The emerging role of conversational AI agents in APAC contact centers

Across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, contact centers are transforming into tech-advanced customer engagement hubs. Conversational artificial intelligence or conversational AI – utilizing natural language processing (NLP), machine learning and voice recognition – is helping to drive this evolution by replicating human interactions with growing sophistication.

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Benefits of conversational AI agents

Conversational AI is proving its value through a range of powerful capabilities. These include:

• Proactive outreach – AI can initiate customer interactions, reminding users of appointments, offering product suggestions or flagging unusual account activity.
• 24/7 multilingual support – particularly important in the linguistically diverse APAC region, AI agents can handle interactions in multiple languages at any hour.
• Operational efficiency – automating routine tasks reduces operational costs and allows human agents to focus on high-value interactions.
• Consistent service delivery – AI agents can provide uniform responses and maintain quality standards across locations and customer types.

Real-world examples from across APAC demonstrate how businesses are leveraging these technologies and capabilities for more responsive, personalized CX, while preserving the human touch to offer empathy and judgment where technology cannot provide it.

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Telstra: redesigning the contact center with embedded AI

Australian telecommunications and technology provider Telstra has transformed its customer contact experience by implementing a new cloud-native contact center platform built on Amazon Connect.

The new platform leverages powerful AI and machine learning capabilities to offer a flexible and personalized approach to customer engagement. Key elements include improved customer authentication, proactive query intent detection and seamless omnichannel support across voice and text chat.

One notable feature is DigiAssist, which allows customers to directly call customer service through the My Telstra app. DigiAssist validates the call, eliminating the need for further authentication and streamlining the customer experience. About 20 percent of all queries that start through the app are resolved without intervention from a live service agent, and customer issues are addressed four times faster when initiated through the app.

For agents, the platform provides a unified interface with single sign-on, integrating customer background information and administrative functions. AI-powered assistance offers real-time insights, including customer identification and call reasons, enhancing agent efficiency and reducing handling times.

The implementation of Amazon Connect has resulted in significant improvements, including a 10 percent reduction in the average time to resolve enquiries, faster response times, and improved experiences for both customers and agents. Telstra now encourages customers to begin their support requests through the My Telstra app to take advantage of simpler authentication processes and pre-call intent collection.

Kiwibank: upgrading voice support with AI-powered automation

New Zealand's Kiwibank has undertaken a significant transformation of its contact center operations by implementing conversational AI technologies across its customer service channels. In partnership with Spark NZ and Genesys, the bank has deployed AI-powered voicebots via the Genesys Cloud platform to modernize legacy systems and improve service delivery.

Previously reliant on a decade-old voicebot solution, Kiwibank's contact center faced challenges in routing queries efficiently and maintaining consistent customer journeys. The legacy system made it difficult to understand customer paths and correctly route calls, resulting in excessive transfers and wasted time for both customers and agents.

The new AI-driven system was designed to streamline and enhance these interactions, empowering customers to self-serve where possible and escalate seamlessly to human agents when necessary.

The entire system was up and running in just four months. Agents now have a more intuitive interface and access to real-time data, enabling them to deliver more personalized customer experiences. Meanwhile, conversational AI has allowed Kiwibank to simplify how customer calls are handled, cutting down the number of call categories from 1,358 to just 23. This has made it much easier and faster for customers to get directed to the right help.

Moreover, implementation has resulted in significant improvements. Features like callbacks saved customers more than 2.9 million minutes in hold time within the first three months of deployment. In addition, call abandonment rates dropped by 28 percent, average handling times decreased by 19 percent, and the number of calls transferred between agents fell by 27 percent.

The bank also achieved a three-point improvement in customer experience scores and a three-point uptick in delivering quick decisions.

China Unicom: AI-powered customer service at scale

China Unicom is one of China's largest telecom providers. Serving a massive customer base of 420 million users worldwide, the company needed a scalable, intelligent solution to manage an immense volume of inquiries.

In response, it has implemented a comprehensive conversational AI strategy across its network. At the heart of this transformation is the 10010 smart customer contact center, with 10,000 agents and monthly traffic exceeding 100 million interactions. The company’s system incorporates 26 end-to-end AI applications built on 57 million hours of voice chat information, enabling virtual assistants to handle diverse customer interactions, from billing questions to technical troubleshooting.

These AI assistants operate 24/7, significantly reducing customer wait times and ensuring immediate support for routine issues. The technology leverages advanced NLP and automatic voice generation capabilities to create more personalized interactions, resulting in an 88 percent self-service resolution rate.

Beyond handling inquiries, China Unicom has implemented intelligent tools that assist human agents, including one-screen customer information integration and one-click diagnostics that help solve 75 percent of problems while reducing average handling time by 10 percent. The system also enables seamless marketing opportunities that have generated significant new revenue.

By scaling AI across its operations, China Unicom has transformed its contact center from a cost center to a value creation center, with customer satisfaction reaching 98.5 percent and helping the company rank first in China's Telecom Customer Satisfaction Index.

The human element: augmentation, not replacement

Despite the impressive capabilities of AI, these case studies consistently highlight the enduring value of human agents. Humans provide empathy, ethical oversight and complex problem-solving skills that AI cannot fully replicate. For instance:

• At Telstra, human agents step in when queries go beyond automated capabilities, supported by AI prompts that improve speed and accuracy.
• Kiwibank's agents now focus on more nuanced, value-driven conversations, as the bulk of routine traffic is handled by AI.
• China Unicom's AI strategy frees human agents to concentrate on sensitive and complex interactions.

This synergy between humans and machines is essential. It ensures that AI serves as a support tool, enhancing rather than replacing the human workforce. As this technology continues to evolve, it is essential for organizations to remain committed to ethical integration, ensuring AI empowers both customers and employees alike. By embracing this collaborative future, APAC contact centers can lead the way in delivering smarter, safer and more inclusive customer experiences.

Quick links:

• How Telstra fuels customer advocacy with its people-first culture
• 6 APAC brands advancing AI for CX in 2025
• UnionBank's omnichannel journey: Overcoming obstacles, delivering results