Customer service and contact center
Customer service refers to the support organizations give customers after a purchase, and contact centers are the points where organizations can manage these interactions. Keep tabs on the evolution of customer service and contact center technologies and best practices to maintain service strategies properly.
Top Stories
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Tip
11 Jun 2026
Understanding CX buying committees and decision dynamics
CX data is now more integrated with other departments. As a result, CX tech buying decisions include more stakeholders. Vendors need to understand this dynamic. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jun 2026
CX orchestration is the new hard part
Enterprises have plenty of CX tools, channels and AI features. The harder problem is coordinating the work, data, handoffs and ownership behind them. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Mar 2025
Tech buyers swamped with agentic AI choices
Enterprise tech buyers, if you're overwhelmed by the array of autonomous AI platforms, it's not just you. Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2025
OpenAI targets customer service with new audio models
The models build on GPT-4o and 4o mini architecture. With it, developers can control tone so that contact center agents can effectively help customers on the other end of the call. Continue Reading
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News
17 Mar 2025
Qualtrics releases employee, customer service AI agents
Qualtrics joins the agentic AI free-for-all in CX. Continue Reading
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News
17 Mar 2025
Genesys, Google add to contact center generative AI services
Genesys and Google roll out their next wave of AI tools for customer service. Continue Reading
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Definition
13 Mar 2025
What is quality of experience (QoE or QoX)?
Quality of experience (QoE or QoX) is a measure of the overall level of a customer's satisfaction and experience with a product or service and the vendor that's providing that product or service. Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2025
Amplitude voice of the customer capability targets 'rage close'
Amplitude rolls out VOC features from Command AI acquisition. Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2025
Data, training complexities make DIY AI agents difficult
Agentic AI is complex, so choose your development path carefully. Continue Reading
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News
25 Feb 2025
Salesforce, Google ink $2.5B deal to bring Gemini to Agentforce
The deal gives Salesforce customers multi-cloud and LLM flexibility. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Feb 2025
How to use ChatGPT for customer service
Customer service teams can use ChatGPT to automate tasks, generate responses to customer inquiries, summarize email threads and power human-like chatbots. Continue Reading
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News
24 Feb 2025
Zendesk acquires Local Measure CCaaS, CX platform
Zendesk expands its CCaaS capabilities with Local Measure acquisition. Continue Reading
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Definition
12 Feb 2025
What is high-touch customer service?
High-touch customer service is a category of contact center interaction that requires human interaction. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Feb 2025
How to build a customer service plan, with a template
Crafting a customer service plan is a key step to improving customer satisfaction and building loyalty for an organization. Continue Reading
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Definition
11 Feb 2025
What is customer self-service?
Customer self-service is digital support that lets end users access information and perform routine tasks without requiring the assistance of live agents or representatives. Continue Reading
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Podcast
28 Jan 2025
Cisco generative AI strategy hinges on CX and agents
The vendor's GenAI approach aims to boost the user and consumer experience. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Dec 2024
Generative AI in CX promises benefits, but obstacles remain
Generative AI promises to boost efficiency in CX, but businesses face adoption and compliance hurdles. Continue Reading
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News
18 Dec 2024
With Agentforce 2.0, Salesforce closer to autonomous AI
Agentforce 2.0 is here as Salesforce pushes for Slack to be its foundation. Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Dec 2024
FTC's Click to Cancel movement likely here to stay
The FTC's Click to Cancel plan has staying power because numerous states are involved in the movement. Continue Reading
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News
01 Dec 2024
AWS adds to Amazon Q in Connect, AI IVR, chat credit card
AWS drops a big re:Invent update for Amazon Connect, including basic marketing functionality from the contact center side of CX. Continue Reading
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Definition
20 Nov 2024
What is contact center infrastructure?
A contact center infrastructure (CCI) is a framework composed of the physical and virtual resources that a contact or call center facility needs to operate effectively. Continue Reading
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Definition
20 Nov 2024
What is speech recognition?
