Empowering Contact Centre Agents with AI for a Human-Centric Future

Empowering Agents with AI: The Future of Customer Support in Contact Centres

As artificial intelligence (AI) advances, many wonder if it will replace human support agents. The answer is clear: AI is here to enhance agent capabilities, not replace them. This approach allows human expertise and machine efficiency to work together, improving customer experiences significantly.

According to the Calabrio State of the Contact Centre 2025 report, 98% of contact centres now use AI to redefine key performance metrics, optimize operations, and better meet customer expectations. The effectiveness of AI depends on how well it supports agents rather than taking their place.

AI as a Tool to Support Agents, Not Replace Them

AI tools help agents by automating repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on complex and meaningful customer interactions. For example, AI can handle high volumes of routine inquiries and provide real-time insights that boost productivity while reducing agent burnout.

The report notes that 81% of contact centres use AI for quality assurance and 80% analyze customer interactions with AI. This technology enhances human involvement, transforming agent roles into specialists who manage escalations, strategize customer experience, and oversee AI performance. These changes open new career paths and increase engagement.

AI can assist agents in capturing accurate information by:

• Listening, transcribing, and confirming appointment details during calls.
• Flagging discrepancies like incorrect dates or misspellings.
• Supporting quality assurance by highlighting potential errors for review.

Calabrio’s research shows 77% of contact centres use AI for forecasting and see it as essential for 24/7 support and maintaining quality at scale. AI acts as an extra set of eyes and ears, helping agents deliver accurate and confident service.

Building Confidence in AI Collaboration

Resistance to AI often comes from doubts about its effectiveness, lack of experience, or fear of job loss. The key to adoption lies in clear communication and empowering agents:

• Provide training on working alongside AI.
• Show how AI reduces workload and improves job satisfaction.
• Share success stories of career growth in AI-augmented roles.

The Calabrio report reveals a gap: while 83% of leaders believe AI enhances agent wellbeing, 59% of contact centres don’t offer ongoing coaching for AI-driven workflows, and 32% report agent distrust of AI. Positioning AI as a partner helps build a resilient and future-ready workforce.

Choosing the Right Channels for AI Support

AI performs differently depending on the customer service channel. Success depends on applying the right tools where they fit best.

Chat and messaging channels suit automation well, especially with digital-native customers. AI-powered bots handle repetitive inquiries quickly and improve through analytics to boost containment and satisfaction.

Voice remains critical for emotional or complex interactions. AI enhances these calls with real-time transcription, sentiment detection, and coaching prompts that guide agents, ensure compliance, and maintain empathy. Despite digital growth, legacy voice channels still matter—91% of contact centres use or plan to use voice for critical interactions.

Effective AI in voice support includes smart routing, proactive prompts, and smooth human escalation when needed, always enhancing rather than interrupting conversations.

The Future: Humans and AI Working Together

The future of customer support blends human skill with AI assistance. Picture:

• Agents with AI copilots guiding them through difficult cases.
• Roles dedicated to monitoring and refining AI quality.
• Effortless, personalized transitions between AI and human agents.

According to Calabrio, 78% of leaders believe this hybrid model combining automation and human touch delivers the best outcomes. This approach is already underway in many contact centres.

Conclusion: Creating a Human-Centric AI Strategy

AI is improving how agents work by making them more effective and engaged. The conversation should shift from replacement to elevation. With AI support, agents become architects of next-level customer experiences. The future of customer service is collaborative, adaptive, and deeply human.

Calabrio offers solutions to help contact centres thrive in this future. Their Calabrio ONE suite unites workforce optimization, agent engagement, and business intelligence in a cloud-native platform. It leverages AI-driven analytics, automated workforce management, and personalized coaching to maximize agent performance and exceed customer expectations.