Call centers have leveraged advanced technology for decades—from first-generation call-routing systems that dispatched customers to the first available agents to interactive voice response (IVR) systems that millions of customers still talk to today.

But little of it made customers happy. Even as developing applications in artificial intelligence (AI) gained traction in the 2000s, call centers were more focused on using tech to slash costs than they were on improving customer experience.

AI-enabled conversational assistants aren’t just getting customers basic info they need; behind the scenes, they’re also feeding human agents intelligent data and analysis to deliver better, faster outcomes without customers ever being aware.