Cisco has unveiled a range of new AI powered solutions at its fifth annual WebexOne event in Miami.
The new solutions include Webex AI Agent, AI Agent Studio and Cisco AI Assistant features for Webex Contact Center.
Cisco says the new AI solutions will leverage advanced conversational intelligence and automaton for better customer interactions, streamline issue resolution and improve overall customer satisfaction.
The end goal is for businesses to deliver faster, more effective and more empathetic interactions that improve customer trust and brand loyalty, it said.
Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and chief product officer at Cisco says: “With AI baked into every part of Cisco’s product portfolio, we’re helping organisations future-proof their workspaces with solutions ready for the next generation of how and where people work.”
“We’re providing our customers with intelligent, adaptable, and easy-to-manage technology that enhances experiences for their employees and customers.”
Webex AI Agent
To meet growing customer demands for quick and effective support, Cisco introduced the Webex AI Agent. This self-service virtual concierge responds to customer inquiries using natural conversation and advanced AI, delivering fast solutions without the need for waiting.
The Webex AI Agent leverages cutting-edge responsible AI and automation, enhancing the Webex Customer Experience suite. It aims to revolutionise customer interactions by removing the complexity and frustration often associated with traditional support.
“Customer experience can make or break a brand, and unlike other solutions on the market, the Webex AI Agent solves customer problems instantaneously and will fundamentally transform the experiences we have all reluctantly been using for far too long.” says Patel.
AI Agent Studio
The Webex AI Agent features a new tool called AI Agent Studio, designed to make it simple for business users and IT administrators to train and deploy AI agents with ease, offering unmatched scalability and user-friendliness.
With AI Agent Studio, contact centers can swiftly deploy voice or digital AI agents in minutes and select the AI models that best handle customer inquiries. This AI-powered interface reduces call volume, allowing agents to focus on more complex, relationship-driven customer service.
Webex AI Agent and AI Agent Studio will be available for cloud customers in Q1 2025, with on-premise customer trials starting in Q2 2025.
Cisco AI Assistant
The Cisco AI Assistant for Webex Contact Centre will become available in Q1 2025, aimed at busy agents and supervisors, who will benefit from automated guidance to provide expert-level customer support, including:
- Context Summaries: When an agent is required, context summaries facilitate seamless handoffs from an AI agent to contact centre agent. All necessary background information is provided to continue the conversation while eliminating the need for customers to repeat themselves.
- Suggested Responses: Recommendations appear directly within the contact center platform, providing agents with the information they need right at their fingertips to reduce call times.
- Dropped Call Summaries: Interactions are captured and documented up to the point of disconnection, ensuring continuity when the call is resumed.
Agent Wellness
Coming in Q1 2025, these AI features will allow for proactive actions like automatic breaks for agents, changes in agent schedules and shifting of which channels agents support to increase or decrease capacity based on need.
AI is also being used to power analytics to help consumer experience leaders operate a smarter and more efficient call centre:
- Topic Analytics: Generally available now, these analytics quickly identify the drivers of incoming calls and customer issues to enable proactive issue resolution.
- Automatic CSAT Scoring: Available January 2025, this solution leverages operational data and transcripts to evaluate 100% of an organisation’s customer interactions, addressing the common issue of low customer survey response rates. With these new insights, business leaders can resolve challenges as they arise and anticipate future needs, delivering a new wave of proactive customer experience.
For more information visit: the Webex Blog