Ask anyone who's ever served some time in customer service and it's a safe bet they'll have a horror story or...several...about the customers they served. Loudmouthed, abusive, lecherous...these stories run the gamut of cringe. Yet we all know that our customers are the lifeblood of any business: since the ultimate goal is to make money, we need customers to meet that goal. So how do we get our contact centers to focus on the customer? The process might be simpler than you think.

The issue of artificial intelligence in the workplace is surprisingly polarizing. Not only are there some who are utterly convinced that such a strategy will make us all better employees and make our work day a breeze, but there are others who believe that such a strategy will destroy the economy itself in a matter of months. Artificial intelligence in the contact center, however, is delivering quite a bit of value already, and it's not showing a lot of damage on the job front.