Addition of AI Features to UCaaS on the Rise

AI is the topic de jure across all news outlets and is related to almost any technology and industry. A recent Forbes report found that 64 percent of businesses believe AI will help increase their overall productivity. The same report projected an annual growth rate in AI technologies of 37.3 percent between 2023 and 2030.

One area where AI has been making a significant difference is with unified-communications-and-collaboration-as-a-service (UCaaS) platforms. According to a September 2023 No Jitter report, Microsoft Teams had added more than 670 features over the past year, RingCentral offered more than 800 features and enhancements, Cisco Webex provided more than 1,000 features, and Zoom released 1,400 new features. The expansion of AI-driven functionality is fast becoming a prime differentiator for UCaaS solutions.

This year’s NETSCOUT UCaaS survey took a closer look at how growing interest in new generative AI solutions and features within UCaaS are influencing enterprises, which have come to rely on these vital tools.

The Growing Importance of New AI Features When Choosing a UCaaS Platform

Integration of advanced AI features into UCaaS solutions is improving the usefulness of these tools. The NETSCOUT survey looked at a number of these popular features.

• Prioritizing messages: 57 percent of survey respondents indicated AI prioritization of messages based on urgency was extremely important. A further 39 percent stated this feature was somewhat important. AI algorithms are particularly well suited for ranking incoming messages based on relevance, urgency, and value to the business. By automating the sorting of messages, companies can quickly flag those that require immediate attention, ensuring high-priority communications are addressed in a timely manner.
• Editing messages: For busy professionals, ensuring that typed messages in a UCaaS application are “well written” can be burdensome, particularly if writing isn’t your strong suit. This is where AI tools that assist in editing for spelling and grammar are particularly useful. 56 percent of respondents to the NETSCOUT survey considered the use of AI for editing messages as extremely important. Another 37 percent indicated this feature was somewhat important. AI writing/editing assistants can be used to generate high-quality messages, assisting in the composition of content. AI is particularly adept at evaluating writing for spelling and grammar, offering suggested corrections and possible improvements, such as alternate word choices. These programs look at sentence structure, style, and tone and then offer ways to improve the clarity, flow, and cohesion of the messages.
• Text summaries of messages and calls: With an increasing number of employees stuck in back-to-back meetings, it’s little wonder they feel overloaded with messages and calls piling up that require their limited attention. Once again, AI-powered features in UCaaS tools can come to the rescue. AI-created summaries of voice messages and calls can provide a concise synopsis of key points that can be easily and quickly reviewed. These summaries can condense long messages into highlights, which in turn fosters greater productivity. The NETSCOUT survey found that 54 percent of respondents view AI-generated text summaries of voice messages and calls as extremely important, while 38 percent stated this feature was somewhat important.
• Automated text responses: As the workforce rapidly transitions from baby boomers to millennials and Gen Z, reliance on text messaging has grown. One study found that 75 percent of millennial and Gen Z Americans prefer texting to calling. The same study revealed that the average text message open rate is 99 percent, as compared with 33 percent for email. This begs the question, who has time to respond to all those text messages, given the intense rigors of the typical workday? The answer is AI. AI-generated responses to text messages offer an automated means of handling large volumes of text messages. The user typically can define the specifications for the text replies, including tone, length, and keywords. The NETSCOUT survey found that 53 percent of respondents see AI-generated text responses as extremely important. Another 42 percent felt this feature was somewhat important.
• Automated to-do lists: Finding a way to maximize productivity is a business imperative. That means staying organized. AI features offered by some UCaaS solutions include AI-generated to-do lists that provide intelligent task prioritization and automated scheduling. Such task management tools help optimize day-to-day productivity in an intuitive and highly personalized way. The NETSCOUT survey found that 53 percent of respondents viewed AI-generated to-do task lists as extremely important and 38 percent felt this feature was somewhat important.

Flawless Performance Requires End-through-end Visibility

According to 96% of respondents in NETSCOUT’s recent survey indicated that the measure of how effective a UCaaS tool is for an enterprise depends on the quality of the user experience. The utility of any of the new generative AI features will be tied to the flawless performance assurance of the UCaaS tool. Peak performance requires proactive monitoring and analysis of application and network health based on end-through-end visibility spanning the communications ecosystem, including the enterprise and its UCaaS tool.

NETSCOUT’s independent vendor approach leverages packet monitoring at scale, enabling deeper visibility into platform performance, which allows IT teams to identify potential issues and speed up time to repair. When performance is assured, AI features can be a game-changer for today’s UCaaS customers.

Learn more from the responses of IT professionals in our comprehensive report “UCaaS and Today’s Enterprise: The True Cost of Outages and Help Desk Support.”