Cisco makes Webex AI updates widely available

Cisco has launched an AI agent for automated customer service and an update of the Webex Contact Center AI assistant that helps service agents with customer interactions.

Cisco said Monday at Enterprise Connect that the AI technology is generally available. The offerings, introduced earlier this year, represent Cisco's latest step toward incorporating agentic AI in Webex Suite and Webex Contact Center.

The Webex AI Agent, which companies can order starting March 31, is a self-service virtual agent for customers who contact companies through Webex communication channels. Organizations can tailor the AI agent to meet their requirements.

The customization options include an autonomous agent capable of conducting dynamic conversations or scripted agents that operate on preconfigured responses.

The customer-facing agents are designed to answer routine and frequently asked questions in order to reduce calls and messages to human service representatives and prevent long customer wait times. The agents can also perform some routine tasks for customers.

Max Ball, a Forrester Research analyst, said consumers have not found self-service agents useful so far. A Forrester survey conducted last summer found that 67% of companies had a chatbot in production or near production, but only 16% of consumers used it regularly.

The findings indicate problems with how companies deploy the technology, not necessarily with the tech providers, who could sometimes do a better job coaching and helping the customers with virtual assistants, Ball said. Today's AI-powered self-service applications often make it difficult for people to ask the right questions to get useful responses.

"It's too easy to get into a confusing loop with it," Ball said. "Brands just don't understand the basics of designing a self-service application."

While generally available today, AI Assistant for Webex Contact Center will get an update in the second quarter, Cisco said. The new features will include suggested responses and real-time transcription for service agents talking to customers.

The current version of AI Assistant includes features such as summaries of calls transferred to another agent and customer satisfaction scores for each call.