2025 Predictions

Predictions for AI in the Contact Center in 2025

As we approach 2025, contact centers are stepping into a new era where automation is increasingly redefining the customer experience. This transformation will be driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time data insights, as well as evolving customer expectations and ongoing talent shortages. Businesses that lean into these emerging trends will not only streamline operations but also shape a new standard for customer interactions. Below, we’ve gathered predictions for AI in the contact center in the year to come from experts on everything from an increased reliance on virtual agents to what these changes will mean for human agents.

Justin Robbins

Megan Schildmier

Rob Theis

Tim Shi

Robert Kugler

Lan Guan

Dr. Natalie Petohouff

Ping Wu

Robin Gareiss

Russell Banzon

Chief AI Officer, Accenture

WSJ Best-Selling AI-CX Author

CEO, Cresta

CEO & Principal Analyst, Metrigy

CMO, Cresta

Principal Analyst, Metric Sherpa

Director of AI Delivery, Cresta

Chief Investment Officer, WIL

CTO, Cresta

Head of Security, IT & Compliance, Cresta

Lan Guan, a trailblazer in AI and data innovation and the Chief AI Officer at Accenture, envisions a world where technology redefines the contact center experience. From autonomous AI agents to hyper-realistic digital humans and the rise of custom AI models, her predictions highlight a future of smarter, more personalized interactions.

Lan Guan

Chief AI Officer, Accenture

VIEW PREDICTION

Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, a Wall Street Journal best-selling author and renowned expert in AI and customer experience, envisions 2025 as a pivotal year for the contact center industry. As organizations reflect on the rapid adoption of AI since the release of ChatGPT, she predicts a critical turning point: shifting from the hype of technology to a balanced approach that prioritizes both human empathy and technological innovation.

Dr. Natalie Petohouff

WSJ Best-Selling AI-CX Author

Ping Wu, a visionary leader in AI innovation and CEO of Cresta, foresees 2025 as a transformative year for contact centers. He predicts the rise of AI-to-AI communication at scale, and breaks down the impact of how these developments in AI will reshape the way businesses of all sizes connect with their customers.

Ping Wu

CEO, Cresta

Robin Gareiss, CEO and Principal Analyst at Metrigy and a trusted voice in customer experience research, predicts a game-changing year for AI in contact centers. AI will redefine how businesses generate revenue, with tools like agent assist driving upselling and proactive outreach to reduce churn. Contrary to expectations, AI will boost the volume of voice calls by enhancing agent efficiency. By 2025, virtual agents could make up nearly a third of the contact center workforce, freeing supervisors for strategic tasks and saving over 15 hours weekly per agent.

Robin Gareiss

CEO & Principal Analyst, Metrigy

Russell Banzon, a seasoned marketing leader and Chief Marketing Officer at Cresta, offers a unique perspective on AI's role in contact centers by 2025. He predicts a paradox: adoption of virtual agents will move slower than customers expect but faster than many contact center leaders anticipate. This nuanced outlook underscores the balancing act between technological possibilities and operational realities.

Russell Banzon

CMO, Cresta

Justin Robbins is a renowned thought leader and trusted advisor in customer experience, with a career dedicated to helping businesses deliver exceptional service through innovation and strategy. As AI continues to reshape the contact center landscape, Justin envisions 2025 as a pivotal year marked by three transformative shifts.

Justin Robbins

Principal Analyst, Metric Sherpa

Megan Schildmier, a conversational AI design expert and Director of AI Design at Cresta, predicts that 2025 will be a turning point for user trust and adoption of virtual agents in contact centers. Megan envisions a future where virtual agents deflect a broader range of issues, enabling human agents to focus on high-value, complex cases—all while improving efficiency and customer experience.

Megan Schildmier

Director of AI Delivery, Cresta

Contact centers are the revenue life blood for many businesses and also a mainstream channel for delivering support to delight their customers. Cresta's AI technology such as Conversational AI, Agent-Assist and Virtual Agents are key capabilities that will aid contact center operations to handle routine customer queries and solve resolutions at a faster pace and with reduced wait times — allowing the agents to spend time handling more complex issues in a personalized manner. I see Cresta's AI technology, which is in production at many Fortune 500 companies, working in tandem with thousands of contact center agents to increase revenues, achieve better efficiencies and deliver customer happiness in 2025 and beyond."

Rob Theis

General Partner, Chief Investment Officer, World Innovation Lab (WiL)

Tim Shi, an expert at the forefront of AI innovation and the Chief Technology Officer at Cresta, envisions 2025 as the year voice AI transforms how businesses engage with customers. He highlights a future where instant, human-like conversations, complex task assistance, and 24/7 personalized support become the norm. Far from replacing humans, AI will work alongside them, enhancing efficiency, scalability, and customer experiences.

Tim Shi

CTO, Cresta

Robert Kugler, a leader driving innovation in engineering and security and Head of Security, IT, and Compliance at Cresta, predicts 2025 as the year security teams evolve into builders, not just buyers. With a focus on integrating engineering talent into security roles, companies will accelerate their ability to create secure products by design, making security a core part of the product roadmap.

Robert Kugler

Head of Security, IT & Compliance, Cresta

Join us on Thursday, December 12 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET as Dr. Natalie Petohouff and James Russell dive into these predictions and more on what’s ahead for the contact center in 2025.