The crucial role the channel plays as AI transforms the contact center industry

Generative AI is the buzzword of the moment. From when it was launched in late 2022, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in just two months, making it the fastest-growing consumer internet app in history. 

Since then, technology giants - from Google to Adobe and Alibaba - have tapped into the market and rolled out their own chatbots, sparking much attention and debate across the globe. 

Advancements in AI and intelligent chatbots are not just impacting consumers, however. While it’s by no means a new phenomenon, AI is changing various areas of business across all industries.

Keith Jackson

As VP for channel sales, EMEA at 8x8 since August 2019, Keith is dedicated to equipping 8x8's channel partners with the necessary tools to distribute, deploy, and support the world's leading all-in-one communications platform. 

With a 17-year-long journey in channel sales, he has worked with notable IT distributors and partners, such as Unify, RingCentral, HP, and Ingram Micro.

A key area to look at is how it’s transforming the contact center: conversational AI is only continuing to get smarter and better at handling human interactions, helping to augment the role of those working in customer facing positions. 

By 2031, for example, Gartner predicts that AI chatbots and virtual assistants will handle 30% of interactions that would have otherwise been dealt with by a human agent. 

But where does the channel fit into this picture? There are lots of opportunities for smart channel organizations to benefit from AI and its impact on the contact center - and taking a forward-thinking approach is key. 

Training and managing AI

The generative AI market is expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, from $11.3 billion in 2023 to $51.8 billion by 2028. Vendors are introducing new AI capabilities into their contact center solutions at a rapid pace, helping end-user organizations to improve customer and employee experiences across the board. 

However, chatbots are only as good as the data behind them, and this data needs to come from somewhere. Therein lies the opportunity for the channel. As more organizations seek out intelligent, AI-powered solutions, we must ensure the training and development work that lies behind the scenes is prioritized. 

Training and managing AI technology is becoming paramount, and channel organizations have both the tools and skill sets to use this to their advantage . 

That’s why smart channel partners are asking the question of who is responsible for feeding and training the chatbots. Is that an existing role with their own organization that needs to be upskilled, for example? Or are we actually looking at the creation of new roles and positions? 

There is also the question of analytics. 

Who is going to check that chatbots and AI are working as well as human interactions? Channel partners can take this in their stride and look to offer advanced training and management capabilities that will augment the role of customer service employees.

Moving towards managed services

A number of components are needed to ensure AI chatbots are able to deliver an excellent customer experience. To ensure success, there is not only a need to understand AI from a technical standpoint, but also what constitutes an optimal customer journey. 

As a result, a range of different capabilities are required in the development of AI, skills that can tap into both the technical and human interaction perspectives. 

Amongst channel partners, there is a wide ecosystem of capabilities to help improve the potential of intelligent AI for customer service within end-user organizations.  

Moving towards an ecosystem model takes the pressure off an organization when it comes to resourcing.

If done correctly, this could be an additional revenue source, providing the channel with the ability to wrap their capabilities into a full managed service contract focused on helping organizations set up, manage and analyze the success of their chatbot functionality.  

Ensuring that cyber security is a key focus when working with managed services providers will ensure compliance. 

The channel has seen growing investment in cyber security - a recent Canalys report highlights that just under 91% of sales in the third quarter for the worldwide cyber security market came from the channel, with channel sales growing at a faster rate than direct sales. 

Even with the most robust technology, an organization is only as secure as the people operating the technology.  In many cases the problem is still at the human layer: a lot of people don’t know how to protect themselves. 

Making security easier to understand, especially as the threat landscape constantly evolves, should be a top priority for all vendors and  channel partners.  

The (ISC)2 2022 Cyber security workforce study claims there is a gap of 3.4 million people in the cyber security workforce. 

In addition to upskilling employees, managed security services providers (MSSPs) and global system integrators (SIs) can serve a critical role in providing the technologies and skills within the channel, therefore, addressing the ongoing global cyber security skills shortage.

Looking to the future 

There is an opportunity within the channel to provide a fully managed service contract, centered around setting up, managing, providing skills and support to ensure the success of the chatbot functionality in the era of AI.

Is this channel operations as some people might know it? Perhaps not, but the best channel operators have always been forward-thinking. 

As AI advances rapidly, it’s important that the channel evolves too, not doing what was successful five years ago and praying that it still works.