Feature
The Gist
- From call center to experience hub. Modern contact centers are shifting from efficiency-driven models to CX-focused experience hubs that prioritize loyalty and long-term value.
- AI powers agent support and personalization. Tools like sentiment analysis, predictive routing, and AI summarization help agents deliver faster, more empathetic service.
- Success metrics are evolving. Customer Effort Score, Net Promoter Score, and real-time sentiment are replacing traditional KPIs like average handle time and call volume.
The modern contact center is no longer just a problem-solving hub—it’s a strategic part of the customer experience equation. As AI, automation and data integration reshape how support is delivered, forward-thinking businesses are transforming their contact centers into proactive, value-driving experience centers.
This article examines how leading businesses are empowering agents, using intelligent tools, and shifting KPIs to reflect customer outcomes rather than operational efficiency—raising the bar for what support can (and should) deliver.
Table of Contents
- Introduction to the Experience Hub
- From Cost Center to Experience Driver
- Empowering the Human Element
- AI, Automation, and Intelligent Triage
- Redefining Success: From AHT to Customer Outcomes
- Omnichannel Consistency and Connected Journeys
- Conclusion: Contact Center Experience Hubs Can Transform CX
- Core Questions for Contact Center Experience Hub
Introduction to the Experience Hub
Traditionally, contact centers operated on a reactive model: wait for a problem, answer the call, resolve it quickly and move on. Efficiency metrics like average handle time and cost per interaction dominated the conversation, often at the expense of empathy, personalization and long-term loyalty.
But today’s experience-driven economy demands something more. Businesses are shifting their contact centers from reactive support units into proactive experience hubs—touchpoints where customer relationships are deepened, not just managed…or worse, damaged. This evolution hinges on smarter tools, empowered agents and a rethinking of what success looks like.
Recent data from the Genesys State of the Consumer Experience report reinforces this shift in expectations: 82% of consumers globally say a company is only as good as its service, and 63% believe that service quality is improving overall. Even more telling, 43% report enjoying a service interaction in the past year, and 41% say they’ve felt truly valued and appreciated as a customer. These figures show that great service isn’t just appreciated—it’s remembered, shared and expected.
This shift touches every aspect of contact center strategy—from how success is measured to how agents are supported and how customer journeys are orchestrated across channels.
Shifting from Cost Center to Experience Hub
The table below contrasts the traditional contact center mindset with the emerging experience hub approach to show how dramatically expectations have evolved.
| Traditional Contact Center | Modern Experience Hub |
|---|---|
| Measured by average handle time and call volume | Measured by Customer Effort Score, NPS and sentiment |
| Scripted agents focused on efficiency | Empowered agents using real-time tools and emotional intelligence |
| Fragmented channels and siloed data | Omnichannel support with unified customer context |
| Viewed as a cost to minimize | Seen as a strategic driver of loyalty and revenue |
Related Article: Goodbye Cost Centers, Hello Value Contact Centers
From Cost Center to Experience Driver
For decades, contact centers were seen primarily as cost centers—necessary but expensive departments that were focused on minimizing overhead rather than maximizing impact. Success was measured in minutes shaved off each call, not in the quality of the interaction or its effect on long-term customer loyalty. The goal was containment: resolve the issue, reduce time, move on.
That mindset is rapidly becoming outdated. As customer experience management becomes a key differentiator across industries, businesses are recognizing their contact centers as pivotal brand touchpoints. A single conversation with a service agent can shape a customer’s perception for years—either solidifying trust or driving them to a competitor.
The shift from traditional metrics like AHT to loyalty-focused KPIs is becoming a hallmark of CX maturity. Rather than just resolving tickets quickly, the best-performing contact centers are now using CES and NPS to track the quality of customer interactions and the likelihood of future engagement. Daniel Harding, director at MaxContact Australia, told CMSWire, "We’re seeing metrics shift from traditional KPIs to CES and NPS. These metrics really provide a foundation to the customer loyalty to your brand; the more you can improve these metrics, the more loyal consumers are going to be," adding that agents are increasingly supported by data, AI, and real-time feedback systems, helping them personalize each interaction to create positive first impressions and build lasting trust.
This shift from efficiency to meaningful experiences is a key sign of CX maturity. It means rethinking the support function not as a reactive fix-it department, but as a strategic contributor to customer satisfaction, retention and even revenue. Contact centers that embrace this new role are investing in tools, training and processes that enable agents to create meaningful, emotionally resonant interactions—interactions that don’t just solve problems, but strengthen customer relationships.
