Artificial intelligence is starting to show up in contact centers everywhere—through intelligent virtual agents, real-time guidance tools, and dashboards that promise to make operations smarter. But let’s be clear: more AI doesn’t automatically mean better work.
To see real value, contact centers need a roadmap. Not a tech wishlist. A practical plan that shows where AI can solve problems today, where it should be introduced next, and how to connect each new capability to the people doing the work.
This is exactly what was discussed in the Crafting Your AI Roadmap webinar, where leaders from RingCentral and CaCube Consulting explored how to turn AI from a series of experiments into a source of consistent operational improvement.
Let’s break down how that happens—step by step.
Fix what slows the team down most
You don’t need complex analysis to know what’s dragging performance. Ask any agent or team lead, and they’ll point to the same culprits. Switching between screens, repeating manual steps, rewriting summaries after every call, or tracking down basic info that should be instantly available.
AI that listens during calls can generate a post-call summary, log the key points, and initiate next steps—without the agent lifting a finger. Minutes are saved on every interaction. Multiply that across the day and entire hours of capacity reappear.
Solving these small but constant issues builds momentum. It shows the team that new technology can actually make their day smoother, not harder.
Design self-service for resolution, not redirection
Offering digital entry points is common, but customers tend to judge self-service by how easily they reach a real outcome. When they can handle their task completely—without being transferred or starting over—it builds trust.
Take appointment rescheduling. AI can confirm availability, update the calendar, and send a follow-up message without human involvement. Customers are far more likely to use self-service again when it works seamlessly. True resolution, not just redirection, should be the design goal.
Give agents help before they ask for it
Live support requires agents to respond quickly, apply accurate information, and guide the conversation in real time. Gaps in knowledge or uncertainty in policy often slow things down or lead to inconsistent answers.
That’s where real-time AI coaching plays a valuable role. When AI recognizes a recurring issue or phrase, it surfaces relevant information immediately. For instance, during a refund inquiry, it may provide the correct policy and a concise explanation—all without interrupting the agent’s flow.
By delivering the right information at the exact moment it’s needed, AI helps agents stay focused, accurate, and composed—even in high-pressure moments.
Route conversations based on context, not assumptions
Routing decisions shape the outcome of an interaction before it even starts. While most systems rely on simple inputs, such as menu selections or keywords, these methods miss important context.
Context-aware AI evaluates behavior, history, and urgency to make better decisions. A repeat caller with unresolved issues and growing frustration might be matched with a senior agent equipped to resolve the issue quickly. Simpler inquiries flow to general support.
Better routing connects customers with the resource most capable of resolving their issue—leading to fewer transfers and more positive outcomes.
Support agents in the flow of their work
Interruptions during live conversations rarely lead to better service. Support tools must fit naturally into the agent’s environment, offering assistance without disrupting focus.
AI guidance shows up where it’s needed. This could be a subtle prompt, a quick-reference policy, or context from a recent interaction. A timely reminder to confirm details or a customer sentiment note can give agents what they need without forcing them to switch tasks.
Effective AI blends into the workflow and keeps support timely and useful.
Automate tasks that don’t need to be manual
Post-call activity often fills more time than the conversation itself. Logging actions, updating systems, and sending follow-ups become routine but time-consuming responsibilities.
AI can handle these steps automatically. When a return is approved, AI triggers shipment creation, notifies the customer, and updates the order history. Agents move on to the next call without worrying about missed follow-ups.
Automation like this frees agents from repetitive backend work, helping them stay focused on customers.
Let conversations drive better decisions
Every day, contact centers collect thousands of insights through conversations. Most of them go unanalyzed because reviewing them manually just isn’t practical.
AI-powered conversation intelligence transforms those interactions into actionable feedback. Trends in customer language, frequent complaints, and reactions to new policies become visible patterns. Managers can address issues earlier and more effectively.
When decisions are shaped by what customers are actually saying, the entire business becomes more responsive.
Make coaching faster, sharper, and more useful
Coaching loses power when it arrives too late or lacks specifics. General comments don’t help agents adjust behavior when they can’t see what triggered the feedback.
