Technology News #servicenow #oracle #qualtricsThanks for watching. If you'd like more like this, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our channel. You can also join in the conversation on our LinkedIn page.For more Customer Experience tech news, visit: https://www.cxtoday.com

CX Today's Charlie Mitchell hosts a deep-dive discussion into the Gartner Magic Quadrant for CCaaS 2025.Joining him for this conversation are two respected industry analysts:Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK ResearchLiz Miller, VP & Principal Analyst at Constellation ResearchTogether, the analysts unpack the biggest takeaways from this year’s Magic Quadrant and what they mean for enterprise buyers:🤔 How Should Buyers Really Use the Magic Quadrant? 🤔Kerravala and Miller highlight the strengths and pitfalls of using the quadrant as a buying guide, and why context and organizational needs matter more than dot placements.👀 What Does the Lack of Visionaries Mean? 👀This year’s quadrant features no visionaries, which both analysts argue misses the mark. They explore why vendors like Zoom and Cisco arguably deserved different placements😦 Which Placements Were Most Surprising? 😦Miller and Kerravala discuss the vendors they believe the Magic Quadrant matrix somewhat misrepresents and which other vendors they'd like to see come into the study.🚀 How Can the Gartner Magic Quadrants Improve? 🚀A lot of effort goes into Gartner Magic Quadrant reports, but the format has its flaws. The analysts share what they'd like to change. For more insights into the contact center and broader customer experience space, subscribe to the CX Today newsletter: https://www.cxtoday.com/account/Hosted by Charlie Mitchell, Head of Publication at CX Today News - Customer Experience Technology News #gartner #contactcenters #magicquadrantThanks for watching. If you'd like more like this, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our channel. You can also join in the conversation on our LinkedIn page.For more Customer Experience tech news, visit: https://www.cxtoday.com