Empowering the Human Element
As the role of the contact center evolves, so too does the role of the agent. No longer expected to simply follow scripts and manage ticket volumes, today’s agents are becoming trusted advisors and empathetic problem-solvers—often the only human touchpoint in an increasingly digital customer journey.
To support this shift, leading businesses are rethinking how they equip their frontline teams. Real-time customer insights, unified desktop interfaces, and AI-driven knowledge assistants are replacing siloed systems and static FAQs. These tools not only speed up resolution, but also give agents the context they need to personalize every interaction—turning routine service moments into relationship-building opportunities.
Equipping agents with unified customer profiles—consolidating CRM, past interactions, and preferences—has become essential for delivering emotionally intelligent service. Leaders in this space are also investing in agent training and soft skills development.
Mark Speare, chief client officer at B2BROKER, told CMSWire, "The most effective businesses are those equipping agents with unified customer profiles ... Companies should not be afraid to invest in soft skills and emotional intelligence (EQ) training."
Speare emphasized the need to remove rigid scripts and grant agents autonomy, allowing them to resolve issues creatively and empathetically within defined guardrails.
Brands like Zappos and USAA have long invested in treating their agents like decision-makers, not cogs in a machine. Others, like JetBlue, have reshaped training programs to emphasize emotional intelligence, active listening and outcome-based performance metrics.
This kind of customer service training doesn’t just improve customer satisfaction—it enhances the agent experience too, boosting morale, engagement, and retention. In short, when businesses invest in their agents, they’re investing in the heart of their CX strategy.
Video Interview: From Cost Centers to Contact Value Centers
AI, Automation, and Intelligent Triage
As the volume of routine inquiries continues to rise, conversational AI is stepping in to absorb Tier-1 interactions (i.e. the most basic, routine, and repetitive customer service inquiries)—handling tasks like password resets, billing inquiries, appointment confirmations, and basic troubleshooting with speed and consistency.
But automation alone isn't enough. What sets modern AI implementations apart is their ability to maintain context, adapt to user sentiment, and route escalations with precision.
How AI Supports Contact Center Transformation
This table outlines how specific AI capabilities enhance operations and improve customer experience outcomes in modern contact centers.
| AI Capability | Primary Function | CX Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational AI | Handles Tier-1 inquiries using NLU | Faster resolution, reduced agent load |
| Sentiment Analysis | Detects tone, urgency, frustration | Routes sensitive cases to humans faster |
| AI-Powered Summarization | Condenses interaction history in real time | Reduces agent prep time and boosts accuracy |
| Predictive Routing | Matches callers to best-fit agents | Increases first-call resolution and satisfaction |
Real-time sentiment analysis, for instance, enables AI systems to detect frustration, urgency or confusion in a customer’s voice or tone—triggering adaptive responses or prioritizing live-agent intervention. When paired with tools like AI-powered summarization, which condenses call history into a snapshot, and intelligent routing that connects the customer to the best-fit agent, automation actually enhances human support rather than replacing it.
Businesses are increasingly using AI to automate verification, triage inquiries, and deliver knowledge in real-time to agents. But the goal isn't full automation—it’s dynamic support. Harding reiterated, "AI is not advanced enough to replace humans...The best use cases are where AI deflects low-level interactions, allowing agents to focus on high-value, complex enquiries," adding that predictive routing and real-time feedback loops are helping ensure agents receive the right context and next steps as the call unfolds—maximizing impact.
The most effective AI implementations in contact centers support—not supplant—human agents. From real-time transcription to next-best-action prompts, AI helps agents manage complex cases with more clarity and emotional intelligence. Speare explained that for his industry (financial services), AI "is augmenting human agents… allowing agents to focus on empathy, trust-building, and complex financial problem-solving."
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He suggested that tools like NICE Enlighten and Verint are valuable for live compliance and sentiment detection, while platforms like Observe.AI are useful for coaching based on post-call analysis.
Additionally, in finance, In industries such as financial services, conversational bots now manage balance checks and fraud alerts, while agents focus on high-stakes scenarios such as credit disputes or loan negotiations. Similarly, in telecom, AI assistants resolve plan changes or device setup questions instantly, falling back on human expertise for technical outages or customer retention efforts. The result is faster service for simple issues, better outcomes for complex ones, and more empathetic support across the board.
Redefining Success: From AHT to Customer Outcomes
For decades, contact centers have been measured by metrics rooted in operational efficiency—average handle time (AHT), number of calls taken per hour, and first-call resolution. While these benchmarks helped track productivity, they often overlooked the human experience behind each interaction. A short call isn't necessarily a good one, especially if it leaves the customer feeling unheard or their issues unresolved.