AI helps supervisors identify calls that contain coaching moments. Long pauses during policy explanations or missed escalation cues are flagged and paired with full context. Feedback becomes focused and immediate.
More targeted coaching builds stronger teams and helps agents improve with clarity and confidence.
Keep staffing aligned with real demand
Forecasting based on historical averages may give a baseline, but it doesn’t reflect current activity or unexpected changes in volume. Real-time data often tells a more accurate story.
AI-enhanced planning incorporates live signals—from web behavior and campaign launches to sudden outages. As patterns shift, staffing models adjust and resource allocation moves between channels.
Agile forecasting improves coverage without overstaffing or delay, giving planners the insight they need when it matters most.
Train and hire based on what great agents actually do
Success in customer service depends on behavior as much as process. Traits like patience, clarity, and empathy often shape the outcome of a conversation more than any scripted step.
AI tools now capture those traits. They analyze phrasing, tone, and how agents handle objections or explain policies. These insights guide hiring and training in ways that reflect your highest-performing people.
By focusing on behavior, not just performance metrics, you build stronger teams with the qualities that matter most.
Make personalization more than a name
Customers value speed, but they also remember whether the interaction felt tailored to their needs. When an agent picks up the conversation where it left off, it shows the customer’s history is respected.
AI enables this continuity by linking interactions across channels. A customer who spoke to support last week and uses chat today should be recognized. The agent sees what happened, what was promised, and what still needs to be done.
This kind of personalization strengthens loyalty and reduces the need for repetition.
Prioritize the right projects and prove they work
Every contact center has a long list of things they could automate or improve. The challenge is picking the ones that matter most and building on each success.
Use clear filters. Is this a common problem? Is the process already well-understood? Can results be tracked in 60 to 90 days? Can the team adopt it without major disruption?
Answering those questions helps prioritize effectively and avoid wasted effort. Quick wins build trust and open the door to broader change.
Turn contact center workflows into intelligent, connected systems with RingCentral AI
RingCentral brings Agentic AI into the core of contact center operations, not as an add-on, but as part of the workflows agents, supervisors, and customers already interact with every day. This allows intelligence to work in context—streamlining tasks, supporting decisions, and helping teams stay focused on what matters most.
It begins at the point of first contact. For example, RingCentral AI Receptionist answers incoming calls with natural, conversational language. It doesn’t just direct callers—it understands what they’re asking, responds using your business’s own content, and takes action. It can book appointments, send reminders, route based on caller intent, and handle routine requests around the clock. That means fewer missed calls, less hold time, and a more consistent first impression.
For interactions that happen across chat, messaging, or voice, Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) take on high-volume, repetitive tasks. These virtual agents can handle more complex requests like account updates, billing inquiries, or product lookups, and resolve them without involving a live agent. They’re designed to be flexible—easy to set up, quick to update, and capable of learning from ongoing conversations. This helps reduce queue times and frees up agents to focus on more complex customer needs.
During live interactions, RingCentral’s AI can monitor conversations and provide instant responses to help agents solve customer issues faster. RingCX’s AI Assist for Agents, for example, can automate the process of looking up answers to customer questions, presenting the solution to the agent in seconds. AI Assist for Supervisors can instantly alert supervisors when conversations require their assistance, and it can provide context through real-time summaries and transcripts to help them coach more efficiently.
Deeper insight comes from AI Quality Management and AI Interaction Analytics, which turn everyday conversations into actionable intelligence. This allows supervisors to spot coaching opportunities, identify recurring pain points, and better understand what’s driving customer behavior. Instead of reviewing a handful of random calls, leaders get a complete picture of agent performance and customer sentiment.
Together, these AI capabilities work as a connected system. They automate where it helps, support people where it counts, and deliver insight where decisions are made. The result is a smoother operation, faster service, and better experiences—for both customers and the teams supporting them.
Ready to put your AI roadmap into action?
Explore RingCX today to see how intelligent virtual agents, automation, and real-time insights come together in one platform.
Originally published Apr 01, 2025