Speech recognition, or speech-to-text, is the ability of a machine or program to identify words spoken aloud and convert them into readable text. Continue Reading
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Definition
20 Nov 2024
What is a cloud contact center?
A cloud contact center is an internet-hosted service, typically managed by a third party, that handles all inbound and outbound customer communications for an organization. Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2024
CallMiner CEO talks generative AI, conversational intelligence
When everyone's contact center now has a CX platform, specialists like CallMiner have to make implementation more straightforward for users, said CEO and founder Jeff Gallino. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Nov 2024
Pros and cons of a hybrid contact center architecture
A hybrid cloud architecture can provide modern capabilities to legacy contact centers. Explore the benefits and challenges of adopting a hybrid contact center. Continue Reading
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News
13 Nov 2024
Zendesk adds a twist to AI outcomes-based CX pricing
Zendesk's dynamic pricing adds flexibility to subscriptions and outcomes-based pricing. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Nov 2024
Salesforce Agentforce: An answer in search of a question?
They used to be named Einstein Copilots. Now they're Agentforce autonomous agents. Salesforce's latest upgrade might be more than words. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Oct 2024
15 customer success KPIs and metrics to track
What's the best way to tell if customers are satisfied? These customer success KPIs and metrics can gauge everything from potential customer churn to retention. Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2024
Pegasystems expands generative AI in CX, BPA cloud platform
The company's new 'coaches' aim to make AI-powered customer service responses sound less automated. Continue Reading
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Definition
28 Oct 2024
What is conversational AI (conversational artificial intelligence)?
Conversational AI, also known as conversational artificial intelligence, is a type of AI that enables computers to understand, process and generate human language. Continue Reading
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Opinion
21 Oct 2024
FTC's quixotic quest to fix CX with Click to Cancel rule
The Biden administration strives to improve CX with a rule that goes in effect in 180 days. What could possibly go wrong? People, process, tech and a U.S. election. Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2024
AWS' Amazon Q in Connect adds more contact center GenAI
AWS updates its contact center-specific version of its generative AI-powered agent, Amazon Q, for the company's Connect Contact Center as a Service platform. Continue Reading
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Definition
11 Oct 2024
What is the Salesforce Service Console?
The Salesforce Service Console is the centralized interface in Salesforce Service Cloud, an application devoted to customer service, support and customer experience. Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2024
Oracle Service platform adds autonomous AI agents
Oracle adds a number of agents and dashboards to Oracle Service and Field Service as the company strives to provide users with capabilities that enable 100% AI autonomy. Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2024
Zendesk upends pricing for AI in customer service
As it embeds generative AI into its customer service and employee service platform, Zendesk tries a novel idea: outcomes-based pricing based on tickets resolved. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Oct 2024
15 best practices for contact center agent training programs
Agents thrive when contact center training programs are built on KSAC profiles, performance analysis and recognition, personal coaching and shadowing, AI integration, and ROI. Continue Reading
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Definition
07 Oct 2024
Average handle time (AHT): What it is and how to improve it
Average handle time (AHT) is the average amount of time it takes a call center agent to complete a customer phone call. Continue Reading
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Definition
04 Oct 2024
What is contact center as a service (CCaaS)?
Contact center as a service (CCaaS) is a framework that combines contact center hosting principles and cloud-based contact center infrastructure. Continue Reading
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Definition
30 Sep 2024
What is a call center? Everything you need to know
A call center is a centralized department of customer service professionals who handle inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers. Continue Reading
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Definition
24 Sep 2024
What is a customer effort score (CES)?
Customer effort score (CES) is a system for evaluating how much effort is required on the part of a customer to achieve satisfaction in their experience with a company. Continue Reading
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Opinion
23 Sep 2024
Benioff’s Agentforce gambit might just work
At Dreamforce 2024 in San Francisco, Salesforce announced the potential for its customers to embed virtual agents on its platform, so avoiding what the supplier dubs DIY GenAI. Will it work? Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2024
HubSpot adds Breeze generative AI agents, analytics to platform
Hubspot users get their generative AI infusion that includes souped-up bots, a no-code workflow builder, sophisticated content generation and marketing analytics. Continue Reading
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Definition
17 Sep 2024
What is a virtual contact center?
