1. The customer calls
A customer rings your number. The call travels over the internet or the phone network.
What it replaced: Racks of phone lines and a big box of equipment in a cupboard.
Who looks after it: Telephony and voice support engineer
How it works
How AI and technology really work in a contact centre.
Follow one call from start to finish. Open each step to see what it does, what it replaced and which job looks after it.
Watch one call
Follow a call from ring to report
It moves along by itself. Pause it, or pick any step, whenever you like.
Animated walk-through of one call
Live call
Ringing
2. Phone menu or voice assistant
A menu or a voice assistant says hello and asks what the call is about.
What it replaced: Long 'press 1, press 2' menus that sent people to the wrong place.
Who looks after it: Routing and call-flow designer
3. Smart routing
The system picks the best person: someone with the right skills who is free now.
What it replaced: A fixed list of who answers which line.
Who looks after it: Routing and call-flow designer, workforce planning analyst
4. Customer details pop up
As the call connects, the customer's record appears on the agent's screen.
What it replaced: Asking for the same name and number again, and searching three systems.
Who looks after it: Support analyst
5. AI listens and suggests
The system turns speech into text and suggests answers. The agent still decides what to say.
What it replaced: Flicking through manuals while the customer waits.
Who looks after it: AI conversation designer, support analyst
6. Automatic summary
When the call ends, the system writes up the notes.
What it replaced: Typing notes for minutes after every call.
Who looks after it: AI conversation designer
7. Reports and quality checks
Reports show waiting times, busy periods and how calls went. Quality checks flag calls that may need a closer look.
What it replaced: Listening to a few random calls and guessing.
Who looks after it: Reporting and insight analyst, customer experience analyst
Step 1 of 7
Journey of a call
One call, seven steps
-
A customer rings your number. The call travels over the internet or the phone network.
What it replaced: Racks of phone lines and a big box of equipment in a cupboard.
Who looks after it: Telephony and voice support engineer
-
-
The system picks the best person: someone with the right skills who is free now.
What it replaced: A fixed list of who answers which line.
Who looks after it: Routing and call-flow designer, workforce planning analyst
-
As the call connects, the customer's record appears on the agent's screen.
What it replaced: Asking for the same name and number again, and searching three systems.
Who looks after it: Support analyst
-
The system turns speech into text and suggests answers. The agent still decides what to say.
What it replaced: Flicking through manuals while the customer waits.
Who looks after it: AI conversation designer, support analyst
-
When the call ends, the system writes up the notes.
What it replaced: Typing notes for minutes after every call.
Who looks after it: AI conversation designer
-
Reports show waiting times, busy periods and how calls went. Quality checks flag calls that may need a closer look.
What it replaced: Listening to a few random calls and guessing.
Who looks after it: Reporting and insight analyst, customer experience analyst
The tools
The tools, explained simply
Speech recognition
- What it does:
- Understands what a caller says.
- For agents:
- Callers can say what they want instead of pressing buttons.
- Looked after by:
- Conversation designer
Transcription
- What it does:
- Writes down what both people say.
- For agents:
- Less typing, and a clear record if there is a dispute.
- Looked after by:
- Support analyst
Skills-based routing
- What it does:
- Sends each call to the person best able to help.
- For agents:
- You get calls that match what you are good at.
- Looked after by:
- Routing and call-flow designer
Customer record system (CRM)
- What it does:
- Keeps each customer's details and history in one place.
- For agents:
- You see who you are talking to without asking twice.
- Looked after by:
- Support analyst
Agent assist
- What it does:
- Listens and suggests answers and next steps.
- For agents:
- Help is on screen while you talk. You make the decision.
- Looked after by:
- AI conversation designer
Automatic call summaries
- What it does:
- Writes the notes when the call ends.
- For agents:
- Less time on admin, more time for the next customer.
- Looked after by:
- AI conversation designer
Sentiment and quality monitoring
- What it does:
- Spots calls where the customer sounded upset or something went wrong.
- For agents:
- Support and coaching come sooner, and quality checks look at more than a few random calls.
- Looked after by:
- Customer experience analyst
Chatbots and voice assistants
- What it does:
- Handle simple requests without a person. Good ones always offer a human.
- For agents:
- The easy jobs are done for you. The harder ones reach you.
- Looked after by:
- AI conversation designer
Workforce planning
- What it does:
- Works out how many people are needed at each time of day.
- For agents:
- Better rotas, shorter queues, fewer rushed shifts.
- Looked after by:
- Workforce planning analyst
Why bots alone fail
"The bot will handle everything" usually fails
Customers want a way to reach a person. If a company traps people with a bot, they lose trust.
The gains come from helping agents do a better job.
87%
Source: Gartner survey of 3,566 customers, Feb–Mar 2026, August 2026 (opens in a new tab)
After the call