Feature
The Gist
- What Is a Contact Center? An omnichannel hub that unifies voice, chat, messaging, email, and video so support feels seamless.
- Call Center vs. Contact Center. Voice-only vs. omnichannel with shared context, self-service, and personalization.
- Software + Human Touch. AI, analytics, and knowledge systems speed resolution—agents bring empathy and judgment.
- KPIs That Matter. Shift from handle time to FCR, effort score, and journey quality to prove outcomes.
Customers expect instant, personalized help on any channel—whether that’s phone, chat, social media, or SMS. Recent reports revealed that just a single bad service experience is enough to make customers switch to a competitor.
With stakes this high, the modern contact center isn’t just a support hub—it’s the beating heart of customer experience and brand loyalty. In addition, a 2024 Forbes report indicated that 64% of customers said that even if they enjoy a brand's product, without good customer service, they will go with a competitor.
But what exactly is a contact center in 2025, and how is it evolving to meet rising expectations? In this guide, we’ll break down the latest trends, technology, and what the future holds for businesses investing in next-generation customer engagement.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Contact Center — and What Is a Call Center?
- What's the Function of the Contact Center?
- What Are the Different Types of Contact Centers?
- What Technology Is Used in the Contact Center?
- The Challenges of the Contact Center
- The Evolving Role of the Contact Center
- FAQ About Contact Centers
What Is a Contact Center — and What Is a Call Center?
A call center traditionally refers to a centralized location—whether virtual or on-premises—where brands handle incoming and outgoing customer interactions exclusively by telephone. Call centers focus on providing product support, resolving issues, and answering questions.
Many people use “call center” and “contact center” interchangeably, but there are important differences between the two—especially in how brands engage with customers today. Traditionally, a call center refers to a centralized location—whether virtual or on-premises—where brands handle incoming and outgoing customer interactions exclusively by telephone. Call centers focus on providing product support, resolving issues, and answering questions via voice calls.
According to Gartner and other industry analysts, the modern contact center has evolved into a true omnichannel hub. Today’s contact centers support customer engagement across every channel customers use—including phone, email, live chat, web messaging, SMS, social media, and even video. This omnichannel approach distinguishes contact centers from voice-only call centers, enabling brands to provide pain-free, integrated service regardless of where the conversation starts.
Call Center vs. Contact Center: Quick Comparison
How they differ across channels, data, self-service, personalization, metrics and use cases.
| Dimension | Call Center | Contact Center |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | Phone (voice only) | Omnichannel (voice, chat, email, SMS, social, video) |
| Data Context | Siloed telephony data; limited per-call context | Unified customer profiles; CRM/CDP context shared across channels |
| Self-Service | Legacy IVR menus | NLU IVR, AI chatbots, knowledge-backed self-service |
| Personalization | Minimal; one-size-fits-all scripts | Personalized journeys and assistance via analytics and AI |
| Metrics (FCR/Effort) | Handle time, call volume | First contact resolution, effort score, journey quality |
| Use Cases | High-volume inbound/outbound voice support | Complex support, sales assistance, proactive outreach across channels |
As customer expectations continue to rise in 2025, the contact center has become a critical intermediary between brands and customers, blending advanced technology (such as AI-powered chatbots and real-time analytics) with human expertise to deliver fast, personalized, and consistent support across all touchpoints.
Recent research revealed that satisfaction with wait times remains the weakest link worldwide, and fewer than two-thirds of issues are resolved in a single attempt. Sharath Kheshava Narayana, CEO and co-founder at speech understanding platform provider Sanas, told CMSWire that responsiveness is no longer defined by speed alone, it’s about clarity, empathy, and resolution on the first interaction.
"According to XM Institute’s Global Contact Center Trends 2025 report, satisfaction with wait times remains the weakest part of the experience globally, and fewer than two-thirds of issues are resolved on the first try. But when brands combine low wait times with effective resolution, customers are up to three times more likely to recommend and trust them," he said.
But the contact center of 2025 is a far cry from the voice-only call centers of the past—here’s why.
What's the Function of the Contact Center?
What Does a Contact Center Do?
- Resolve issues and answer questions across channels
- Guide purchases and provide product recommendations
- Manage billing, payments, and account changes
- Authenticate and secure accounts to prevent fraud
- Proactively notify customers about orders, outages and service updates
- Close the loop on feedback to improve journeys and products
- Orchestrate field/service escalations and follow-through
The role of the contact center has expanded dramatically in recent years. No longer just a support line, the modern contact center empowers customers to solve problems on their own—using self-service tools like conversational AI chatbots, voice assistants, and intuitive web or mobile interfaces. Customers can get answers and complete transactions via their preferred device, at any time.