A virtual contact center (VCC) is a type of call center in which an organization's representatives are geographically dispersed, rather than situated at workstations in one location. Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Sep 2024
What is skill-based routing (SBR)?
Skill-based routing (SBR) is a strategy within customer service and contact centers to distribute incoming interactions -- phone calls, chats or emails -- based on the specific skills of the agents. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2024
Salesforce reveals more on Agentforce autonomous AI agents
Salesforce seizes on the concept of agentic AI to automate sales and service processes. The company holds fast to the idea the AI agents will assist humans -- not replace them. Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2024
Oracle focuses on CX platform as it exits ad business
Oracle rolls out generative AI tools for sellers, beefs up CDP to reinforce B2B buying and selling team interactions, and adds industry-specific features. Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2024
Salesforce Industries clouds for verticals adds 100 AI features
A new AI toolkit for Salesforce's industry-specific clouds delivers more than 100 features for companies in 15 industries to automate common tasks, each with their own data model. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Sep 2024
7 essential steps to create a contact center RFP
Successful contact center RFPs are built on collaboration, vendor research, countless questions and answers, scorecards, shortlists, trial runs, bakeoffs and the final decision. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Sep 2024
Benefits and challenges of contact center benchmarking
Contact center benchmarking can help organizations allocate spending and improve CX. Yet, common pitfalls, such as a lack of qualitative data, can negatively affect efforts. Continue Reading
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Definition
06 Sep 2024
What is multichannel marketing?
Multichannel marketing refers to the practice of companies interacting with customers via multiple direct and indirect channels to sell them goods and services. Continue Reading
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Definition
05 Sep 2024
What is a contact center?
A contact center is a central point from which organizations manage all customer interactions across various channels. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Sep 2024
Technical sales rise when you tap into soft skills
Evgeniy Kharam published a book exploring soft skills in technical sales to improve sales success and minimize turnover. In this Q&A, you'll find key takeaways from the book. Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2024
Salesforce Foundations opens up marketing, ecomm features
Enterprise Salesforce users will get Foundations, a basic set of tools and Data Cloud functionality to complement their Sales and Service modules. Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2024
Salesforce and Genesys discuss CX strategy, coopetition
Competing tech companies are partnering up to give customers what they need faster. Salesforce and Genesys share how they're doing just that in the contact center market. Continue Reading
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News
27 Aug 2024
FTC Click to Cancel, other regs coming to CX tech
The FTC, FCC and DOT are flexing their muscles to help consumers. Some rules are regulatory law; other proposals await the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Aug 2024
Contact center outsourcing: What businesses need to know
Businesses use contact center outsourcing to alleviate agent understaffing, expand customer service and reduce costs, but loss of control and service inconsistency are concerns. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Aug 2024
Why contact centers have high turnover and how to combat it
The alarming rise in contact center turnover rates negatively impacts agent morale, customer interactions and ROI. In many ways, AI is seen as both the cause and the solution. Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2024
Salesforce GenAI, data tools likely major Dreamforce themes
We read the tea leaves of Salesforce's summer product releases, executive interviews and Winter '25 release notes to figure out what's coming at Dreamforce. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Aug 2024
How to manage today's remote contact center agents
Technologies like agent analytics, video conferencing, collaboration tools, workforce management applications and cloud software can help manage remote contact centers. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Aug 2024
History and evolution of contact centers
Alexander Graham Bell, Steve Jobs and the Baby Bells played notable roles in the contact center's transformation into the front line of communication for businesses and customers. Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Aug 2024
What is call management?
