Call Center AI Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

Call Center AI Market Trends & Growth Drivers

Use of AI Solutions Is Major Trend

• AI is the imitation of human intelligence by computer systems, with the associated processes involving learning, reasoning, and problem solving. The call center AI market comprises solutions that utilize speech assistants to facilitate problem resolution.
• AI combines speech assistants with machine learning (ML) to create applications for a particular use. Businesses have shifted their focus while providing problem resolution from email and messaging to AI-based solutions, such as , as they help in problem resolution in real time and are cost-effective.
• It helps call centers operate more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks, which, in turn, improves both customer and employee satisfaction, by improving work efficiency and reducing wait times.
• Additionally, these solutions aid human resources as they can solve maximum issues of customers in less time and forward complex issues that AI might not be able to resolve to employees.
• Thus, AI enables human agents to focus on their areas of specialization, thereby enhancing their productivity.

Need for 24/7 Customer Assistance Are Drivers

• AI-powered systems can provide immediate assistance round the clock, ensuring that customer queries are always addressed promptly, even outside of operating hours. Such solutions can provide customer support any time of the day and without the need for human supervision.
• Call centers incur huge costs related to running a 24/7 operation, as they require running different shifts involving multiple agents across the workplace
• AI-based chatbots, conversely, have the ability to handle a majority of the queries, which removes the need to hire extra resources and offers immediate solutions to the maximum number of problems faced by consumers.
• These systems can be installed on applications, social media channels, and websites to manage large amounts of FAQs and simple problems. In fact, it is estimated that chatbots sort out customer issues around 69% of the time.
• They can route customer service requests to the most-appropriate agent/department, by gathering the initial details of the customer’s query before escalation.
• This not only saves time for the company’s agents but also guarantees that customers receive the best service for their specific problems without having to repeat their queries to a number of representatives.
• In addition, AI chatbots continuously learn and evolve from real-life instances. If a chatbot faces a complicated query that it is not able to answer, it can pass it on to a human agent or inform the customer that the agent will get back to them at the earliest, if the agents are not available at the time.
• This provides a boost in customer satisfaction, as their problem/query can be resolved at the earliest. The ability of AI solutions to provide on-time assistance throughout the day is one of the major factors driving the market growth.

Security and Ethical Concerns Are Hampering Market Growth

• AI is a rapidly evolving technology as AI systems are constantly learning in the environment, they work in. These systems replicate human cognitive processes to a large extent. They can also perform tasks they might not have been specifically programmed for, which gives rise to security concerns, in particular, cybersecurity.
• Hackers can try to gain access to an organization’s network by manipulating AI systems to act in a certain way. Apart from external threats, AI systems are prone to internal threats as well. In an open, unfiltered space, such as social media, this can create an issue, as the system might pick up on inappropriate content.
• For instance, as per Hindustan Times, Snapchat’s My AI chatbot faced criticism in 2023 over user privacy and accuracy concerns. Many users alleged that the chatbot claims not to have access to their personal information, yet it knows everything.

Call Center AI Industry - In-Depth Outlook

Component Insights

Services will register the faster growth, at a CAGR of 25.4%, from 2024 to 2030. This category includes the support and training services provided to call centers to ensure the effective usage of AI technologies. This involves teaching the best practices, training the call center staff on using AI systems, and offering ongoing technical support.

Solutions are the larger category, with a market share of 70.0% in 2024. This is ascribed to the significant increase in the number of complex buyer queries, which need to be answered in the real time, and the reduction in operational costs due to the technological advancement in AI-powered software. Customer care executives are now responsible for building stronger relationships with clients, to provide long-term value for businesses. For this, AI solutions are used, as they also help in improving customer journey orchestration and first call resolution rate.

This segment is divided into two categories:

• Solutions (Larger Category)
• Services (Faster-Growing Category)
  • Professional
  • Managed

Organization Size Insights

Small and medium enterprises are the faster-growing category, with a CAGR of 25.6% from 2024 to 2030. This can be ascribed to the surging number of such companies and their increasing usage of call center AI solutions. Moreover, owing to the reduced implementation, maintenance, and upgrade costs, smaller organizations have started adopting the cloud technology. It allows easy access to stored data from any place and easy integration with legacy systems with improved efficiency. This saves time and operational costs for these organizations.

Large enterprises dominate the market with a share of 60.0% in 2024. This dominance is due to the extensive adoption of call center software for improved security, automatic recording, affordability, increased sales deals, and urgent call identification.

During the study, two organization sizes have been studied:

• Small and Medium Enterprises (Faster-Growing Category)
• Large Enterprises (Larger Category)

Deployment Mode Insights

Cloud is the larger deployment mode, with a market share of 65.0% in 2024, and it is also the faster-growing category, with 25.5% CAGR. Organizations prefer this mode of deployment because the software is hosted on a vendor’s server and can be accessed through a web browser. This feature eliminates the need to regularly upgrade systems and enables users to access data from any location without hassles.

