Google plays catch-up with cloud-based contact center AI

The digital era has arrived, and organizations are looking for ways to transform themselves to gain a competitive advantage. The digital initiative that tends to have the most bang for the buck is improving customer experience, which often starts with the contact center. A 2017 survey commissioned by cloud-based contact center vendor Five9 found that customer experience is now the top brand differentiator. Improving customer experience is the primary reason organizations have been migrating away from on-premises contact centers to cloud-based products. The initial wave of cloud-based contact center adoption was driven by the need for omnichannel communications, where sessions can be switched between different channels -- such as voice, chat and SMS -- in real time, with no loss of information.