What Will Shape the Contact Centres of 2025?

The contact centre industry faces a pivotal year shaped by the rise of AI, changing customer expectations, and evolving workforce needs.

That’s why we’ve drawn on insights from BT’s Dr Nicola Millard, Talkdesk’s Toussaint Celestin, and the ever-insightful Call Centre Helper audience, to predict what will shape best practice in 2025 and beyond.

15 Things Shaping the Contact Centre of 2025

1. Simplicity Will Be Prioritized Over Complexity in Channels

“Think carefully about the channels your customers genuinely want, which you also find cost-effective and easy to manage.

Adding every channel in the universe only spreads your resources thinly and increases complexity. It’s about focusing on what works well, not trying to do everything.”

Contributed by: Dr Nicola Millard

2. AI Must Improve Agents’ Workflow – Not Replace Them

“AI isn’t about replacing the agent but enabling them to work more effectively. The technology should be there to reduce cognitive load by taking over low-value tasks, allowing agents to concentrate on the conversation and provide that all-important human touch.”

Contributed by: Toussaint Celestin

For expert insights on how AI is transforming the role of agents to deliver exceptional CX, read our article: The Superhuman Touch – How to Blend Agents and AI for Maximum Impact

3. AI Shouldn’t Be Deployed Without Strong Data Foundations

“AI doesn’t work by magic – it’s all about data! If your enterprise data is messy, inconsistent, or poor quality, AI can’t cope, and you’ll risk garbage in, garbage out. Fix your data first, or AI will struggle to deliver meaningful outcomes.”

Contributed by: Dr Nicola Millard

4. AI Will Become Commonplace

“AI will, in the near future, become so commonplace that some customers will look to spend more of their money with companies who offer a bespoke, tailored, human experience.”

Contributed by: Alex (From our live webinar audience)

5. Agents Will Be Empowered With Real-Time AI Support

“Imagine agents no longer scrambling across multiple screens. AI can listen to the conversation, analyse it in real time, and proactively serve the right answers.

This allows agents to focus fully on the customer and respond empathetically without wasting time searching for information.”

Contributed by: Toussaint Celestin

6. Proactive Communication Will Be Driven By AI

“We’re starting to see machine learning and AI being used for proactive communication. The key is understanding what the customer actually wants to know, choosing the right channel, and sending the message at the right time.

But it’s vital to avoid being intrusive or annoying – customers won’t tolerate irrelevant notifications.”

Contributed by: Dr Nicola Millard

7. AI Will Be Used to Seamlessly Integrate Omnichannel Experiences

“Imagine AI managing omnichannel interactions so a customer can move between digital and voice channels seamlessly.

AI can ensure the baton is passed without losing context, which creates a smoother experience and builds trust with customers.”

Contributed by: Toussaint Celestin

For information on what’s next for omnichannel, read our article: Move Over Omnichannel… What’s Coming Next?

8. AI Will Evolve to the Point Where It Can Simulate Human-Like Empathy

“AI will evolve to the point where it can simulate human-like empathy, allowing virtual agents to handle emotional customer interactions.”

Contributed by: Jeff (From our live webinar audience)

9. Chatbots Will Work for Your Customers – Not Against Them

“Deploying a chatbot badly can significantly damage your brand.

A good bot should take customers through a meaningful conversation and, if it can’t help, route them to the right advisor with the right skills – without losing the context of the interaction. That’s what makes a chatbot work for your customers, not against them.”

Contributed by: Dr Nicola Millard

For expert advice on how to make sure your chatbots don’t swear at customers, read our article: F*** This! How to Make Sure Your Chatbots Don’t Swear at Customers

10. Agentic AI Will Be Leveraged for Back-End Operations Too

“Agentic AI is where we see a real game changer for the contact centre. It enables autonomous decision-making, anticipates issues in real time, and proactively optimizes workflows.

It’s not just about supporting the agent, but about transforming back-end operations to be faster, smarter, and more scalable.”

Contributed by: Toussaint Celestin

11. Flexibility Will Be Key for Workforce Management

“As advisors move away from rigid office-based schedules, they’re demanding more flexibility. Whether it’s job shares, payback schemes, or hybrid working patterns, these can become incredibly complex to manage.

AI is already being used to build smarter rostering systems that can handle these complexities without adding more administrative strain.”

Contributed by: Dr Nicola Millard

If you want to learn more about what’s coming next to make forecasting, planning, and scheduling even smarter and more efficient, read our article: Next-Gen WFM: What Is Coming Down the Line?

12. Outsourcing Will Become More Commonplace

“Outsourced contact centres will become more commonplace than in-house service agents, using AI to help enhance conversations with a wider variety of company’s calls.”

Contributed by: Alex (From our live webinar audience)

13. AI Will Complement, But Not Fully Replace, Human Empathy

“AI can simulate empathy, but it can’t actually feel it. Humans still have the edge when it comes to dealing with emotional or vulnerable customers.

The goal is to use AI to support human advisors, helping them to deliver empathy without burning out, but not to replace them entirely.”

Contributed by: Dr Nicola Millard

If you want advice on building empathy in customer conversations, read our article: Empathy Statements for Customer Service With Examples

14. CX Will Be Enhanced With Hyper-Personalization

“It’s not technology for technology’s sake – it’s about delivering a truly personalized experience. Customers expect businesses to know them, and AI can help.

By using contextual data effectively, AI can anticipate customer needs and provide tailored solutions, improving satisfaction and loyalty.”

Contributed by: Toussaint Celestin

15. Contact Centres Will Have the Opportunity to Be Seen as Strategic Assets

“I’m cautiously optimistic about the next year and beyond. Contact centres have the opportunity to move from being seen as cost centres to strategic assets by using data and AI wisely to deliver real value to both customers and businesses.”

Contributed by: Dr Nicola Millard

For more tips and insights, catch the full webinar replay or check out our entire collection of recorded webinars!

If you are looking for more insights on what the future holds for contact centres, read these articles next:

• Contact Centre Predictions for 2025
• Create the Perfect Contact Centre by 2030
• How to Better Prepare Your Contact Centre for the Future

Author: James Groves
Reviewed by: Megan Jones