Copilot’s First Cloud Contact Center, Dynamics 365 Contact Center

Microsoft recently announced Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, the latest milestone in their journey to modernize customer service. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center is the first contact center solution to incorporate Copilot, which provides generative AI across all customer engagement channels. This stand-alone CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) solution, available from July 1, allows customers to maximize their current investments by connecting to their preferred customer relationship management (CRM) system or custom applications.

Modernizing Service Experiences with Generative AI

Customer service expectations are higher than ever. Long wait times, being connected to the wrong agent, or having to repeat information multiple times not only frustrate customers but also harm businesses. When customer service experiences are poor, over half of customers decide to reduce their spending or take their business elsewhere (Qualtrics).

Generative AI is transforming customer service and revolutionizing the operations of contact centers in various ways. From providing rich experiences that allow customers to resolve their needs across digital and voice channels, to offering agents relevant context within workflows, and ultimately integrating operations to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

Microsoft has experienced the transformative impact of generative AI firsthand with its customer service and support (CSS) team, one of the largest customer service organizations in the world. Before transitioning to Microsoft’s own tools, the CSS team used 16 different systems and over 500 individual tools, which caused service delays, hindered collaboration, and resulted in inefficient workflows. With Copilot included as part of the solution, the CSS team achieved a 12% reduction in average handling time for chat engagements and a 13% decrease in the rate at which agents needed peer support to resolve cases. More broadly, CSS saw a 31% increase in first-call resolution rates and a 20% reduction in misrouted cases.

Dynamics 365 Contact Center

Dynamics 365 Contact Center integrates generative AI across contact center workflows, utilizing years of investment in voice and digital channels, along with the insights and learnings gained from using Copilot directly. This application of generative AI spans communication, self-service, intelligent routing, agent support services, and operations. It helps contact centers resolve issues faster, support agents more effectively, and reduce costs.

Additionally, Dynamics 365 Contact Center is built on the Microsoft Cloud, providing extensive scalability and reliability across voice, digital channels, and routing. It also supports organizations in maintaining their existing investments in CRM systems or custom applications.

Key Features of Dynamics 365 Contact Center

Next-Generation Self-Service: The contact center can deploy rich self-service experiences through sophisticated pre-integrated Copilots for digital and voice channels, which understand the context and drive personalized conversations. By combining Nuance’s leading interactive voice response (IVR) technology with the No-code/Low-code designer capabilities of Microsoft Copilot Studio, the contact center offers engaging and individualized experiences powered by generative AI.
Accelerated human-assisted Services: Intelligent unified routing across all channels handles incoming requests, directing them to the agents best suited to assist, thus enhancing service quality and efficiency. When a customer contacts an agent, Dynamics 365 Contact Center supports service improvement with real-time conversation tools such as sentiment analysis, translation, conversation summarization, and transcription. It also includes tools that automate repetitive tasks for agents, like case summaries, email drafts, suggested responses, and the ability of Copilot to answer agent queries based on reliable knowledge sources.
Operational Efficiency: Contact center efficiency depends on backend operations as much as the experiences of customers and agents. Microsoft has built solutions to help service teams detect issues early, improve key performance indicators (KPIs), and adapt quickly. Dynamics 365 Contact Center supports service leaders in optimizing contact center operations across all support channels, including personnel, through generative AI-powered real-time reporting capabilities.

Here’s what customers are saying:

“At 1-800-Flowers.com, we pride ourselves on providing exceptional service and continually raising the bar. With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, we are creating the best solutions that inspire people to give more, connect more, and build better relationships.”
– Arnie Leap, CIO, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.
“MSC is always renowned for the personal service we provide to our customers. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center helps us enhance our customer-centric approach.”
– Fabio Catassi, CIO, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)
“For our support teams, efficient issue resolution and seamless customer interactions are key to delivering excellent service. By leveraging Dynamics 365 Contact Center and its AI capabilities, we foresee a future where our support teams consistently deliver above-standard service every day.”
– Stephen Currie, Vice President of Support Operations, Synoptek

Dynamics 365 Contact Center will be generally available starting July 1. We appreciate your interest.