Observed Signal · Feb 3, 2025 · Trend Report · Source: CMSWire · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Top Contact Center Trends to Watch in 2025
This CMSWire article outlines key trends shaping contact centers in 2025, emphasizing the integration of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to enable more natural, context-aware customer interactions. It covers AI-augmented workforce management, a shift towards customer-centric metrics like CSAT and NPS, the proliferation of AI and automation, omnichannel communication, and advanced security and privacy measures. The article cites statistics from Gartner, UnitedCallCenters, and CallMiner, highlighting widespread adoption of conversational generative AI and consumer openness to AI in customer service. Experts from Covisian, Convoso, Blue Orbit Consulting, Verint, and Vonage provide insights on balancing AI efficiency with human empathy, empowering agents, and ensuring data integrity. The conclusion emphasizes that contact centers will invest in AI, automation, omnichannel experiences, and security to deliver personalized, empathetic service.
While not a specific event, the article provides valuable insights into AI adoption trends in contact centers, which are relevant to MarTech and CX technology evolution, but not industry-shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- A December 2024 Gartner survey found 85% of customer service leaders plan to explore or pilot customer-facing conversational generative AI in 2025.
- 38% of leaders polled by Gartner consider improving CX and customer retention as the primary goal of LLM initiatives.
- A UnitedCallCenters study reported that 58% of residential customers support the use of AI in customer service.
- CallMiner's 2023 CX Landscape Report found 45% of CX leaders are concerned about AI security risks.
- The article highlights the emergence of Large Action Models (LAMs) for autonomous handling of routine tasks.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“David Singer, global vice president of go-to-market strategy at Verint, highlighted AI-driven sentiment analysis....”
“Carlos Aragon, senior director of product marketing at Vonage, described AI as an enabler of efficiency....”
“Cited for multiple surveys on conversational generative AI and LLM initiatives....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Verndale Launches AI Visibility & Content Supply Chain Services
Verndale, a digital consultancy, has introduced new services to help marketers measure and improve their brand's visibility in AI-generated answers. As AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews increasingly influence research and buying decisions, brands need to know whether they are mentioned, recommended, and correctly described in these responses. Verndale's services include an AI Visibility assessment that tests real audience questions across major AI platforms, identifying gaps in brand mentions and citations. They also offer an AI-Ready Content Supply Chain Assessment to optimize content operations for AI-era discoverability. The company cites research from SparkToro showing 68% of Google searches end without a click, and Gartner reporting 45% of B2B buyers use generative AI for purchase research. A case study with Quinnipiac University demonstrated significant improvements in content optimization and AI readiness through governed agent workflows.
OK Future's AI 'Pressure Cooker' Campaign for Goodwipes
Former MullenLowe U.S. CEO Frank Cartagena launched creative shop OK Future to test generative AI's potential for a small agency. Their first project, a spoof of OpenAI's Astra ad for personal hygiene brand Goodwipes, was produced in four days using AI tools like ArtCraft, Seedance, and OpenAI's Astra model, cutting projected production costs from $700,000. The campaign, 'Meet Asstra,' gained over 1.5 million views on Reddit. However, Cartagena described the pace as 'unsustainable' and a 'pressure cooker,' with team members working around the clock and even threatening to quit. Goodwipes' SVP of Marketing, Meredith Diehn, emphasized trust in Cartagena and the value of experimenting with AI. The article highlights the growing use of AI in creative production, with 73% of marketers using GenAI for visual content and Gartner forecasting AI software spending to reach $981 billion by 2029.
AI Startups Face Pricing Power Squeeze from Model Suppliers
An analysis by Trending Topics highlights a structural challenge for AI startups: they often act as token resellers with thin margins, akin to middlemen, rather than classic software businesses. Using a fictional sports app example, the piece illustrates how costs for app store fees, token consumption, and free-tier AI features can erode profits. Citing a market study, it notes inference costs average 23% of revenue for scaling AI firms, with gross margins around 52% versus 78-80% for traditional SaaS. The article discusses how providers like OpenAI and Anthropic hold pricing power, and some startups, like Cursor, invest heavily in own infrastructure to reduce dependence, though this is often not feasible for most. Neoclouds are seen as not solving the fundamental dependency issue. However, a counterview suggests that rapidly falling inference costs could improve margins, and AI-native startups have already captured significant market share in some segments. The piece concludes with strategic advice for startups to focus on proprietary data, workflow integration, and cost optimization.
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