Survey: Contact Center Agents Want Generative AI Tools

The vast majority of contact center agents want real-time aid from generative AI tools, according to new data.

End-to-end generative AI platform provider Cresta released its State of the Agent Report 2024: GenAI's Rise in the Contact Center report on Thursday. The report surveyed 1,000 contact center agents in the United States and found that 65% want real-time help from AI during customer interactions. Nearly all of the agents (95%) who were already using AI reported that they were able to resolve the issues fairly quickly.

Cresta's Ping Wu

“Our research reveals that generative AI has become a game-changer for contact center agents – instead of worrying it will take their jobs, many see AI as an indispensable co-pilot making them better at their jobs,” said Ping Wu, CEO of Cresta. “The contact center industry has always been fraught with turnover, often due to insufficient training and minimal technology investment. It’s clear that when organizations empower their contact center agents with generative AI, those agents are happier, more knowledgeable, and have more positive interactions with customers.”

Some people are skeptical of AI, expressing concerns that the technology will replace humans in the process. However, contact center agents claimed that the technology improved their job performance. Nearly four in five (79%) said that having good software significantly affects whether they were able to be successful or not at their jobs.

Eighty-nine percent of agents who used AI said that their companies are prioritizing technology investments that would support them at work, compared to only 57% who are not using AI. The technology also helps with talent retention and with improving the performance of staff.

The report arrives months after Cresta brough Russell Banzon on as its chief marketing officer.