Amazon Web Services (AWS) has unveiled its next generation of Amazon Connect, the company’s cloud-based contact center platform, joining the stampede of service providers integrating AI capabilities into their solutions with the aim of enhancing customer interactions and operational efficiency.

AI enhancements: The updated Amazon Connect platform includes a suite of AI-driven features intended to optimize various aspects of customer engagement, including:

• AI-powered self-service: Leveraging Amazon Lex, customers can engage in natural language conversations across voice and digital channels.

• Real-time agent assistance: Amazon Q in Connect provides agents with contextual recommendations and responses during live interactions, drawing from customer data and organizational knowledge.

• Conversational analytics: The platform includes tools to analyze customer sentiment and monitor agent performance.

• Post-contact summaries: AI-generated summaries of customer interactions help reduce after-call work for agents.

All-you-can-eat AI pricing: AWS has introduced a new pricing model with the updated releases, which it says eliminates unpredictable usage costs associated with some AI tools. Pricing is tied to the underlying channel usage, such as voice minutes or chat sessions, meaning customers have unlimited use of the AI features.

Salesforce integration: In conjunction with the Amazon Connect update, AWS has also launched Salesforce Contact Center with Amazon Connect, an integrated solution embedding Amazon Connect's voice and digital channel capabilities directly into Salesforce Service Cloud, providing agents with a unified interface.