Microsoft revamps CX strategy with AI-driven agents and new Teams integration

Microsoft has unveiled new AI capabilities for its own platform, along with a new way for partners to build native contact center experiences directly within Teams — signaling a major overhaul of its CX playbook.

A two-pronged offensive: For users of its first-party solution, Microsoft has rolled out new AI-driven "autonomous agents" for Dynamics 365. For the broader ecosystem, it introduced "Unify": a new, third integration model enabling Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) providers to build deeply integrated solutions on Microsoft's cloud infrastructure for Teams users.

Meet the new agents: Available now in public preview, three AI service agents aim to automate complex tasks within Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Contact Center:

• The Case Management Agent automates case creation, updates, follow-ups, and closures across channels like chat and email.

• The Customer Intent Agent uses generative AI to analyze past interactions, build an intent library, and provide tailored solutions or context to human representatives.

• The Customer Knowledge Management Agent autonomously creates and suggests knowledge articles based on case data, helping scale knowledge bases with less manual effort.

Unifying the Teams experience: Alongside the Dynamics 365 enhancements, Microsoft introduced the "Unify" integration model for Teams contact centers. This new model allows CCaaS providers to build their solutions natively on Microsoft Azure Communication Services (ACS), leveraging Teams calling infrastructure directly. This approach differs significantly from the existing "Connect" (using Direct Routing/SBCs) and "Extend" (using Graph APIs/SDKs) models, aiming for a more seamless integration.

Why Unify matters for CCaaS: The key distinction of the Unify model, based on Microsoft's technical documentation and industry reporting, is its foundation on ACS. This allows partners to create intelligent CCaaS solutions that are interoperable with Teams but hosted on Azure, potentially offering greater control over the user experience and native access to Microsoft AI services like OpenAI. Features like Dual Persona allow calls to route directly to the custom CCaaS client without ringing the standard Teams client, streamlining the agent workflow. This native approach promises a more unified workspace for agents handling calls via Teams identities.

The Copilot connection: These latest announcements land shortly after Microsoft signaled a broader strategic shift with its rebranding of key products like its "Contact Center workspace" to the "Copilot Service workspace". That rebranding, alongside an earlier announcement enabling Teams Phone extensibility with Dynamics 365 Contact Center (allowing D365 CC to use Teams Phone infrastructure), appears to lay the groundwork for this deeper integration of AI and communication tools across Microsoft's contact center offerings.

An Azure-Teams future: The Unify model certification process has reportedly begun, with general availability anticipated around mid-summer 2025. Partners like Landis Technologies, whose website highlights its existing Teams-certified contact center, were cited by UCToday as early adopters already working toward Unify certification. This new model represents Microsoft’s most advanced path yet for integrating partner solutions, pushing the ecosystem towards tighter, Azure-based alignment with Teams.