Summary Bullets:

• New Zoom CX features are noteworthy for their value and symbolize the rise of Zoom.
• The features connect two key trends – the arrival of agentic AI and the transformation of contact centers.

Earlier this month, Zoom announced new features that are noteworthy for the value they add to its customer experience (CX) platform, Zoom CX. However, the real headline is that the features sit at the intersection of two key trends – the advent of agentic AI and the transformation of contact centers – and are emblematic of the rise of Zoom as a competitor.

A quick examination of the features is in order to better understand their weight. Zoom Virtual Agent 2.0, a self-service customer support agent, can complete complex tasks without the need for human intervention such as processing returns, updating account details, or booking appointments. It also demonstrates reasoning capability, understanding context across interactions, and recalling recent conversations to provide personalized support.

In addition to Zoom Virtual Agent, capabilities that enhance contact center operations were unveiled. Zoom CX Analytics helps assess operational efficiency and service quality; Zoom CX Insights, planned for availability later in 2025, provides recommendations for improving agent performance; Zoom AI Scheduling forecasts demand for agents and generates scheduling accordingly; Zoom AI Topic Detection identifies trending themes in customer interactions so that issues can be isolated and analyzed in real time; new features for its advanced quality management score customer interactions and enable supervisors to surface insights into agent interactions through natural language.

The common thread running through the announced features is agentic AI. Agentic AI debuted in H2 2024 and is already considered to be the next big phase of AI. Agentic AI is an advanced form of AI that stretches beyond merely generating content, featuring agents that perform tasks independently on behalf of users ranging from the mundane to the complex. Agentic AI can act autonomously, make decisions, and take actions without human intervention. It can adjust its approach based upon new information or changing circumstances. Zoom and every competitor, it seems, is leveraging agentic AI in some shape or form.

Agentic AI is not the only link connecting the features. They also reflect the profound transformation contact centers have been undergoing with the concept of a ‘contact center’ yielding to the broader concept of ‘customer experience’. Contact centers are converting from having human agents to including AI agents, from reactive to proactive, from transaction-oriented to relationship-oriented, and from generic to deeply personalized. Zoom and rivals such as Cisco, Microsoft, and 8×8 have been rolling out a steady stream of capabilities to help organizations make the transition.

Most significantly, the new features are symbolic of the profound metamorphosis taking place at Zoom over the past 20 months. After its video meetings capability became renowned virtually overnight in the dark, nascent days of the pandemic, Zoom ignited a steady evolution of its platform. With the October 2023 introduction of Zoom AI Companion, that evolution took a sharp trajectory upward and morphed into a full-blown renaissance marked by the introduction of GenAI features. With the implementation of agentic AI capabilities, Zoom has now entered yet another a new chapter. It is safe to say Zoom is poised to continue its ascent.