Google Enhances Enterprise Contact Centers with Gemini 1.5 Flash Upgrade

Google Cloud has rebranded its six-year-old Contact Center AI into a comprehensive application called the Customer Engagement Suite with Google AI. This rebranding aligns with the integration of Google's generative AI technologies, including the newly launched Gemini 1.5 Flash, to enhance how enterprises manage customer cases across various channels.

The updated application brings advanced generative AI capabilities, enabling agentic AI to manage customer inquiries, personalized smart replies, and concise summaries. These improvements aim to enhance the efficiency of customer care representatives in resolving complex issues.

Since its launch in 2018, Contact Center AI has served as a multichannel platform, seamlessly integrating with CRM systems and other data sources. It has empowered customer support teams to engage with clients across multiple channels—web, mobile, voice, email, and apps—utilizing early-stage AI and machine learning features like suggested responses and DialogFlow-based virtual agents for basic customer inquiries.

With the rebranding, Google Cloud expands its offerings by incorporating features powered by its foundation models while maintaining the same omnichannel communication experience. The new platform enables the creation of advanced hybrid agents that combine rule-based control with the adaptability of generative AI, leveraging the organization’s proprietary data for even more effective customer interactions.

As Duncan Lennox, VP & GM of Applied AI at Google Cloud, notes, “You can create and control virtual agent behavior with no code, making the product accessible for a broader range of employees. The hybrid virtual agents can significantly reduce costs in customer operations by managing more inquiries, increasing self-service options, and freeing representatives to focus on specialized calls.”

In addition to enhanced virtual agents, Agent Assist has been upgraded with Gemini-powered tools to help customer care representatives address inquiries more quickly and accurately. New features include generative knowledge assistance for contextual suggestions, a coaching model tailored to proprietary data for real-time guidance, and advanced smart replies. The application also supports automatic call summarization and live bi-directional translation for over 100 languages.

Notably, Agent Assist will leverage Gemini 1.5 Flash’s multimodal capabilities, enabling agents to instantly generate relevant media in response to customer queries—particularly useful in tech support scenarios that require detailed instructions.

By enhancing its Contact Center AI with Gemini's capabilities, Google Cloud aims to help enterprises deliver a consistent customer experience while effectively addressing inquiries across all touchpoints. The company currently supports numerous large enterprises, including Verizon, Marks & Spencer, EasyJet, Telus, and the State of Illinois.

Google is not alone in harnessing AI's potential within contact centers. Other corporations and startups, such as AWS with its Q assistant, Thoughtly, Observe AI, and Sierra, are also exploring innovative solutions in this space.

According to Gartner, by 2025, 80% of customer service and support teams will integrate generative AI to enhance agent productivity and improve customer experiences.