Cisco Doubles Down on AI-Powered Contact Center at WebexOne 2025
San Diego, CA - September 30, 2025. Cisco announced major updates to Webex Contact Center, with a clear message: AI agents and human agents will share the floor, and supervisors will have the tools to manage both. "AI is the key to delivering amazing customer experiences at scale," said Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco. "As AI and human agents increasingly collaborate, businesses need platforms designed to deliver quality experiences while moving faster than ever."
AI Quality Management: Coaching Humans and Machines
Launching in early 2026, Webex AI Quality Management (QM) gives supervisors one place to score, coach, and optimize both people and AI agents. This shifts QM from hindsight to continuous improvement.
- AI-assisted scoring and real-time insights across all interactions
- Personalized coaching plans for human agents
- Performance recommendations for AI agents to reduce errors and bias
For support leaders, this means fewer blind spots, lower risk when introducing automation, and a cleaner path to measurable service gains.
AI Agents Are Live - With Proof of Impact
Webex AI Agent and Cisco AI Assistant are now generally available for cloud and on-premises deployments. Beta support for 50+ languages lands later this year.
- Autonomous resolutions: Secure connections to third-party systems let customers self-serve without handoffs
- Smarter human assistance: Live transcription, suggested replies, and wrap-up summaries reduce handle time and effort
Early results are pragmatic. CarShield automated 66% of pre-call screenings and cut claim onboarding times by 90%. BancFirst simplified customer interactions through Webex integrations across departments. Columbia Bank used Topic Analytics to spot that 20% of general questions were loan-related and rerouted them for faster answers.
Multi-Agent Collaboration: MCP and A2A
One of the bigger shifts is multi-agent collaboration via MCP (Model Context Protocol) and A2A (Agent-to-Agent), planned for 2026. Instead of one AI working alone, multiple agents can share context and coordinate tasks securely.
In practice, a Webex AI Agent could pull data from a Salesforce Agent, trigger an AWS workflow, and coordinate with a third-party bot - without a human relay. Cisco is embedding orchestration powered by AGNTCY to keep cross-agent work secure, verified, and under enterprise control.
Deeper Integrations: Salesforce, AWS, Epic
- Salesforce: A tighter Service Cloud Voice integration to manage calls and digital interactions inside Salesforce with Webex AI assistance (Salesforce Service Cloud Voice)
- AWS: Amazon Lex support brings conversational virtual agents to Webex Contact Center and Enterprise deployments (Amazon Lex)
- Epic: EHR context appears inside Webex Contact Center so agents can deliver more relevant patient experiences
For teams sitting in Salesforce or healthcare environments, this means less tab-switching, fewer data gaps, and faster resolution.
Expansion: India and Saudi Arabia
Cisco plans to expand Webex services into India in Q2 2026 with data centers in Mumbai and Chennai, followed by Saudi Arabia. Expect lower latency, improved reliability, and better compliance options for regulated industries.
Connected Intelligence: Less Hype, More Control
Cisco's framing is clear: this isn't about a flashier chatbot. It's about the plumbing - governance, integrations, and measurable outcomes. The company points to real metrics like CarShield's containment and BancFirst's streamlined service to counter AI hype.
The open ecosystem stance also matters. Rather than forcing tool swaps, Webex acts as an orchestration layer across your existing stack, so you can modernize while reducing risk.
What This Means for Customer Support Leaders
- Unify QA: Use a single scorecard for humans and AI. Sample both. Track sentiment, containment, resolution accuracy, and recontact.
- Pick the right use cases: Start with clear intents like authentication, balance checks, appointments, policy status, and claims progress.
- Get your data ready: Clean knowledge articles, map intents to CRM/ERP actions, and define guardrails for AI handovers.
- Tighten supervision: Require human review for high-risk intents. Set escalation triggers for low confidence, negative sentiment, or account risk.
- Pilot with constraints: Limit to a channel, region, or intent set. Measure CSAT, AHT, FCR, and agent assist adoption for 30-60 days.
- Prepare for multi-agent ops: Document which systems each agent can access, who owns credentials, and how to audit cross-agent actions.
- Train your team: Teach agents how to use suggestions, correct transcripts, and summarize cases. Update SOPs for AI-initiated escalations.
Key Specs to Track With Cisco's Updates
- AI QM launch: Early 2026
- Webex AI Agent and Cisco AI Assistant: GA now
- Languages: 50+ in beta later this year
- Multi-agent protocols (MCP, A2A): Planned 2026
- New regions: India (Q2 2026), then Saudi Arabia
If you're evaluating platforms, compare how each vendor handles three things: unified QM for humans and AI, native integrations with your core apps, and oversight of multi-agent workflows. This is where most ROI is won or lost.
Explore Cisco's product details here: Webex Contact Center.
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