How organisations should approach the use of and value delivered by AI within contact centres

In this podcast episode, Stephen Brooks talks with Ajmal Mahmood, VP of Sales and CX at Omningage, about how organisations should think about the use and value of AI in contact centres.

Ajmal has decades of experience, from frontline agent to technical and leadership roles. He starts by defining value for three groups.

For customers, value is availability, speed, accuracy, low friction, and low effort. These fundamentals have not changed, but technology should now make journeys smoother and less repetitive.

For businesses, value still comes from cost, revenue, growth, and efficiency.

For agents, the picture is very different. Ajmal explains that the agent’s role has shifted. They are no longer just system and process experts. Instead, they must absorb huge amounts of information and apply context and empathy. He raises the issue of cognitive load and then explains it.

Design must therefore minimise the risk of overwhelming agents and present information in the order agents consume it. AI is raising expectations for agility and time-to-value. Organisations can no longer rely on long, inflexible projects. They must experiment quickly, try ideas, fail fast, and iterate.

The key mistake

However, many make a key mistake. They try to bolt AI onto old processes and architectures. Ajmal argues this severely limits impact and quickly hits a ceiling.

Cost reduction using AI is also frequently misunderstood. Some organisations over-automate and push crude deflection. That can reduce short-term human contact but increase customer frustration and repeat calls. True savings come from fewer repeat contacts, preserved trust, and lower agent burnout.

Ajmal highlights summarisation as a standout early AI win. Summaries of prior digital or voice interactions reduce repetition during handovers. Agents can start from context rather than from scratch. This lowers friction for customers and eases cognitive load for agents.

As Ajmal puts it, “Summarisation is the bit that avoids the repetition from the customer.“

Long-term, AI can support end-to-end automation of suitable journeys. These are high-volume, repetitive, and low in emotional sensitivity. Emotionally charged or complex situations must still reach humans.

Foundational capabilities are crucial

Before implementing AI, organisations must have the right foundations in place. Organisations need accessible data, modern APIs, and integrated billing and CRM systems. They should adopt evolving ecosystems, such as AWS and Amazon Connect. Digital transformation then becomes continuous, not a one-off replacement event.

In closing, despite AI’s growth, Ajmal expects humans to remain vital. He notes that much AI is still pattern matching at scale. In his words, “It’s the compute power that’s doing it, that’s making all of this seem more intelligent.” Empathy, nuance, and authentic conversation keep human agents central to future contact centres.

To hear what else Ajmal Mahmood, had to say, listen to the podcast.

Where can I get it?

You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the player below. Alternatively, click on any of the podcast services below and go to the Enterprise Times podcast page.

 

 

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