No Jitter askedMila D’Antonio, Principal Analyst, Customer Engagement, Omdia for her thoughts on the year that was and the year that will be – with respect to AI, the contact center and customer experience.
Mila D’Antonio (MD): Since its breakthrough year of 2023, generative AI has rapidly reshaped the contact center landscape. In 2023, the playing field was level, with most vendors introducing similar AI-powered functionality such as automated workflow integration and conversation summarization. These developments laid the groundwork for improved customer experience and agent productivity.
In 2024, competitive differentiation among contact center vendors shifted to four key areas: security and responsibility; scalability; the adoption of specialized large language models; and the expansion of generative AI across the enterprise.
The rise of generative AI raised critical questions around data privacy and compliance, pushing forward the need for robust governance frameworks. Leading vendors have implemented governance processes that not only ensure compliance with global regulations and standards, but also align with business objectives.
Another major shift in 2024 has been the transition to specialized LLMs. Generic AI models often fail to address the nuanced challenges of industry-specific use cases. Vendors investing in customized LLMs are unlocking new opportunities for industries like healthcare, finance, and retail that can help meet customer expectations from these tailored models by delivering accuracy and relevance.
The ability to scale generative AI solutions emerged as another critical factor for success in 2024. Vendors that can seamlessly integrate generative AI capabilities into existing platforms and workflows are enabling organizations to overcome hurdles like high computing costs or integration challenges.
Finally, as enterprises recognize the transformative power of generative AI, departments such as marketing and product development are increasingly adopting these technologies. This shift signals a new era where generative AI is no longer confined to customer-facing roles, but instead is becoming a core enabler of enterprise-wide transformation. The expansion of generative AI across the enterprise is also driving the demand for unified AI platforms that integrate seamlessly with existing systems. By embedding generative AI capabilities into CRM tools, ERP platforms, and project management software, businesses can ensure consistent and efficient workflows.
Looking ahead to 2025, I foresee the next wave of transformation will likely involve deeper integration of generative AI into omnichannel customer engagement, enabling hyper-personalized experiences across voice, chat, and digital channels. Companies that have spent 2024 building foundational advancements while addressing scalability, security, and industry-specific innovation—will solidify their position as leaders in the generative AI-powered contact center.
MD: Most definitely! The integration of AI, knowledge management, and end-to-end engagement platforms is helping to accelerate these front- and back-end unifications.
Businesses can enable strategy when end-to-end engagement revolves around customer insights. That happens when employees are empowered and connected across the enterprise by data. Then, companies can orchestrate seamless interactions across every touchpoint, from initial contact to post-sale support. Furthermore, leveraging real-time knowledge about customer behavior and preferences across the enterprise enables companies to anticipate needs proactively, fostering long-term loyalty and advocacy.
Omdia sees vendors adopting approaches to integrate those employees through connected, integrated, real-time knowledge. Genesys and ServiceNow, for example, partnered earlier this year when it introduced a combined solution, Unified Experience, which integrates Genesys Cloud platform with ServiceNow Customer Service Management platform to unify service teams. The integrated solution provides agents with a centralized view of customer interactions, and it empowers customer-facing teams across the enterprise to proactively engage with customers.
Vendors like RingCentral, Twilio, and Zoom are also taking the approach of integrating contact center solutions with unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platforms. These vendors are integrating the areas through communications tools, customer data, and internal workflows. In doing so, agents can pull real-time data about customers and initiate collaboration sessions, such as video calls with internal teams to resolve complex queries. Zoom Contact Center operates within the same application as Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone, and Zoom Team Chat so agents have direct access with internal knowledge workers through these channels. And RingCentral also utilizes tools within a single platform to enable real-time collaboration with subject matter experts across the enterprise. These collaborative and responsive service environments are critical in today’s competitive landscape.
MD: In last year’s Omdia’s IT Enterprise Insights, a survey of more than 5,000 global IT professionals, ‘increasing operating efficiency’ ranked as the top priority for 2024. This reflected a focus on streamlining processes and reducing waste to stabilize the business foundation. Omdia’s new survey data for 2025 signals that priorities for the year ahead reflect a more growth-focused outlook, which also points to increasing investments in CX tools. This means that companies are increasingly forward-looking, focused on capturing market share, developing innovative products, and building revenue-generating strategies.
‘Improving customer experience’ has also increased in prioritization, underscoring that companies recognize the value of CX as an important revenue driver in terms of growing loyalty and enabling competitive differentiation. Overall, the emphasis on revenue and CX indicates that companies plan to streamline and elevate the customer journey. Therefore, the market should see increased interest in AI-powered tools, integrated platforms, data-driven insights, and omnichannel communication technologies that allow businesses to personalize interactions and proactively address their needs.
That prediction is reflected in the 2025 data which highlights increases year-over-year in planned investments for technologies like communications platform as a service (CPaaS), customer data platforms (CDPs), and customer journey orchestration, among others like social media management. These shifts underscore an understanding that well-managed journeys are pivotal to CX, impacting retention and satisfaction.
The increased focus on CPaaS shows a shift toward integrating communication channels directly into customer workflows, enabling real-time multichannel customer interactions. Meanwhile, the emphasis on CDPs reflects the growing necessity to centralize and activate customer data, reinforcing personalized experiences and improving analytics capabilities. With companies prioritizing customer journey orchestration, CPaaS, and CDPs, they are moving toward a model where data is seamlessly integrated across platforms to enable consistent, personalized customer experiences.
These increases reflect a more sophisticated approach to CX, where companies are using strategic investments to not only capture data but also orchestrate customer journeys and foster real-time engagement. This evolution underscores a trend toward proactive, data-driven CX that leverages the full spectrum of customer insights to anticipate needs and enhance experiences.
