Our kids say “Back in My Day” all the time. They then go on to giggle, giggle and come up with a witty recall of what we experienced when we were younger. Funny, I think each of us could talk about “Back in My Day” with our contact center operations.
I don’t think this means we are a bunch of older folks sitting around and reminiscing about the good old days. Just look back at the last five years and all the changes we have seen in quality and monitoring, technology, metrics and measurements, in-person meetings vs. remote operations…and our list goes on and on.
I love this month’s issue as it embraces so many of the changes we see. We discuss the agentic AI journey, metrics, coaching, customer connections, performance, transformation, optimization, voice AI and more. It is an exciting time with lots of change.
Enjoy because “Back in My Day”…
Linda
Table of Contents, February 2026
FEATURE ARTICLE
Is The Agentic AI Journey Worth the Drive?
By Brendan Read; Q&A with Expert Panel
Can agentic AI bring contact centers to where they want to be?
AGENT PERFORMANCE
Going Beyond the Metrics
By Kathryn E. Jackson
How to address the drain on cognitive, emotional bandwidth.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Will AI Shrink the Contact Center?
By Jon Arnold
What will centers look like with AI?
COACH’S CORNER
Using the Coaching Toolbox
By Mark Pereira
Practical strategies to develop your agents.
PERSONALIZATION
The Power of Post-Purchase Personalization
By Ken Rapp
How AI can assist excellent product experiences (PXs).
AUTOMATION
Repairing Missed Customer Connections
By Ricki Lang
How to join automation and agents.
CONTACT CENTER PERFORMANCE
AI Can Boost Sales and Service Performance…
By Sindre Haaland
But only if we stop automating the wrong things.
CONTACT CENTER TRANSFORMATION
Only A CX “Band-aid”?
By Michelle Schroeder
AI can be transformative if done right.
CUSTOMER CONTACT OPTIMIZATION
AI Won’t Save Your Contact Center
By Jeff Sheehan
First, eliminate the preventable call volume.
CONTACT CENTER ISSUES
Repairing the Contact Center Safety Net
By Chris Marron
Here’s why it’s torn and why it must be fixed.
VOICE AI
How Contact Centers Finally Found Their Voice
By Alex Levin
Why voice AI surpasses IVRs and IVAs.
UPSKILLING
Ascending Beyond Copilots
By Eitan Cohen
Vibe service takes CX to a higher level.
A special thank you to our authors this month for sharing their insights and wisdom: Jon Arnold, Eitan Cohen, Sindre Haaland, Kathryn E. Jackson, Ricki Lang, Alex Levin, Chris Marron, Mark Pereira, Ken Rapp, Brendan Read, Michelle Schroeder, and Jeff Sheehan.
Sincere appreciation to our vendor community: CallMiner, Centrical, Cognigy, eGain, Human Numbers, Khoros, MediaShark, MediaSmith, NICE, NP Digital, Regal, Strategic Contact, Verint, Walker Sands, Webex, and Xima Software.
