In today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape, AI investment decisions have become mission-critical for CX leaders. The pace of innovation has accelerated dramatically—what once required years to develop with legacy systems now transforms in months, creating immediate and profound impacts on both customers and contact centers.
The strategic imperative
Successful AI implementation demands more than just purchasing new technology; it requires a strategic approach with clearly defined use cases and realistic CX outcome expectations. While efficiency gains are valuable, truly transformative contact centers maintain a people-first philosophy that prioritizes both customer and agent experiences.
To help CX leaders navigate this complex landscape, RingCentral conducted a comprehensive study, The state of AI in business communications. This research offers actionable insights for strategic AI deployment in customer experience teams. Four critical trends emerged that should shape your approach to implementing AI.
Trend 1: AI adoption is accelerating—and so are expectations
The AI revolution is here—right now. Our research reveals that AI has moved beyond the experimental phase and has become essential across enterprises. Just two years ago, most IT leaders were merely considering AI adoption. Today, over 70% are either fully implementing or actively experimenting with AI across various business functions, including contact centers.
This widespread adoption comes with aggressive growth projections. Nearly 35% of respondents expect their AI investments to increase by 50% or more over the next 3-5 years.
These findings reflect both ambitious and optimistic expectations for AI. With rapid technological evolution, IT leaders face intense pressure to keep pace. However, CX leaders must resist viewing AI as a universal solution. Thoughtful implementation based on specific business needs is essential to avoid the significant risks of indiscriminate adoption.
Trend 2: Strategic investment struggles to keep pace with AI innovation
The rapid emergence of AI creates a challenging environment for strategic planning. With limited historical data to guide decisions, IT leaders must balance caution with the undeniable innovative potential of AI.
Our research confirms this positive outlook, with more than 50% of respondents expressing optimism about AI’s impact on their teams’ work. When combined with the 25% who describe themselves as “realistic,” the vast majority clearly recognize AI’s transformative potential.
Particularly noteworthy is the interest in AI tools for voice data analysis. While contact centers have only recently begun exploring these capabilities, they represent a significant opportunity to extract value from a traditionally underutilized data source: voice data.
However, only half of respondents report having a “clear plan” for investing in these tools. This strategic uncertainty reflects the broader challenge organizations face: how to make informed investment decisions in a fluid technological environment. Amidst this uncertainty, focusing on measurable and specific implementation strategies can help maximize ROI.
Trend 3: Contact centers emerge as prime AI implementation targets
While AI can be deployed horizontally across organizations, its transformative impact becomes most apparent when applied to specific use cases with measurable outcomes. Contact centers consistently rank among the top implementation priorities, largely because both problems and results are highly quantifiable—providing the clear ROI metrics that CX leaders need to justify investments.
Our research identified specific CX benefits that arise from enabling AI in customer communications:
- Enhanced ability to identify customer sentiment and intent
- Improved coaching and training opportunities for agents
- More personalized customer interactions
- Better quality management and compliance
- Deeper insights from previously untapped data sources
These capabilities deliver tangible CX improvements that legacy systems simply cannot provide.
Beyond operational efficiencies, AI-enhanced contact centers drive strategic business outcomes that resonate across the organization. 76% of respondents expect AI to significantly improve quality of service—a metric of paramount importance to CX leaders. Additionally, respondents anticipate positive impacts on customer lifetime value and NPS/CSAT scores, metrics that directly influence C-suite revenue projections and marketing effectiveness.
These broader business impacts further strengthen the case for prioritizing AI investments in customer experience.
Trend 4: Specific AI features deliver measurable ROI and enhanced CX
Voice interactions remain the dominant contact center channel. Voice is also an area with limited capabilities, presenting a substantial opportunity for AI to provide value. Our research identified several high-value AI voice communication features that agents are seeking in order to improve customer experiences:
- CRM integration for comprehensive customer knowledge and context
- Real-time transcription enabling in-the-moment predictive analytics
- More personalized interaction
- Automated call summaries that increase agent efficiency and accuracy
- Advanced sentiment analysis for deeper customer understanding
These features deliver multi-faceted returns: they enhance agent capabilities, improve operational efficiency, create more complete interaction records, and enable deeper insights from customer communications.
Moving forward: The strategic path to AI-Enhanced CX
Forward-thinking CX leaders recognize the urgency to modernize, with AI voice communication tools offering a powerful path forward.
Beyond delivering measurable ROI regardless of implementation scale, AI represents a strategic necessity that will define competitive advantage in customer experience.
Here’s how to get started:
- Download the full report The state of AI in business communications to explore all the findings and gain additional insights to guide your AI journey
- Identify your highest-value use cases where AI can deliver immediate impact
- Develop a clear implementation roadmap with specific, measurable outcomes
- Start with pilot programs that can demonstrate quick wins and build organizational confidence
- Partner with experienced AI solution providers who understand the unique challenges of contact centers
The AI revolution in customer experience is not approaching; it’s already here. The question is no longer whether to implement AI, but how to implement it strategically for maximum impact.
Originally published Jun 16, 2025
