Cochlear plugs AI into its global contact centre operations
Cochlear has plugged the AI features in Amazon Connect into its global contact centre, and it's already shifting how quality, compliance, and staffing get managed across 14 countries.
Two-and-a-half years after moving to Connect, the team consolidated tech, added multi-language support, and wired call transcription into Salesforce for faster screen pops and context. This year, the focus turned to replacing scattered tools, tightening data privacy, and leaning into Connect's "unlimited AI."
Why the deeper move into Connect
- Technology standardisation: common queues, consistent configs, and better reliability across regions.
- Integrated workflows: transcription feeds straight into Salesforce; agents get instant screen pops tied to caller ID.
- Fewer vendors, fewer risks: less data spread across external systems, which pleased privacy teams.
Quality and compliance at scale
Before AI, supervisors sampled a handful of calls per agent each month. That capped feedback and made trends hard to spot.
With automated evaluations using Connect's AI and accurate transcriptions, Cochlear jumped from roughly 1,000 evaluations per month to about 22,000. That shift lets teams spot patterns fast and coach with precision.
- Rule-based checks: exact or semantic matches for required phrases, terminology, or prohibited language. Strong for compliance and policy enforcement.
- Generative checks: evaluates soft skills like empathy, provides reasoning behind scores, and flags coaching opportunities.
Scoring every call means training can focus on the real gaps-like a frequent question that's answered inconsistently across a team.
Workforce management: forecasting, capacity, scheduling
With two years of historic data sitting in Connect, Cochlear is moving into FCS to predict volume, roster the right coverage, and keep break management and adherence on track.
- Forecast by queue and channel using at least 12-24 months of history.
- Build staffing plans with clear shrinkage assumptions and skills mapping.
- Automate schedule creation and intraday adjustments as patterns change.
Piloting AI voice agents
The team tested an AI-driven IVR for the internal help desk by dropping knowledge articles into S3 and pointing Connect at that knowledge base. Responses were solid in the pilot.
Production is pending due to integration work with the ITSM tool. The takeaway: the model can answer, but the surrounding system (ticketing, authentication, handoffs) must be ready too.
Playbook you can copy
- Transcription first: validate accuracy across languages and accents. Your downstream AI depends on it.
- Start with compliance: roll out rule-based checks for disclosures, verification steps, and prohibited phrases.
- Layer in quality: use generative scoring for empathy, clarity, and resolution. Calibrate with human reviewers until variance is acceptable.
- Close the loop: push AI findings into coaching workflows and track impact on FCR, CSAT, and AHT.
- Governance: keep data inside vetted platforms and document prompts, scoring rubrics, and escalation paths.
- WFM readiness: clean queue mappings, confirm calendar integrations, and pressure-test shrinkage assumptions.
- Voice bot guardrails: constrain the knowledge base, define clear handoff rules, and log every AI action.
Metrics that matter
- Evaluation coverage: percent of calls scored per agent and per queue.
- Coaching impact: defect rate and rework before vs. after targeted training.
- Compliance pass rate by policy and region.
- Forecast accuracy and schedule adherence (daily and intraday).
- Containment rate and transfer quality for AI-driven IVR.
What this means for support and operations leaders
AI inside your contact centre isn't about novelty. It's about volume and clarity-scoring every call, finding the real training gaps, and staffing with fewer surprises.
If you're already on Connect, start with transcription accuracy and rule-based checks, then expand into generative scoring and FCS. If you're evaluating options, review Connect's Contact Lens and WFM capabilities to benchmark your roadmap.
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