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Reinventing the Contact Center with Artificial Intelligence
At the 8×8 Analyst Summit in April 2025, leaders from the cloud communications company unveiled a bold vision for transforming customer experience (CX) through a seamless, AI-first approach. Traditionally known for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), 8×8 is now positioning itself as a robust communications intelligence platformâfocused not only on streamlining digital transactions but on delivering intelligent business outcomes. The summit was packed with insights into how CX is evolving and how AI is rapidly reshaping the industry.
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At the Analyst Summit, 8×8âs CEO Sam Wilson and CMO Bruno Bertini stressed the importance of building a unified customer experience ecosystem. Their message was clear: the future lies in a fully integrated, AI-enhanced CX platform that merges UCaaS and CCaaS functionalities. The traditional boundaries between these systems are becoming irrelevant as buyers now demand cohesive, outcome-oriented tools.
The event highlighted several eye-opening statistics reflecting
An 84% rise in AI-powered CX usage
A 160% increase in voice AI interactions
A 130% growth in self-service activities
A 41% jump in SMS-based communications
These numbers underscore a major trendâAI is no longer a buzzword; itâs the backbone of modern CX. But 8×8 leaders made a nuanced point: AI itself is not the productâthe customer experience it empowers is.
To deliver these experiences, AI must be embedded deeply across platforms to optimize decision-making, routing, self-service, and support for agents. 8×8âs own tools, like Journey IQ and AI Orchestrator, reflect this design philosophy. These solutions help deliver predictive insights and ensure smooth transitions between bots, human agents, and communication channels.
8×8âs growing partner ecosystemâincluding integrations with NICE, Verint, Cognigy, and moreâhelps companies avoid fragmented tech stacks. These partnerships allow businesses to tailor AI deployments to specific vertical needs, from social listening to compliance and payments.
The company also emphasized employee-facing tools. For instance, its partnership with Verint enables smarter agent guidance, acting like a contextual AI copilot. Additionally, 8×8 acknowledged a growing recognition that CX is no longer confined to the front office. Every departmentâsales, service, marketing, and even the back officeâmust align to deliver intelligent and personalized customer experiences.
đĄ What Undercode Say: The Broader Implications of
Shifting from Product-Centric to Outcome-Centric Platforms
8×8’s pivot reflects a broader industry movement. Companies are no longer seeking individual toolsâthey want unified ecosystems that solve real business problems. By focusing on business outcomes over digital transactions, 8×8 is stepping into a leadership role in the evolving CX space.
AI as a Native Layer, Not a Patch
Too many organizations bolt on AI as an afterthought. 8×8’s approachâembedding AI at every layerâis what sets it apart. The AI Orchestrator and Journey IQ arenât just features; theyâre architectural strategies. This native integration is crucial for real-time decision-making, hyper-personalized engagement, and dynamic routing across platforms.
The Rise of Agentic AI
Agentic AI is an emerging concept where AI agents not only support users but operate semi-autonomously across workflows. 8×8âs work in orchestrating interactions between bots, agents, and users hints at a future where AI agents manage CX journeys from end to end. This signals a move beyond simple automation toward orchestration and delegation.
CX as a Whole-Business Discipline
Perhaps the most underappreciated shift is the idea that CX is not a departmental concern. It’s a company-wide strategy. From back-office data workflows to front-line support, every team now has a role in delivering seamless customer journeys. This holistic philosophy is what most companies missâand what 8×8 seems to understand deeply.
Partner Ecosystems Will Define Market Leaders
Rather than building everything in-house, 8×8 is opting for a partner-first strategy, connecting best-in-class solutions across CRM, compliance, social listening, and payments. This modular yet integrated approach helps enterprise clients reduce complexity while improving scalability and functionality.
From Metrics to Meaningful Engagement
CX metrics are evolving from traditional KPIs (like average handle time) to more meaningful insights: customer intent, journey friction, and sentiment analysis. AI-powered platforms like 8×8’s allow businesses to track these advanced metrics, enabling not just supportâbut anticipation of customer needs.
The Trust Layer: AI Ethics & Transparency
With AI taking a more central role, trust becomes vital. 8×8âs emphasis on smooth human-to-bot transitions and transparency in automated decisions could become a competitive advantage as consumers demand more control and visibility in AI-driven interactions.
đ Fact Checker Results
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AI-powered CX usage at 8×8 rose by 84% â consistent with industry-wide trends
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Voice AI and self-service interactions surged significantly â aligned with Gartner and Forrester reports
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Partner integrations (e.g., NICE, Verint) have been independently verified via 8×8 press releases
đ Prediction
By 2027, contact centers without embedded, orchestrated AI will lose over 30% of their customer base to AI-native competitors. As businesses increasingly prioritize customer journey cohesion over channel-specific improvements, platforms like 8×8âthose that integrate partner ecosystems, predictive AI, and outcome-driven metricsâwill dominate the enterprise CX landscape. Expect a major uptick in agentic AI adoption, real-time voice sentiment routing, and AI-enhanced self-service environments in both B2C and B2B sectors.
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Reported By: www.zdnet.com
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