Contact Center AI Must Prove Its Worth: TheCUBE Summit Shifts Focus to Measurable Returns

The era of broad AI promises in contact centers has given way to a harder question: what is the actual return on investment? Businesses are no longer satisfied with claims about automation potential. Instead, they want concrete evidence that deployments reduce operating costs, boost employee performance and enhance service quality. TheCUBE Research has organized the Sept. 11 "AI ROI in Contact Centers Summit" to examine this shift directly, with research analysts evaluating whether these systems generate lasting financial gains.

"AI in the contact center is moving from an innovation discussion to an accountability discussion. The question is no longer whether generative and agentic AI can automate interactions or assist agents; it is whether those capabilities translate into measurable improvements in cost-to-serve, agent productivity, resolution quality and customer experience," said Paul Nashawaty, principal analyst at theCUBE Research.

Research from TheCUBE Research's AppDev practice reveals that organizations deploying AI-enhanced development environments are achieving a 37% reduction in mean time to deploy and a 22% decrease in post-deployment incidents. These figures underscore a broader pattern: the value of AI increasingly depends on how well organizations implement and expand these capabilities across their operations.

TheCUBE, the livestreaming platform operated by SiliconANGLE Media, will broadcast the summit on Sept. 11. Analysts Bob Laliberte and Zeus Kerravala will interview industry leaders about how enterprises can determine whether contact center AI actually delivers measurable business results.

Contact center automation enters the accountability phase

Adoption is no longer the main challenge facing contact center teams. The real work now involves tying each deployment to specific business metrics—first-contact resolution, cost per interaction and customer satisfaction scores—while remaining alert to hidden costs that emerge when automated systems fail and customers must contact the center again, according to Sam Weston, industry analyst at theCUBE Research. The fact that Five9 Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Talkdesk Inc. are sponsoring the summit demonstrates how widely this ROI question now resonates across the contact center technology sector.

"Our research shows that 92% of organizations now have AI integrated into at least one stage of their operations — up sharply from 71% in early 2024," Weston said. "The pressure to demonstrate measurable business returns has never been greater."

Gains in individual agent performance represent only the starting point. The more significant challenge involves determining whether those improvements enable a contact center to serve more customers without hiring proportionally more staff, while maintaining resolution quality and customer satisfaction, according to Krista Case, principal analyst at theCUBE Research.

"Contact center AI has already shown it can make an individual agent more productive," Case said. "The next phase is proving those gains translate into operating leverage, with lower cost per resolution, faster outcomes and better customer experiences, without requiring labor to scale at the same rate as the business."

Turning AI deployments into operating value

The infrastructure surrounding an AI model determines whether a deployment succeeds. High-quality data, integrated workflows and continuous production monitoring separate automation systems that deliver consistent results from isolated tools that introduce complexity without generating defensible financial returns, Nashawaty stressed.

"From an application development perspective, realizing ROI requires more than deploying an AI model," he said. "It requires integrating AI into enterprise workflows, connecting it to trusted data, reducing tool fragmentation, establishing governance and continuously observing performance in production. With 61% of developers still citing tool fragmentation as a productivity barrier, the ability to create integrated platforms and measurable feedback loops will be critical."

Operational success also demands that organizations establish specific performance measures before they begin deploying AI. Metrics like cost per resolution, containment rates and time to proficiency can track progress, yet companies must also examine recontact rates and customer satisfaction to confirm whether reported savings reflect genuine service improvements rather than hidden failures, Nashawaty noted.

"The enterprises that succeed with contact center AI will be those that treat it as a production application and business capability, with clear KPIs and continuous optimization, not simply another technology experiment," he said.

Event details and viewing options

TheCUBE will provide live coverage of the "AI ROI in Contact Centers Summit" on Sept. 11, with on-demand access to all interviews available after the broadcast concludes. Viewers can access the livestream through TheCUBE's website and YouTube channel, with full coverage also published on SiliconANGLE.

SiliconANGLE produces additional content exploring enterprise technology trends. The "theCUBE Pod" series, hosted by John Furrier and Dave Vellante, examines developments in AI, cloud computing, regulation and workplace culture, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. The outlet also publishes a weekly "Breaking Analysis" program where Dave Vellante reviews top enterprise technology stories, combining theCUBE insights with spending data from Enterprise Technology Research, distributed across the same podcast platforms.

Summit participants

The Sept. 11 summit will feature theCUBE analysts discussing contact center AI with executives and practitioners from Five9, Cisco, Talkdesk, Zoom Communications Inc. and Converged Technology Professionals Inc. The conversations will focus on cost management, agent productivity improvements and customer outcome enhancements, distinguishing successful deployments from expensive experiments.