What's new for admins in 8x8 Contact Center?

So far in 2024, we have introduced the following features and enhancements requiring admin configuration. Here's a summary:

• Set up the Emergency Lock mode - Limited Availability
• Ability to configure CC schedule permissions at the user level
• Introducing the blended interaction feature
• Ability to enable an embedded agent avatar in web chat
• Enhanced Text to Play parameter of the Say phone script object
• Introducing quick replies for web chat
• Enable an improved email experience in Agent Workspace

Set up the Emergency lock mode - Limited Availability

Note: Emergency lock mode is currently on limited availability. Contact 8x8 Support for more help.

As an admin, you can now control when agents' status changes while in Emergency mode.

You can prevent agents from automatically entering Lock mode after initiating an emergency call. This setting ensures that agents who make emergency calls on behalf of others can quickly return to their regular workflow.

To allow agents to change status in Emergency mode:

1. Go to Configure Manager Menu > Users.

• Select the desired user and click Edit in the row.
• Go to the Phone tab.

• Under Phone setup, control when agents' status changes while in Emergency mode:

  • Select the Allow agents to change status in Emergency mode checkbox to allow agents to change their status while in Emergency mode.

    Note: Allowing agents to return to the Available status in under five minutes will prevent Emergency Services from contacting them bac

  • Clear the Allow agents to change status in Emergency mode checkbox to prevent agents from changing their status while in Emergency mode.

Note: The Allow agents to change status in Emergency mode checkbox is disabled (not active) if Agent Workspace is not enabled.

To learn more about configuring users' phone settings, see Configure phone settings.

Ability to configure CC schedule permissions at the user level

8x8 Contact Center admins can customize which users can manage which schedules. Previously, admins could configure permissions only at the tenant level for all List, Create, Edit, and Delete schedules. Now, admins can select the Edit Individual Settings option to specify which schedules users can manage while configuring permissions.

To configure CC schedule permissions at a user level:

1. From the Configuration Menu, open Security.
2. Go to the Roles tab.
3. Create a new role or edit an existing role.

4. In the role settings Permissions tab, in the Schedule row for Agents, Queues, Scripts, or Channels, select the Edit Individual Settings check box.

   

5. In the Individual Permissions Assignment window, under the available item columns, assign the individual schedule permissions to be managed by the user, such as List, Details, Edit or Delete.

   

6. Click OK. The definition of individual settings is complete for the role.
7. Click Save to save the role and assign an administrator.

Note: The Create option is unavailable if the Edit Individual Settings option is selected. Schedule creation is only available to users with unrestricted permission to manage all schedules.

For details about configuring admin roles with granular control for managing an individual agent, see Define a role with granular control.

Introducing the blended interactions feature

In the dynamic environment of modern contact centers, the ability to handle multiple types of communication media efficiently is crucial. The Blended interaction feature enables agents to manage combinations of different media types simultaneously. This flexibility is essential for catering to the diverse communication preferences of customers.

With Blended interactions, you can enable your contact center agents to simultaneously handle interactions of various media types, such as phone calls, emails, and chats. This flexibility is essential for catering to customers' diverse communication preferences and empowers agents to increase productivity and efficiency.

By configuring settings in the 8x8 Contact Center, agents can handle various combinations of media types, such as phone calls, emails, and chats. These configurations determine the types of interactions an agent can take at any given time. The system intelligently aligns with these settings, ensuring that agents receive a mix of interaction types based on their current capabilities and workload. This approach enhances the agents' efficiency and provides a seamless and responsive customer experience across different communication channels.

Through the Blended interactions feature, admins can set up the maximum number of concurrent customer digital chat interactions and allow agents to handle up to six interactions on different channels, such as voice, chat, email, and voicemail. Agents can handle any combination of interactions simultaneously, but not more than the maximum number configured for concurrent interactions. These settings apply to each agent.

Currently, agents in the 8x8 Contact Center can handle up to six customer interactions through the chat channel simultaneously but only a single interaction through the other channels.

By using the Interactions tab in 8x8 Configuration Manager, admins can now configure for each agent multi chat/interactions by allowing an agent to handle the following:

• Agent-to-agent chat - There is no limit on the number of simultaneous chats among agents.

• Concurrent interactions - Set up the maximum number of inbound and outbound chat interactions an agent can handle simultaneously in their agent workspace panel. You can set up to six concurrent interactions on digital or email channels simultaneously:

  • Maximum number of concurrent chats and SMS interactions - Set up the maximum number of digital chat interactions an agent can handle simultaneously, such as Webchat, SMS, WhatsApp, Chat Gateway, Facebook, or Twitter.

  • Maximum number of emails - Set up the maximum number of emails an agent can handle simultaneously.

