Stay ahead of the curve with the tools and technology shaping the contact center of tomorrow.
Emerging Contact Center Technology
February 17 | 12PM ET
Agenda Day 1
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm
Analyst Chat: Emerging Technology in the Contact Center
Brooke Lynch -
Principal Analyst and Deputy Divisional Director,
CCW Digital
Brian Cantor - Principal Analyst & CCW Digital Director, CCW Digital
2026 is the year we break boundaries in tech. Contact center leaders are ready to implement new tools that will empower faster, better, and stronger connections. But, this passion for improvement is also prompting conversations about what new technology is actually worth the hype. With so many new tools out there, how can leaders decipher what is just buzz and what is grounded in real results?
This session will break down emerging technology in the contact center and share research from CMP’s latest market study covering the state of innovation in CX. Join CMP analysts Brian Cantor and Brooke Lynch as they unpack the challenges and opportunities of emerging tech today.
12:15 pm - 12:40 pm
Crafting an AI communication strategy: Balancing Technology With Human Connection
John Finch -
VP, Product Marketing, Customer Engagement,
RingCentral
Join RingCentral to learn how contact centers can elevate customer experience by embedding AI across the customer journey using the RingCentral RingCX™ platform. This session highlights how RingCX unifies omnichannel communications with AI-driven capabilities to modernize engagement and operations.
Discover how intelligent virtual agents and AI-powered entry points enable always-on, efficient interactions, while real-time AI assistance supports agents and supervisors to boost productivity and consistency. Explore how AI quality management, interaction analytics, and voice data generate actionable insights for continuous improvement, and see how RingCentral’s AI Assessment Tool helps prioritize AI capabilities to optimize touchpoints, enhance CX strategy, and transform end-to-end contact center performance.
12:40 pm - 1:10 pm
Build voice AI agents that deliver real ROI
Sobhan Nejad -
Co-founder & COO,
Bland
Forward-thinking teams are evaluating Voice AI, but most aren't sure where to start. Spinning up a demo is easy, but building a production-grade phone agent that sounds great and can handle the nuances of real customer conversations is not.
In this webinar, Sobhan Nejad, Co-Founder and COO of Bland, shares best practices from partnering with teams across industries to deploy phone agents in production, driving results like:
- $43M in added revenue for MyPlanAdvocate
- $750k saved annually for Idaho Housing & Finance
- $1M saved per year for Needle
In a conversation with CCW Digital Lead Analyst Brooke Lynch, Nejad will break down how to build a robust voice agent that your customers actually enjoy engaging with—and that resolve calls end to end in a consistent, compliant way.
1:10 pm - 1:45 pm
The Agentic Future Your Customers Feel, Not See
Nirmal Mukhi -
Chief Architect,
ASAPP
In this CCW webinar, ASAPP examines the next evolution of AI in the contact center—where multiple AI systems work together, sharing context and interaction history to support customers and agents throughout the service journey. This coordinated approach moves beyond isolated automation and toward a more connected system of intelligence.
The session will explore key technology shifts influencing this transition, including orchestration of agents across the enterprise, the growing use of task-specific small language models (SLMs) instead of generalized large language models (LLMs) for contact center use cases, the evolving role of human agents, and common readiness challenges, such as fragmented knowledge management and limited integration maturity.
Designed for contact center and CX leaders, this session provides a practical view of how coordinated AI systems are being applied today and what organizations should prioritize as they plan for 2026. Insights are informed by ASAPP’s experience supporting large-scale enterprise contact centers
What You’ll Learn
- Why disconnected bots and copilots are limiting CX impact
- How coordinated AI systems improve experience consistency and agent effectiveness
- The foundational capabilities required to support advanced AI in the contact center
- How leading teams are redefining the role of human agents in AI-driven operations
1:45 pm - 2:00 pm
Coffee Chat
Brooke Lynch -
Principal Analyst and Deputy Divisional Director,
CCW Digital
Audrey Steeves - Content Analyst, United States
The rapid pace of change in contact center technology requires constant attention, but CX leaders have enough on their plate as is. To stay ahead of the curve, today’s top CX leaders recognize that learning from their peers' experience is an increasingly valuable resource.
Take a break from learning about the ins and outs of today’s digital experiences with CCW Digital Analysts Brooke and Audrey. In this casual, interactive session, we welcome all attendees to join with their camera on and discuss highlights from the day so far, share key learnings, and ask questions.
While this session is not required to receive the certificate, don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to connect with peers and industry leaders in a candid, informal environment.
If you’re not up to participate in the discussion, feel free to join just to listen in or contribute to the conversation via chat!
- We’ll let the pace of conversation direct the session, but topic prompts include:
- Standout data from our recent Emerging Contact Center Technology Market Study
- Predictions based on current technology trends
- Analysis of what’s shaping CX leaders’ priorities
2:00 pm - 2:35 pm
The New Rules of Customer Contact: The Agentic Shift and What's Coming Next in 2026
Philipp Heltewig -
Chief AI Officer,
NiCE
The next evolution of customer service is already taking shape: Agentic AI Agents that go beyond answering questions to actively completing tasks, orchestrating workflows, and driving outcomes across channels. In 2026, the winners won’t be the companies that experiment the most — they’ll be the ones that operationalize AI the fastest, with the right guardrails and CX strategy.
In this candid fireside chat, Philipp Heltewig, Chief AI Officer at NiCE, joins CCW Digital analyst Brian Cantor to unpack what’s changing in 2026: the emerging technologies powering AI Agents, the new operating frameworks required to scale them responsibly, and the use cases delivering measurable impact today.
Philipp will also share a forward-looking perspective on what enterprises can expect with NiCE Cognigy and NiCE technologies combined — and how this duo changes the speed, governance, and customer experience potential of AI at scale.
2:35 pm - 3:05 pm
Building an AI Roadmap in 2026: From Conversational to Agentic AI
Ankit Talwar -
Director Product Management, AI,
Dell
While we have been in the age of AI for quite some time, this moment feels critical. For many, the last few years represented a trial phase. Sourcing new tools and considering ways it might make an impact. Now, contact center leaders are diving in.
Ankit Talwar, Product Management Director at Dell, shares insight on how leaders can begin to take that leap. By building an AI roadmap with clear outcomes and human-centered design, organizations can implement AI with intention.
Ankit will share:
- Guidance on beginning an AI roadmap
- Common pitfalls in tooling, data or expectations
- Insight on navigating system gaps and analytics blind spot
The views expressed are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dell Technologies.