Cloud-based call centers are much cheaper to operate in comparison to those with their software hosted on the premises. A minimal capital requirement and ease of deployment make the cloud technology lucrative for businesses of all sizes. Cloud-based software offers multiple plans to choose from, based on the needs and budget, as it is a pay-per-use subscription model. Moreover, the proliferation in the demand for software hosted on the cloud is due to its cost-effectiveness, scalability, and ease of use.

Two deployment modes are included in this report:

• Cloud (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)
• On-premises

Application Insights

Workforce optimization is the largest application, with a market share of 20.0% in 2024. The quality of the agents and effective management of labor costs are the primary factors that determine the success of call centers. Therefore, workforce optimization has the objective to boost the productivity, efficiency, and quality of the call center’s agent team. The software also supports in forecasting and scheduling the functions of call centers, as both are important for handling labor costs and offering a great customer experience.

Predictive call routing will advance with the highest CAGR, of 26.0%, from 2024 to 2030. This will be because these applications use machine learning algorithms to predict the requirements of visitors and route them to the most-appropriate department or agent. This helps in reducing waiting times and making call handling effective with enhanced customer satisfaction.

These applications have been analyzed:

• Workforce Optimization (Largest Category)
• Predictive Call Routing (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Journey Orchestration
• Agent Performance Management
• Sentiment Analysis
• Appointment Scheduling
• Others

End Use Insights

BFSI is the largest category, with a market share of 30.0% in 2024, and it is also the fastest-growing category, with a CAGR of 25.8%.

This is mainly attributed to the increasing focus of banks and financial institutions on implementing AI-powered voice bots and virtual assistants for enhancing customer self-service support, improving customer-facing experience, and optimizing calling operations. The increasing customer demand for mobility and flexibility in carrying out banking transactions creates challenges for banking institutions. This has led financial institutions to increasingly adopt AI-powered call centers to effectively manage calls and customers, as well as ensure the security of transactions.

These end users have been analyzed:

• BFSI (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)
• Retail and E-Commerce
• Media and Entertainment
• Healthcare
• IT and Telecom
• Travel and Hospitality
• Others

North America Is Largest Region

North America is the largest region, with a market share of around 50.0% in 2024. This is mainly attributed to the deployment of new technologies by call centers in order to advance their operations and provide efficient services across industries to retain customers. Moreover, the market is driven by the increase in the AI spending in the region due to the presence of major technology vendors here.

As per a report, in the U.S., companies lose over USD 100 billion from consumer switching each year. This makes it extremely critical for companies to optimize their customer services for better customer engagement. With the early adoption of AI technologies in call centers, businesses can streamline the process of customer relationship management. Thus, industries have begun to use AI at their contact centers to get better access to customer insights and improve their overall operations.

APAC will witness the highest CAGR, of 25.7%, from 2024 to 2030. This is due to the existence of a large number of call centers and major IT companies in the region, surge in investments, and government initiatives for digitalization and the implementation of cloud technology and AI-powered software. Further, the need for enhanced efficiency and productivity of businesses’ customer support operations across industries is expected to drive the market in the region.

These regions and countries were analyzed in this report:

• North America (Largest Regional Market)
  • U.S. (Larger and Faster-Growing Country Market)
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • U.K. (Largest Country Market)
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• APAC (Fastest-Growing Regional Market)
  • China (Largest Country Market)
  • Japan
  • India (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of APAC
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Mexico
  • Rest of LATAM
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • Saudi Arabia (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Africa
  • U.A.E.
  • Rest of MEA

Market Concentration – Fragmented

The call center AI market is fragmented and highly competitive, and it has numerous key players, who are competing for a major market share. Many companies are focusing on research and development to stay ahead of competitors. They are also expanding their product portfolios and offering novel solutions to attract a larger customer base.

Call Center AI Market News

• In July 2023, 8x8 Inc. launched the 8x8 Technology Partner Ecosystem, which allows customer-first organizations to improve customer experience by integrating novel technologies with numerous AI capabilities.
• In July 2023, a new Instagram chatbot for travelers was launched by Travelxp and Haptik together.
• In May 2023, Five9 Inc. and BT expanded their partnership to enhance the contact center services and solutions provided to organizations globally.
• In May 2023, an announcement of strategic partnership was made by Five9 Inc. and WTG at the CX Summit EMEA in Porto, to drive customer experience and digitization.
• In June 2023, the Tymeshift workforce management solution was acquired by Zendesk Inc.
• In April 2023, Kore.ai Inc. incorporated its conversational AgentAssist with automated intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) technology for Zendesk Support.
• In June 2023, Genesys Telecommunication Laboratories Inc. achieved Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization at the Moderate Impact level for the Genesys Cloud CX platform.
• In April 2023, Genesys Telecommunication Laboratories Inc. announced that Rabobank, a customer-focused cooperative bank in the Netherlands, has adopted the Genesys Cloud CX platform.
• In March 2023, NICE Ltd. announced that Language Loop has implemented the CXone cloud-native platform of NICE Ltd. to enhance its customer experience operations.