By offering multiple self-service and assisted-service options, brands enable customers to control their own narrative, resolve issues faster, and get personalized support when needed. This approach not only reduces the volume of routine inquiries handled by agents, but also frees up human experts to focus on complex or high-value interactions that require empathy, problem-solving, and specialized knowledge.
Modern contact centers are now central to the overall customer experience—acting as both a digital concierge and a strategic differentiator in building trust and loyalty.
From IVR to Messaging: Meeting Customers Where They Are
In the past, the only way that customers could contact a brand’s customer service employees was to pick up a phone and speak to an agent, or worse, the brand’s interactive voice response (IVR) system. Customers today interact with a brand through many different channels, so they expect a brand to provide customer service through each of those channels as well as self-service options.
From Reactive to Proactive Service
As contact centers become central to the customer experience, technology is empowering agents and customers alike. The biggest shift in recent years has been the move from reactive to proactive service, driven by AI and real-time analytics.
Michael Hutchison, principal of customer operations at eClerx, told CMSWire that "The ability to pull insights in the middle of an interaction, like agent assist tools suggesting next best actions or supervisors getting live alerts on customer sentiment, has completely changed how we operate. It’s shifted us from being reactive to proactive."
Hutchison noted that this shift enables contact centers to make adjustments in the moment, giving customers more confidence and ensuring smoother, more personalized interactions.
Related Article: What Is a Call Center? A Detailed Guide
What Are the Different Types of Contact Centers?
Four Types of Contact Centers (At a Glance)
There are several types of contact centers, differentiated not just by location but by the underlying technology and operational model each one uses. The choice often depends on a business’s unique needs—such as cost, scalability, regulatory compliance, and the ability to support remote or global teams:
- Hardware contact centers: Businesses host hardware contact centers on servers at their physical location. This on-premises approach is often preferred by businesses in regulated industries or those with strict data security requirements. While it can offer direct control over systems, it typically comes with higher upfront costs and less flexibility for rapid scaling.
- Cloud-based contact centers: With cloud-based solutions, service providers host the contact center infrastructure, allowing businesses to access the system from anywhere. Companies often choose cloud models for their flexibility, lower maintenance requirements, and ease of scaling up or down based on demand. This approach is particularly attractive for brands with remote teams or rapidly changing customer volumes.
- Hosted contact centers: In a hosted model, a third-party business manages the entire contact center operation, often including technology, staffing, and day-to-day management. This is a popular option for businesses that are looking to outsource customer service, reduce operational complexity, or quickly enter new markets without investing in their own infrastructure.
- Virtual contact centers: Virtual contact centers enable customer service agents to work remotely, connecting via the internet from various locations. This model has grown in popularity due to its cost savings, geographic flexibility, and ability to tap into a wider talent pool. It’s also a practical choice for businesses seeking resilience and continuity during disruptions, such as severe weather or global events.
Choosing the right contact center model often depends on a business’s needs for flexibility, scalability, and global reach. As omnichannel support becomes the standard, customers increasingly prefer frictionless, ongoing conversations across whichever channel suits them best. Hutchison explained that messaging is where he is seeing the biggest growth — SMS, WhatsApp, social messaging platforms. "Customers like the flexibility of it; they can start a conversation, step away, and come back without losing the thread. Agents need to be comfortable juggling multiple conversations, and systems need to carry context across channels so the customer doesn’t have to start from scratch." He pointed out that success depends on continuity—making it feel like a single, ongoing conversation, no matter where it happens.
Core Types of Contact Center Platforms
Different operational models shape how contact centers function. Here are the four primary platform types, their definitions, ideal use cases, and key benefits.
| Type | Definition | Best For | Key Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware / On-Premises | Operated and maintained on-site using physical servers and infrastructure. | Highly regulated industries, companies needing full data control. | Maximum security and direct system oversight. |
| Cloud-Based | Hosted by a third-party cloud provider, accessed from anywhere. | Fast-growing, multi-location, or distributed teams. | Easy to scale, lower maintenance, flexible access. |
| Hosted / Outsourced | Run by an external partner who manages tech and staff. | Organizations seeking reduced complexity or rapid setup. | Quick deployment and minimal in-house resources required. |
| Virtual | Agents work remotely, connected via the internet. | Remote/hybrid teams, businesses needing flexibility. | Broader talent pool, lower facility costs, resilience. |
What Technology Is Used in the Contact Center?
