This ongoing evolution raises three critical questions, which we posed to Dina Vance.

ARE CONTACT CENTERS RAISING THE SKILLS BAR WITH AI USE?

DINA: AI is unquestionably raising the bar for what is expected from human agents, and a simple look at how customer interactions are shifting makes this crystal clear.

As automation and self-service tools take over routine tasks, the questions that still require a human are no longer the quick, transactional ones. They are the emotionally charged, complex, and high-stakes situations where empathy, judgment, and nuanced problem solving matter most.

Calabrio( now Verint) reports that 98 % of contact centers now use AI, meaning that the“ easy stuff” is being handled before a human enters the conversation. A simple example illustrates the difference:

• If a customer asks,“ What’ s my account balance?” an AI chatbot can answer instantly and accurately.

• But when a customer asks,“ Why did my bill suddenly increase, and what can I do to reduce it because I live on a fixed income?” the situation becomes far more nuanced.

The customer’ s emotions are impacting the conversation and require a different level of response. The scenario requires an agent to think critically about the specific situation / question and explore options to find the best solution.

That requires a level of care and the ability to interpret context, which are all skills that humans excel at and AI cannot fully replicate.

This is our new reality. AI handles the predictable while humans handle the emotional.

And because of that, contact centers are raising their hiring standards. They now seek agents with stronger communication abilities, which gives individuals with higher emotional intelligence and sharper analytical skills the upper hand.

People who can partner with AI tools rather than be replaced by them will find they are invaluable to the contact center space. AI is elevating the human role, making the human contribution more essential than ever.

IS AI-POWERED SOFTWARE CHANGING APPLICANT SCREENING, TRAINING, COACHING, AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT?

DINA: AI-powered software is absolutely transforming these functions in contact centers and the shift is both profound and practical.

Today’ s AI tools allow organizations to evaluate candidates in ways that were impossible even a few years ago. Instead of relying solely on interviews, centers can now observe how applicants actually behave in customer facing situations.

Our own AI-driven simulator is a perfect example: applicants interact with realistic customer scenarios, allowing us to see their innate customer experience( CX) instincts such as how they listen, how they problem solve, and how they respond under pressure.

It’ s a modern answer to an old analogy I’ ve used for years: a farmer once spent every season training his dogs to gather pecans from his grove, until his wife finally suggested he use squirrels instead.

The point is simple: it’ s far easier to start with the right people and train from there. AI now helps us find those“ squirrels” with far greater accuracy.

The benefits extend well beyond hiring. AI accelerates onboarding through micro learning and adaptive training paths that adjust to each agent’ s pace. Supervisors gain richer coaching insights through real-time data that can be captured on every interaction.

It’ s no surprise [ then ] that 66 % of leaders support AI applications. But AI isn’ t without downsides. I was recently part of a panel interview for a new leadership position, and the experience perfectly illustrated both the power and the limits of AI in hiring.

The company I was supporting had built a large language model( LLM)-based screening tool designed to evaluate candidates for specific attributes— adaptability, communication style, decision making— and then score their likelihood of success on a scale of 1 to 50. It was a well-designed system meant to bring objectivity and consistency to the early stages of hiring.

Without knowing any of the AI-generated scores, our panel interviewed a candidate who immediately stood out. His answers were solid, but what really struck us was his presence. He was instantly likeable. He fit the culture in a way that you can’ t quantify on a spreadsheet.

After the interview, we learned the AI had given him a score of 38. Respectable, but not exceptional. Yet every one of us on the panel agreed he was the right person for the role.

That moment reinforced something essential: AI can evaluate patterns, but humans can detect potential. AI can measure competencies, but humans can feel chemistry. AI can flag risks, but humans can sense fit. There is a dimension of human connection that algorithms simply cannot fully capture.

This is why AI should be a decision support tool and is not intended as a decision maker. It can do a lot, but it cannot replace the human ability to recognize cultural alignment. The best hiring outcomes happen when AI provides the data and humans provide the judgment.

FROM WHAT YOU ARE SEEING WITH AUTOMATION LIKE THAT ENABLED BY AI, WHAT IS YOUR CONCLUSION WHEN LOOK- ING AT THEIR APPLICATIONS IN CONTACT CENTER HIRING AND TRAINING?

DINA: The contact center workforce is undergoing a profound transformation. AI / technology enablement is reshaping roles layered with rising customer expectations and uncertainty in the labor market. The centers that will thrive are those that:

• Invest in people as much as technology.

• Build structured career growth and upskilling programs.

• Use AI to augment human capability.

• Prioritize emotional intelligence and complex problem-solving skills.

The future of CX will be delivered by AI-empowered, highly skilled human agents and the time to build that workforce is now.

24 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE