GuideContact center · 6 min
Can we modernize our contact center without ripping and replacing it?
Often, yes. Put AI and a cloud front door on top of the platform you run, move what gains most first, and replace the core only when it can't carry you.
The Clectiv team ·
You can often add the new layer without touching the core. AI agents, agent assist, coaching and a cloud front door can sit on top of the platform you run. Replace the core only when its support runs out or it can't carry what comes next.
What can sit on top of the platform we have?#
Four layers can sit on top of the platform you run, and the core stays where it is. An AI agent is software that answers routine calls and chats on its own and hands the rest to your people. Agent assist helps a person during a contact, by suggesting answers and writing the notes.
| Layer | What it does | What it plugs into |
|---|---|---|
| AI agents | Handle routine calls and chats, and pass the rest to a person | Your knowledge base, your CRM and your phone system |
| Agent assist | Suggests answers and writes notes while a person handles the contact | The live conversation and your knowledge base |
| Agent coaching and auto QA | Scores every contact, not a sample, and shows each agent what to work on | Your call recordings and reports |
| Cloud front door | Takes your calls in the cloud first, then hands them to the platform you run | Your phone numbers and your platform's call routing |
PolyAI, Kore.ai, Yellow.ai, boost.ai and SoundHound AI sell AI agents.
AmplifAI sells agent coaching and automated quality scoring, and it works on top of the platform you keep as well. We work with all of them in contact center, and Clectiv AI runs the process for you: start a project.
AI agents on the platform you already have are the job of the AI page. The contact center page covers the whole floor, platform included. Both start from the same plan.
Before you call anyone#
Clectiv AI gets the platform you run and the jobs you want done before any vendor shows you a demo. Then Clectiv AI runs the process and bids it out to the providers that fit, they compete, and you choose the one you want. Call one first and you see a demo built around its own stack, and a pitch to replace yours.
What moves first, and what can wait?#
Move first what helps most and touches live calls least. Three questions set the order:
- Which contacts are routine, and how many are there? Routine, high-volume contacts are where AI agents have the most to take.
- Where do your agents lose time on each contact? Notes, hunting for answers and waiting on systems are where assist helps.
- What breaks if it goes wrong? A coaching tool that fails hurts no customer. An AI agent that's wrong does.
Answer them with Clectiv AI, and the plan sets the order for your floor. One thing sets the pace for every layer: your knowledge base. Scattered answers produce scattered AI.
What can wait is the core. Routing, recording and reporting are what your floor runs on every day. Leave them alone until the layers on top are working and you know what the core still has to do.
Skip the learning curve. Clectiv AI runs the process we ran for others in your seat, so you start where they ended up. These providers get the plan straight from it, and you get the best pricing, terms and contract we can.
When does replacing the platform beat building on it?#
Replace the core when it can't be supported, or can't carry what you need next. Four signs:
- Support is ending for your version, or for the hardware it runs on.
- You need a channel it can't add.
- You need an integration it can't make.
- The layers you're adding are patching gaps, not adding capability.
Building on the platform has a limit. Each layer needs your core to hand over calls and data cleanly. If it can't, the layers stop paying off.
Replacing is a project of its own, and the plan decides which path you're on. It sets what your platform can still carry against what you need, and the providers that fit price both paths.
Common questions#
What's the difference between an AI agent and agent assist?#
Will AI work with the platform we have?#
Does modernizing mean moving to the cloud?#
Can we start with one team?#
What if our platform's support is ending?#
How does Clectiv AI get this done?#
Clectiv AI comes first. Tell it which platform you run and what you want to change. It scopes your contact center with you and writes your plan: agents, channels, what the AI should take, what your people keep, and what has to plug in.
Then the Clectiv team takes your plan to the AI-agent and contact center providers that fit, all at once, through our partner network of 620+ providers. They compete bid for bid, the team pushes on terms, and you choose the one that suits you.
Others have already done this. Clectiv AI runs the process we ran for them, so you start where they left off. From there, the providers that fit get the plan directly, for the best pricing, terms and contract we can get.
It's free to you, start to finish, and it runs in days, not months. For all of contact center, see the contact center page.
Is the platform itself the project? Read how to move a contact center to the cloud.
Sources and method. No prices appear in this guide. The layers described are how contact center software is commonly added to a platform, not any one provider's terms. Provider names are examples of who sells AI agents and agent coaching, from Clectiv's provider directory and its provider notes, not a ranking.