    Note: For an agent to work with this email feature, the agent must use email in the 8x8 Agent Workspace app.

• Blended interactions - Configure how can an agent mix different media types, such as phone calls, chats, and emails. Agents can handle any combination of interactions simultaneously, but not more than the maximum number configured for concurrent interactions. These settings apply to each agent:

  • Configure if the agent can handle blended emails and chats while working on phone calls.

  • Configure if the agent can handle blended emails and phone calls while working on chats.

  • Configure if the agent can handle blended chats and phone calls while working on an email.

For details about configuring the multi-contact handling functionality, see Configure multiple chats.

Ability to enable an embedded agent avatar in web chat

We have enhanced our digital customer service by allowing customers to personalize their web chat experience. Now, they can display their profile picture and add a bio in the company logo section during web chat interactions.

Let’s say a customer uses the web chat on a company's website. Upon being transferred to an agent, the customer will view the agent's avatar and biography instead of the company logo. Agents can customize their web chat appearance through the My Profile section from the 8x8 Agent Workspace app. To learn more about how to personalize an agent’s avatar and biography, personalizing an agent’s avatar and biography, see 8x8 Agent Workspace - Ability to personalize your avatar and biography.

Features

• This feature allows the avatar and biography to be displayed in web communications with agents in the logo section.

• Agents can customize a different avatar for each tenant.
• Agents can customize their avatar and biography via 8x8 Agent Workspace on the My Profile page.

To learn how configuring web chat interactions in 8x8 Configuration Manager, see Web chat interactions.

Enhanced Text to Play parameter of the Say phone script object

The character limit for the Text to Play parameter in the Say phone script object has been increased from 210 to 1250, offering admins more control over the Text to Speech feature. Additionally, a counter shows the remaining characters when typing.

Note: This change will not affect existing customer scripts. Customers can use up to 1250 characters when making changes or creating new scripts.

To find more details about the Text to Speech feature, see Enable Text to Speech. To find more details about the Say object available in 8x8 Contact Center phone scripts accessed via 8x8 Configuration Manager, see Summary of phone IVR script objects.

Introducing quick replies for web chat

In this release of 8x8 Configuration Manager, we have introduced the Quick Replies feature for a web chat. This feature enables customers to receive guidance through a web chat journey using quick replies buttons. In addition to the pre-chat form on web chat, agents can now gather valuable information directly on the web window by using quick replies to better understand the customers' needs.

Let’s say the AcmeJets company wants to route customer interactions efficiently to suitable agents who can quickly resolve their issues. To achieve this, AcmeJets plans to collect customer information to identify their queries and the nature of their queries. The data is transferred to an agent when a customer sends a message and agrees to interact. Once the data is transferred, the customer may receive a response directly through the chat window or be directed to the appropriate agent to assist them with their concerns.

As an 8x8 Contact Center administrator of your business, you can now configure quick replies for a web chat in 8x8 Configuration Manager. To use quick replies in a web chat, you must define a social script, then define a web chat script and forward chat interactions to the social script for an enhanced experience.

To configure quick replies, follow the next main steps:

1. Define a social script dedicated to quick replies. To learn how to configure a social script for quick replies built for web chat, see Configure social scripts for quick replies.

   

2. Define a web chat script that forwards chat interactions to a social script. This can be done by forwarding a query to the specific social script you defined in Step 1. The query will then be directed to the appropriate queue in the social script. By doing this, agents can use all the features in the social script and enjoy an enhanced experience. To learn how to configure a web chat script, see Configure web chat scripts for replies.

   

The Quick Replies feature allows 8x8 Contact Center admins to link quick replies to Quality Management and Speach Analytics (QM/SA) to create quick replies as topics in Speech Analytics (SA). To learn how to do that, see Link quick replies to Quality Management and Speach Analytics.

Enable an improved email experience in Agent Workspace

This improved email experience in 8x8 Agent Workspace enables agents to handle emails from the Control Panel in 8x8 Agent Workspace, in addition to the previous experience of taking emails from the Display Panel. This new capability aims to improve how emails are handled in the 8x8 Contact Center by allowing agents to:

• View the sender’s email address in the same panel.
• Handle emails and view the thread in the same panel.
• See attachments and the email they are associated with easily.
• Have their productivity reported in 8x8 Analytics for Contact Center.

To learn how to process email interactions from the Control Panel in 8x8 Agent Workspace, see our content about process email interactions.

To allow agents to use the improved email experience in 8x8 Agent Workspace:

1. Log in to your 8x8 Configuration Manager account.
2. Go to Home > Profile.
3. Select the Enable full email integration in Agent Workspace (External CRM only) checkbox.
4. Click Save.

To learn more about profile settings, see Configure profile settings.