Contact center software is the platform layer that orchestrates customer interactions across channels and the agent workflows behind them. Core capabilities include routing/ACD and IVR for getting customers to the right destination; workforce engagement/management (WEM/WFM) and quality management (QM) to staff, coach, and improve teams; knowledge management to surface accurate answers; analytics and dashboards for performance and sentiment insights; and integrations with customer data platforms (CDPs) and CRMs to preserve context.
Modern stacks expose APIs and connectors to existing tools and enforce security, privacy, and compliance controls. In short, contact center software unifies people, processes, and data so service feels seamless across voice, chat, messaging, email, and video. Contact center software unifies channels, data, and workflows so customers get fast, context-rich support.
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What Is Contact Center Software?
Today’s contact center is powered by a blend of legacy and next-generation technologies, all working together to deliver pain-free, omnichannel customer experiences. Here’s what sets the 2025 contact center apart:
- Omnichannel Platforms: Customers can connect via phone, chat, SMS, social messaging, email, and video—moving between channels without losing context.
- Cloud-Based Infrastructure: Cloud-native platforms enable flexible staffing, remote agents, and instant scaling up or down.
- Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) and Automatic Call Distribution (ACD): These foundational systems now use AI to predict call needs and route customers to the best agent or self-service path in real time.
- Advanced Interactive Voice Response (IVR): Modern IVRs use natural language understanding (NLU) to let customers “speak” their needs—and integrate with AI to provide self-service or fast escalation.
- Generative AI and Conversational AI: AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants now handle complex queries, escalate only when necessary, and provide 24/7 support. For agents, GenAI “copilots” suggest next-best responses, summarize customer history, and automate post-call notes.
- Knowledge Management and CDPs: Real-time, AI-curated knowledge bases and unified ccustomer data platforms (CDPs) power personalized service and quick resolution.
- Workflow Automation & Quality Monitoring: AI automates routine tasks, flags compliance issues, and offers coaching in real time—making every interaction more efficient and effective.
- Accessibility and Compliance Tools: Real-time translation, speech-to-text, and adaptive interfaces ensure that contact centers are inclusive and meet global privacy regulations.
- Real-Time Analytics and Dashboards: Supervisors and agents alike have access to live sentiment analysis, intent detection, and performance monitoring—enabling continuous improvement.
By combining these technologies, modern contact centers deliver not just faster and more convenient service, but also more empathetic, personalized, and secure customer interactions.
Generative AI in the Contact Center
Additionally, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) are enabling customers to have conversations with chatbots in a way that feels exactly like they are speaking with a human agent. Generative AI such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT are fueling new systems that will be able to successfully and efficiently serve customers without the need for a live customer service agent to intervene.
Case Study: Verizon Assistant (2025)
Verizon has recently overhauled its My Verizon app with an AI-powered Verizon Assistant, developed in collaboration with Google using Gemini and Cloud AI models. Designed to handle routine yet complex tasks—like billing questions, account upgrades, and new line setup—the assistant is already achieving over 90% accuracy with minimal errors, thanks to custom training on Verizon’s services and customer data. When needed, it can painlessly escalate customers to a human "Customer Champion," who is provided with the same AI tools to deliver personalized, efficient support.
Myth: AI Replaces Agents
One persistent myth is that artificial intelligence will soon replace human agents altogether. In reality, customers still value empathy and expertise, and the best outcomes come from combining technology with the human touch. Narayana suggested that one of the most persistent myths is that AI will make human agents obsolete. "The winning model is not AI versus humans, it’s AI with humans. Customers want efficiency, but they also want empathy and to feel understood. The contact centers that thrive are the ones blending human connection with AI’s ability to remove friction, reduce complexity, and make every interaction clearer and more impactful." Narayana emphasized that blending AI with human connection delivers the most effective, satisfying support experiences.
Additionally, as customer preferences evolve, the perception of AI in customer care is changing. A majority of consumers report satisfaction with AI-supported customer care, though many still prefer human support and want transparency about when AI is being used.