As customer experience becomes a strategic priority, businesses are shifting toward outcome-based metrics that better reflect satisfaction, loyalty, and ease of interaction. Measures including Customer Effort Score (CES), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and real-time sentiment trends are gaining ground—giving leaders a more nuanced view of service quality. Some forward-thinking businesses are even linking agent performance to these indicators, rewarding empathy and impact rather than just speed.
Take financial services and healthcare, for example—sectors where emotional intelligence and trust are paramount. Instead of focusing solely on how fast an agent can end a call, these businesses are prioritizing how well the customer feels understood and supported. With AI-powered analytics, they can now quantify sentiment across interactions, flag friction points, and coach agents based on emotional impact rather than script adherence.
Businesses are rethinking KPIs altogether, moving beyond traditional metrics like NPS and CSAT—which often suffer from low response rates—to real-time sentiment analytics that are more actionable in the moment.
Jiaxi Zhu, head of enterprise analytics at Google, told CMSWire, "Traditional KPIs like NPS and CSAT are lagging indicators...Leading businesses are moving toward real-time customer sentiment scores."
These scores are extracted from live transcripts and linked to specific pain points using AI-based text mining, giving contact centers a clearer picture of what customers are actually experiencing during the interaction.
Omnichannel Consistency and Connected Journeys
The Genesys State of the Consumer Experience report revealed that 97% of consumers and 86% of CX leaders believe omnichannel experiences are critical. Most say it’s somewhat or extremely important to move easily between channels—and, more importantly, to avoid repeating themselves by having information they’ve already shared to be passed along painlessly.
That said, today’s customers don’t think in terms of channels—they think in terms of outcomes. They might start a return request via live chat, follow up over email, and call in when things get urgent.
What they expect is consistency across those touchpoints: the same context, the same tone, and the same awareness of their issue, no matter how or where they reach out.
That’s where many contact centers still fall short. Fragmented systems and siloed data often force customers to repeat themselves or start over entirely when switching from one channel to another. The result is a disconnected experience that feels disjointed, inefficient, and impersonal. In fact, the Genesys report also indicated that more than half of consumers prefer that these brands anticipate their needs and ensure they don’t have to repeat themselves.
To address this, leading businesses are investing in journey orchestration platforms that unify interactions across voice, chat, SMS, and social media. These tools maintain context in real time—tracking where a customer is in their journey, what they’ve already tried, and what their next best action might be. This enables agents and AI systems alike to step in with informed, personalized support that feels seamless rather than stitched together.
Omnichannel Consistency and Connected Journeys
True omnichannel consistency begins with a unified data foundation—shared definitions, customer IDs, and consistent tooling across platforms. Zhu explains that AI-powered systems can link data from across channels to provide seamless, coherent support regardless of where the conversation begins, and emphasized, "Achieving consistency across channels...starts with a unified data foundation, with shared definitions, governance and customer IDs."
This enables better orchestration of journeys and uncovers richer insights across voice, chat, social and email interactions.
Brands like Delta Air Lines and Sephora have shown how blending human and digital engagement can create fluid, frictionless journeys. Whether a customer taps into a chatbot, visits a mobile app, or reaches out by phone, they receive support that recognizes their history and adapts accordingly. The result: higher satisfaction, reduced effort, and more meaningful loyalty.
Related Article: Top Contact Center Trends to Watch in 2025
Conclusion: Contact Center Experience Hubs Can Transform CX
The transformation of contact centers from cost-focused problem solvers to strategic experience hubs represents a fundamental shift in customer service philosophy. By providing agents with intelligent tools, measuring success through customer outcomes rather than call times, and delivering pain-free omnichannel journeys, brands can convert routine interactions into loyalty-building experiences.
More than just an operational change, this evolution helps align the contact center with broader goals around customer loyalty and business growth.
Core Questions for Contact Center Experience Hub
What is a contact center experience hub?
A contact center experience hub is a modernized contact center that focuses on creating seamless, personalized customer interactions across channels. Instead of measuring success solely by efficiency metrics like call duration, experience hubs prioritize customer satisfaction, agent empowerment, and long-term relationship-building.
How are AI and automation changing contact centers?
AI and automation are transforming contact centers by handling routine tasks like password resets and billing inquiries, enabling agents to focus on complex issues. Tools like conversational AI, sentiment analysis, and intelligent routing help deliver faster, more empathetic support and improve overall customer experience.