Call management is a process in which inbound telephone calls are routed to call center agents. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Aug 2024
The ultimate guide to contact center modernization
Advanced technologies, omnichannel support, agent performance, data security and ROI are keys to modernizing contact centers, but AI integration and customer personalization dominate. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Aug 2024
10 best practices for contact center quality assurance
To ensure quality and results in the contact center, businesses must define clear metrics, use real-time analytics, seek customer feedback, upskill agents and automate everywhere. Continue Reading
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Report
09 Aug 2024
15 essential contact center features
Today's multifunctional contact centers must cut through the product hype and incorporate software features that meet customer demands for fast, seamless and personalized service. Continue Reading
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Definition
05 Aug 2024
What is a 360-degree customer view?
The 360-degree customer view is a comprehensive approach to understanding customers by compiling their individual data from various touchpoints into a single view. Continue Reading
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News
01 Aug 2024
SupportLogic acquires xFind for customer service experience AI
Startup SupportLogic buys xFind to add generative AI to its service analytics platform, and in the process takes on much larger competition such as Qualtrics, Medallia and Verint. Continue Reading
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Definition
24 Jul 2024
What is first call resolution (FCR)?
First call resolution (FCR) is when contact center agents properly address a customer's needs the first time they call so there is no need for the customer to follow up with a second call. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Jul 2024
What is an abandoned call?
An abandoned call is a call or other type of contact initiated to a call center or contact center that is ended before any conversation occurs. Continue Reading
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Definition
19 Jul 2024
What is an inbound call?
An inbound call is typically initiated by a customer to a call center or contact center. Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Jul 2024
What is an outbound call?
An outbound call is one initiated by a contact center agent to prospective customers and focuses on sales, lead generation, telemarketing and fundraising. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jul 2024
How knowledge management benefits customer service
As knowledge management helps employees and customers find answers, it can improve customer service. Benefits include effective self-service and increased customer satisfaction. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2024
Salesforce to release autonomous AI customer service agents
Salesforce's next generation of customer service chatbots will use sharpened AI tools -- and, in theory, wits -- to choose their own adventure among Flows and actions. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Jul 2024
10 types of contact centers explained
Contact centers are the front line of communication between the enterprise and customers. But no two facilities are alike, so it's best to know which type fits business goals. Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Jul 2024
contact center burnout
Contact center burnout refers to physical, emotional and mental exhaustion experienced by contact center employees. Continue Reading
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Definition
10 Jul 2024
contact center agent (call center agent)
A contact center agent is a person who handles incoming or outgoing customer communications for an organization. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Jul 2024
5 key contact center AI features and their benefits
As multifunctional contact centers evolve in complexity and importance, AI and GenAI integration are advancing self-service chatbots, customer insights and agent monitoring. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Jul 2024
8 benefits of a modern contact center
Contact centers and their multifunctional capabilities can provide businesses with a competitive edge through improved agent performance, customer engagement and brand loyalty. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2024
AWS' Amazon Q adds Connect contact center integration
Amazon Connect, AWS' contact center platform, takes aim at solving the customer service agent's biggest problem: app switching during customer calls. Continue Reading
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Definition
14 Jun 2024
contact center schedule adherence
Contact center schedule adherence is a standard metric used in business contact centers to determine whether contact center agents are working the amount of time they are scheduled to work. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jun 2024
RingCentral pushes AI deeper into sales tech, integrates Teams
Among other new features, RingCentral pushes its RingSense conversational intelligence deeper into the sales market with new integrations, where it meets a crowd of tech competitors. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jun 2024
Pegasystems' Blueprint enables automation with no code
Pegasystems uses generative AI to simplify previously difficult development tasks that unite back-office and front-office data, and launches a GenAI-led learning system. Continue Reading
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News
03 Jun 2024
Build or buy fintech AI? To Mastercard, the answer is 'both'