Recent research from Verizon found that while 60% of consumers report satisfaction with AI-only customer service, satisfaction jumps to 88% for human-led digital interactions—a clear sign that, even as AI capabilities advance, most people still prefer a human touch. That preference is echoed in a recent Emplifi study: "We discovered that 71% of consumers say they are satisfied with customer care experiences involving AI, even though more than half still prefer human support," said Susan Ganeshan, CMO at Emplifi. She added, "83% want brands to disclose when AI is being used; 60% worry about accuracy. Only 24% are willing to wait more than an hour for a response, highlighting the value of AI’s 24/7 availability."
Ganeshan pointed out that these findings signal a shift in perception as AI becomes embedded in the customer journey.
Related Article: Call Center Statistics That Matter: What Customers Expect in 2025
Key Technologies Shaping Modern Contact Centers
A quick reference to core tools, what they do, and how they improve customer experience.
| Technology | Purpose | Benefit to Customer Experience |
|---|---|---|
| AI chatbots & voice assistants | Automate simple queries, provide 24/7 service. | Faster responses, frees up agents for complex issues. |
| Real-time analytics | Monitor performance and sentiment during live interactions. | Immediate issue resolution, continuous improvement. |
| Knowledge management & CDPs | Centralize customer data and solutions. | Personalized service, quicker problem-solving. |
| Workflow automation | Automate repetitive or manual processes. | Boosts agent efficiency, reduces errors. |
| Accessibility tools | Speech-to-text, real-time translation, adaptive UI. | Inclusive, compliant service for all users. |
The Challenges of the Contact Center
Because the omnichannel contact center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, many challenges may arise. The frustration that customers experience when contact center technology fails leaves them feeling emotionally disturbed, often losing faith in the brand they're doing business with.
Modern customers no longer measure a contact center solely by how quickly someone answers the phone. Hutchison pointed out that brands should look beyond traditional metrics like handle time, and instead focus on first contact resolution (FCR), effort scores, and journey quality—measures that reflect how easy and effective the experience truly is for customers.
24/7 Operations, Real Risks
Operating around the clock creates real pressures, from workforce management to ensuring system uptime and data security. Narayana also emphasized that responsiveness is no longer defined by speed alone, it’s about clarity, empathy, and resolution on the first interaction.
While AI and automation are essential for managing high volumes and delivering faster service, they can’t replace the human touch in situations requiring empathy or complex problem-solving. Reggie Scales, president and head of applications at business communications provider Vonage, told CMSWire that “Capabilities like real-time sentiment analysis, AI-powered chatbots and voicebots and intelligent call routing are helping to get customer issues resolved quickly. AI also lightens the tedious workload for human agents, offloading simple, repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on solving more complex requests that require human intelligence and empathy.”
Scales noted that the key is not just reducing workload or costs, but using technology to support agents in delivering meaningful, satisfying outcomes for customers.
From Cost Center to Growth Engine
Hutchison reiterated that “The myth that still lingers is the idea of the contact center as a cost center...the reality is, it’s one of the most important brand touchpoints you have. Every single interaction is an opportunity to either build loyalty or lose it,” he said, while encouraging businesses to link contact center performance to customer lifetime value and retention, not just operational efficiency. Businesses that make this shift are better positioned to turn support interactions into lasting relationships—and competitive advantage.
Related Article: Top Contact Center Trends to Watch in 2025
The Evolving Role of the Contact Center
Today’s contact center has become a core element of customer engagement, where technology and human expertise intersect to shape every brand interaction. By combining AI-powered automation with empathetic, well-informed agents, modern contact centers enable customers to resolve issues on their terms while ensuring that every touchpoint builds trust and loyalty. As expectations rise and channels multiply, businesses that invest in the contact center as a strategic asset—rather than a cost center—will set themselves apart and drive lasting value for both their customers and their brand.FAQ About Contact Centers
Editor's note: Key questions surrounding the role of the modern contact center, how it differs from a call center and the technology shaping customer experience in 2025.
Contact centers resolve customer issues, guide purchases, manage billing and account updates, authenticate users, send proactive notifications and escalate complex service needs. By blending AI-powered self-service with live agents, they deliver both efficiency and empathy at scale.
A contact center is an omnichannel hub where businesses manage customer interactions across phone, chat, email, social messaging and even video. Unlike voice-only call centers, contact centers unify data and context across channels to make experiences faster, more consistent and more personalized.
A call center focuses solely on voice calls, tracking metrics like handle time and call volume. A contact center, by contrast, spans all digital and voice channels, emphasizes self-service and personalization and measures success with first contact resolution (FCR), effort scores and overall journey quality.
Editor's note: This article was first published March 7, 2023 and was updated Sept. 15, 2025.
