New report explores how growth in AI has changed operational priorities, technological advances, and the agent’s role.

St. Louis, MO — Balto’s Conversation Excellence Lab has released a new report detailing the past, present, and future of contact center AI, and the ROI coming from AI tools. 

The report, “Distinguishing Real From Hype: How Contact Centers Are Actually Using AI in 2023,” is based on a survey that asked over 400 contact center managers and leaders how AI has changed the day-to-day reality of their teams. As AI tool usage becomes more and more mainstream, attention has turned towards understanding how and to what extent these tools deliver ROI. The report shows AI tools will be table stakes in the contact center, if not already so. 

The report also details:

  • More contact centers are using AI tools now than ever before, with a massive jump in usage over the past year from 59% to 90%.
  • AI tools may have reached the peak of inflated expectations and are now becoming mainstream in the contact center industry.
  • Benchmarks for contact center metrics like AHT, CSAT, conversation rate, and more are changing, and those who don’t utilize AI will risk falling behind.
  • Most respondents today reported seeing ROI of the AI tools they were using, often in terms of increased revenue for their organization.
  • Agents, customers, and leadership retained positive views of AI.

“Our research underscores a pivotal shift in contact centers,” said Maria Edington, VP of Marketing at Balto. “AI tools are no longer a luxury but a necessity. What’s crucial now is proving their ROI. It’s not just about having them; it’s about making them work for your business.”

The report is available from the Conversation Excellence Lab for free and is the latest in a series of industry-leading insights from Balto, the #1 real-time guidance platform for contact centers.

About the Conversation Excellence Lab

The Conversation Excellence Lab is Balto’s hub for academic-level research. The Lab creates thought-leading content with the support of research teams and in-house data. All reports are published online and available for free. Readers can get reports sent directly to their inboxes by subscribing to the Conversation Excellence Lab’s newsletter.

About Balto

Balto unites agents with AI to enable better conversations that deliver results. Top-performing contact centers trust Balto’s real-time guidance enterprise solution to enable happier customers, increased revenue, and perfect conversations on every call. Today, Balto has guided over 200 million calls, provided over 430 million real-time recommendations, and driven millions in increased revenue. Balto.ai