From Cold Calls to Chatbots - The Evolution of Contact Centers: Phillp Bennett

AI bots beat humans: what does that say about your contact center?

In this episode of First Contact: Stories of the Call Center, Phil Bennett from Empire Today breaks down what most leaders get wrong about digital transformation. From the early days of chat support in 2002 to today’s AI-assisted agents, Phil has seen it all—and he’s got the hard truths (and ROI stats) to prove it.

He shares why assigning your top phone agents to chat might negatively impact performance, how a chatbot designed as a fallback ended up outperforming human representatives by nearly double, and why true omnichannel success depends on understanding the unique skill sets each medium demands.

 

Phil also reveals the overlooked value of voice analytics, the blind spots of traditional surveys, and why the real future of CX lies in combining human empathy with machine precision. Whether you’re scaling digital channels or deciding where AI fits in your strategy, this episode will make you rethink how you design customer experiences.