AI adoption in contact centers lags hype amid strategy, cost hurdles
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — While AI promises to revolutionize customer experience (CX), industry experts caution that adoption in contact centers lags behind the hype.
Blair Pleasant, President & Principal Analyst of COMMfusion LLC and a co-founder of UCStrategies, writes in a recent No Jitter article that despite a Calabrio report claiming 98% of contact centers use AI, consultants reveal most deployments remain experimental, with many organizations struggling to implement meaningful solutions.
The AI adoption gap: High claims vs. ground reality
The discrepancy stems from embedded AI features in CCaaS platforms, such as real-time transcription and call summaries, which inflate usage statistics without representing strategic adoption.
“My clients say they want to ‘do AI’ but don’t know where to start and haven’t done much yet,” a consultant observed.
While large enterprises are piloting AI, smaller firms lack resources, relying instead on vendor-provided AI tools rather than custom implementations.
Hallucinations, costs, and misaligned expectations
Progress is hindered by hallucinations, data privacy risks, and high operational costs, as one vendor admitted, “LLM chatbot and voicebot vendors have way oversold how far along the tech is. I’m a huge believer in voice agent tech and think it’ll be completely transformative. I just wish vendors were more honest about the current limitations.”
While AI can boost productivity—Zendesk found 64% of CX leaders plan chatbot investments—many organizations lack a clear strategy, leading to stalled Proof of Concepts rather than full-scale rollouts.
The gap between hype and reality has left businesses uncertain, with boards demanding AI adoption without understanding its limitations. Success requires aligned business goals, proper training, and realistic expectations—not just chasing trends.
