AI that answers customers / job guide
AI contact center software: platforms that put AI agents in your queue
The software handles
Runs the queue where calls and messages reach your agents, with AI agents handling routine requests and AI assistance for the people who take the rest.
Where people stay involved
Agents still handle complex and sensitive contacts; supervisors tune routing and review what the AI resolves and escalates.
Short answer. Large and regulated contact centres usually shortlist Genesys Cloud, NICE CXone Mpower, Five9 and Talkdesk, which combine AI self-service with copilots for live agents and are rolled out with the vendor. Amazon Connect suits teams that build on AWS and want usage pricing without seats. Dialpad is the self-serve option for smaller teams that want AI coaching on a phone system they set up themselves.
Check these before you choose
- Self-service vs agent assist. Separate the AI that talks to customers from the AI that helps your agents; they are often priced and licensed separately.
- Handoff with context. Check that a conversation passed from AI to a person arrives with a summary, so customers do not repeat themselves.
- Channels in one queue. Voice plus chat, SMS, email and messaging apps in one queue matters more as volume grows.
- Pricing model. Seat-based, usage-based and outcome-based models produce very different costs as AI handles more contacts.
- Implementation. Enterprise platforms are rolled out with the vendor or partners; budget weeks, not days.
Recommended by situation
Enterprise, many channels
Genesys Cloud
Genesys Cloud builds virtual agents without code, runs them on voice and many digital channels, and hands off with a summary and wrap-up codes; Agent Copilot assists live agents.
Trade-off: Quote-based and enterprise-scale; copilot access depends on AI licensing.
Enterprise, one platform for human and AI agents
CXone Mpower
CXone Mpower combines no-code AI agents, self-service and Copilot for agents with a universal queue for voice and 30+ digital channels.
Trade-off: Quote-based; implementation is a project.
AI agents and agent assist with open integrations
Five9 Intelligent CX Platform
Five9 runs AI agents for self-service that hand off with context, and Agent Assist gives real-time guidance and summaries.
Trade-off: Quote-based; vendor-reported results vary by deployment.
Industry-specific editions
Talkdesk
Talkdesk packages Autopilot AI agents and Copilot into editions for financial services, healthcare, retail and the public sector, and can add AI on top of an on-premises contact centre.
Trade-off: Quote-based; strongest where an industry edition matches your workflows.
Usage pricing on AWS
Amazon Connect
Amazon Connect charges per channel use with no seat licences, and AWS says AI features are bundled into channel pricing in the current generation.
Trade-off: Configured inside AWS, so it suits teams with AWS skills more than small offices.
Smaller teams, self-serve setup
Dialpad Support (AI contact center)
Dialpad sets up contact-centre teams and numbers from its dashboard, with AI Live Coach cards and an AI assistant on its higher per-user tiers.
Trade-off: Per-seat pricing; AI agents for full self-service are less central than in the enterprise suites.
Capability matrix
| Product | Type | Phone | SMS | Chat | Social | Handoff | Languages | Billing | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesys Cloud | Platform | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | Warm transfer with context | Not stated on pages checked | Quote-based |
| CXone Mpower | Platform | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | – | Warm transfer with context | Not stated on pages checked | Quote-based |
| Five9 Intelligent CX Platform | Platform | ● | ● | ● | ● | – | ● | Warm transfer with context | Not stated on pages checked | Quote-based |
| Talkdesk | Platform | ● | ● | ● | ● | – | – | Warm transfer with context | Not stated on pages checked | Quote-based |
| Amazon Connect | Platform | ● | ● | ● | ● | – | – | Warm transfer with context | Not stated on pages checked | Usage-based |
| Dialpad Support (AI contact center) | Platform | ● | ● | ● | – | – | – | Warm transfer with context | Not stated on pages checked | Per seat |
● = channel documented by the vendor; – = not documented in the sources we checked, which is not proof it is missing. Compliance and integration claims below are the vendor’s own statements.
| Product | What to know | Integrations named | Compliance stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesys Cloud | Virtual agents built without code in Genesys Architect hand off to people with a summary and wrap-up codes; Agent Copilot suggests next steps and summarises calls. | Agent Copilot, AI Studio | Not stated |
| CXone Mpower | Human and AI agents on one platform: no-code AI agents and Autopilot self-service, a universal queue for voice and 30+ digital channels, and Copilot for live agents. | Prebuilt CRM integrations | Not stated |
| Five9 Intelligent CX Platform | AI agents for self-service hand complex issues to people with context; Agent Assist gives real-time guidance and summaries; routing spans AI and human agents. | Agent Assist, CRM integrations | Not stated |
| Talkdesk | Autopilot AI agents for self-service and Copilot for live agents, packaged into industry-specific editions; can sit on top of an existing on-premises contact centre. | Industry clouds (finance, healthcare, retail, public sector) | Not stated |
| Amazon Connect | Pay-as-you-go per channel with no seat licences; AWS says AI features are bundled into channel pricing in the current generation. Configured in AWS rather than a small-business app. | AWS services | Not stated |
| Dialpad Support (AI contact center) | Per-user plans with AI Live Coach (real-time cards) and AI assistant; teams and numbers are set up from the online dashboard, aimed at a few to thousands of agents. | Dialpad phone system, CRM integrations | Not stated |
Seats, usage or outcomes
As AI resolves more contacts, seat-based pricing and the value you get from it diverge. Ask each vendor to price your current volume and the same volume with a third of contacts resolved by AI, and compare the two totals.
If you do not have a contact centre
If calls come into a small team rather than a queue of agents, a contact-centre platform is more than you need. Look at AI receptionist software or AI support agents instead.
Sources
| Source | Used for | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Genesys | Genesys Cloud: virtual agents, handoff | |
| NICE | CXone Mpower: platform | |
| Five9 | Five9 Intelligent CX Platform: agent assist | |
| Talkdesk | Talkdesk: Autopilot | |
| AWS | Amazon Connect: pricing model, channels | |
| Dialpad | Dialpad Support (AI contact center): product | |
| Genesys | Genesys Cloud — virtual agents, handoff | |
| Genesys | Genesys Cloud — copilot | |
| NICE | CXone Mpower — platform | |
| NICE | CXone Mpower — routing | |
| Five9 | Five9 Intelligent CX Platform — agent assist | |
| Five9 | Five9 Intelligent CX Platform — AI agents | |
| Talkdesk | Talkdesk — Autopilot | |
| Talkdesk | Talkdesk — on-prem add-on | |
| AWS | Amazon Connect — pricing model, channels | |
| AWS | Amazon Connect — bundled AI | |
| Dialpad | Dialpad Support (AI contact center) — product | |
| Dialpad | Dialpad Support (AI contact center) — per-user tiers |
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