8x8 unveils new AI tools, RCS messaging & digital wallet pay
8x8 has introduced a series of enhancements to its Platform for Customer Experience (CX) with the aim of supporting organisations in delivering improved customer and employee experiences.
The latest updates include the addition of Rich Communications Services (RCS) Business Messaging for both the 8x8 Contact Center and 8x8 Communication APIs, digital wallet support via 8x8 Secure Pay, and new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities such as interaction summaries and intelligent chat composition. These features are designed to provide more personalised, efficient, and intelligent interactions for users.
As part of the platform's AI-driven improvements, administrators can now create custom transcription dictionaries within the 8x8 Admin Console. This feature allows them to train the system to accurately transcribe industry-specific terminology, proper names, and business jargon, resulting in increased transcription precision.
The 8x8 Work application has also been updated with AI-based chat summarisation tools, enabling users to quickly review conversation highlights from specific timeframes, such as the last 24 hours or unread messages. In addition, a new chat assistant leverages AI to compose messages in a variety of tones, including professional, casual, empathetic, expanded, or concise, helping ensure communication remains on brand and efficient.
Real-time agent assistance is now available through 8x8 AI Agent Boost. This tool provides contextual, AI-powered support to contact centre agents within the 8x8 Agent Workspace, which aims to improve response accuracy, streamline workflows, and enhance overall agent performance.
Contact centre leaders can now access deeper insights through post-call intelligence tools within 8x8 Engage and 8x8 Conversation IQ. These features automatically extract information such as sentiment analysis, talk-time metrics, and keyword or topic tracking from call recordings and logs.
RCS Business Messaging, available via 8x8 Contact Center and APIs, enables secure, branded interactions with customers. Organisations are able to unlock advanced inbound and outbound messaging capabilities, delivering a more engaging and integrated experience. RCS allows for rich, two-way communication, helping companies to provide hyper-personalised customer experiences and connect with customers across their preferred communication channels. If necessary, interactions can also be escalated to a live agent in the contact centre.
The update to 8x8 Secure Pay introduces digital wallet support, allowing customers to make payments using Apple Pay or Google Pay through SMS-based transactions. When agents send a digital payment link, customers are able to complete the transaction without the need to manually enter card details, creating a more seamless, mobile-friendly payment process.
Queue management enhancements have also been introduced for 8x8 Engage users. Agents now have the ability to temporarily pause call queues while engaged on a call or during a meeting, helping to manage follow-up calls and reduce instances of burnout. For receptionists using 8x8 Frontdesk, call handling has been improved by allowing them to identify and decline queue calls, ensuring these are routed to the most appropriate available user, thus enabling faster and more contextual customer responses.
To support flexibility and scalability, 8x8 has updated its accessibility features with improvements that aim to meet the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard. Updates particularly focus on screen reader compatibility across the 8x8 Work suite, reflecting a continued commitment to inclusive design and public-sector-ready accessibility standards. Additionally, support for the Yealink W90 Multi-Cell DECT System extends cordless coverage, allowing for seamless call handling within larger facilities.
Hunter Middleton, Chief Product Officer at 8x8, stated: "8x8 sits at the forefront of innovation, providing organizations with the tools to personalize capabilities for their customers and remain relevant amidst the evolving technology landscape. Whether it's improving how organizations engage with their customers and employees, how to best implement AI-powered solutions, or ways to increase productivity and efficiency, we are dedicated to meeting our customers wherever they are, and providing adaptable solutions, so they can create exceptional experiences and drive their businesses forward."
The 8x8 Platform for CX brings together contact centre, unified communications, and communication APIs in an effort to support organisations in connecting customers and teams globally. The platform also provides customer experience and IT leaders with AI-powered analytics and tools designed to inform smarter business decisions and improve satisfaction across interactions.
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