Mastercard's operations CTO discusses the company's data principles, global contact center outlay, and its rubric for building vs. buying AI -- not just the generative kind. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 May 2024
12 benefits of customer retention
Customer retention can help organizations better understand their current customers' needs, issues and desires, so they can better support them and target more prospects. Continue Reading
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Feature
30 May 2024
Knowledge management metrics: How to track KM effectiveness
Measuring knowledge management effectiveness requires quantitative and qualitative data. Metrics like the balanced scorecard method can help organizations improve their strategies. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 May 2024
How CPaaS improves CX operations and efficiency
Organizations have ramped up their use of communications platform as a service and APIs to expand communication channels between customers and contact center agents. Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2024
Salesforce Service Cloud adds Einstein generative AI tools
Salesforce Service Cloud will soon get generative AI tools that contact centers could theoretically use to turn CX from a cost center into a profit center. Continue Reading
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Opinion
21 May 2024
Generative AI's role in the rebirth of knowledge management
Generative AI could help organizations realize the tacit knowledge-sharing benefits that were touted in the late 1990s for the discipline of knowledge management. Continue Reading
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News
15 May 2024
Avaya looks ahead with acquisition, cloud CX, RingCentral deal
Rumors of Avaya's demise have been greatly exaggerated, CEO Alan Masarek assures longtime customers while making acquisitions, partnership deals and building a SaaS CX stack. Continue Reading
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News
14 May 2024
Genesys debuts customer service GenAI, journey management
Customer journey management and a bevy of generative AI tools, including more trademark empathy detection, were added to Genesys Cloud's contact center platform. Continue Reading
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News
07 May 2024
Sprinklr's AI digital twin for CX emulates whole companies
Sprinklr CEO Ragy Thomas 'bets the company' on its moonshot digital twin technology that emulates a whole customer's organization, with AI assistance, to complete CX tasks. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 May 2024
Why your -- and everyone else's -- customer service stinks
Frustration with customer service teams isn't new. But there are some reasons why it is seemingly getting worse. Continue Reading
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Definition
01 May 2024
chatbot
A chatbot is a software or computer program that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2024
Salesforce Financial Services Cloud gets GenAI for banking
If Salesforce can talk the highly conservative, highly skeptical and highly regulated financial industry into adopting GenAI, the company could win over a lot more customers. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2024
Oracle expands generative AI across its CX applications
Oracle beefs up its Fusion Cloud Customer Experience applications with GenAI tools for users of its sales, field service, marketing and contact center. Continue Reading
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News
24 Apr 2024
HubSpot embraces GenAI with Service Hub updates and more
A reimagined, generative AI-infused Content Hub leads the way for a passel of HubSpot updates for users of its sales, service, marketing and digital payment platforms. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Apr 2024
Will AI replace customer service reps?
AI can streamline customer interactions and save organizations money, but will it replace customer service agents? Maybe, but customer service will always require a human touch. Continue Reading
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News
16 Apr 2024
Zendesk users get generative AI infusion for customer service
Zendesk customers get their shot of GenAI, which comes in the form of agent tools, self-service workflow assistants and workforce management features. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Apr 2024
How agent assist technology works in the contact center
Contact centers that invest in agent assist technology can help their agents become more productive and eliminate tedious tasks to make their jobs easier. Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2024
Why Alphabet might acquire HubSpot: Data, data and more data
If Alphabet were to buy HubSpot, it would come with a hefty price when interest rates are high. Experts discuss what HubSpot assets might interest Google's parent company most. Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2024
AWS, Google release contact center GenAI tools
AWS releases contact center workforce management features and post-call summaries powered by GenAI; Google previews its own for Contact Center AI Platform. Continue Reading
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Tip
01 Apr 2024
How to find the customer journey moments of truth
A moment of truth can turn a potentially positive experience into a negative one, and vice versa. Understanding moments of truth requires a complete knowledge of the customer journey. Continue Reading
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Opinion
28 Mar 2024
IT leaders curb GenAI enthusiasm at Enterprise Connect
IT leaders at Enterprise Connect expressed enthusiasm for GenAI experimentation in customer experience as well as circumspection that vendors should take on board. Continue Reading