For decades, IVR was the only real option for voice automation, which meant clunky menus, rigid flows, and lots of frustrated customers. Then came the first wave of voicebots: smarter, but still stuck in containment mode.

Now, a new era of automation is emerging. It’s powered by agentic AI and it’s finally delivering on the promise of true voice-based customer service. 

The promise of voicebot isn’t theoretical, it's already being bet on at scale. According to CMP Research’s 2025–2026 Benchmarking Report, 74% of contact center leaders plan to invest in AI automation including voice and conversational tools.

Here’s how we got here, what’s changed, and what contact centers need to know to keep up.

First-gen voicebots: smarter, but still scripted

The first generation of voicebots promised more flexibility than IVRs, using speech-to-text to understand intent and route calls more efficiently. But in reality, most of these bots were limited by:

• Keyword matching, not true language understanding
• Rigid decision trees that couldn’t handle complexity
• No real backend integration, so they could answer basic questions, but not take meaningful action
• Poor escalation logic, often forcing customers to repeat themselves when routed to an agent

They were a step up from “Press 1 for billing,” but still far from what customers expect today.

The problem: Containment without resolution

Most early voicebots were built around one KPI: containment. The idea was to keep customers out of the queue, regardless of whether their problem was actually solved. That meant deflection was prioritized over resolution, escalation rates stayed high, customer frustration grew, and ROI was murky at best.

"We've spent the last 30 years optimizing and trying to reduce the number of times we speak to our customers because we see it as a cost," said Wayne Butterfield, Partner at ISG on the Dialed In podcast. "I actually think it's gold."

What’s the point of “automating” a conversation if it still ends up in an agent’s lap?

Enter agentic voicebots: A smarter way forward

The best voicebots today aren’t bots at all, they’re AI agents. These systems go beyond routing and scripting. They actually reason, act, and resolve. Modern voice AI can:

• Understand nuance, not just keywords
• Resolve full customer requests, not just answer FAQs
• Integrate with CRMs, billing systems, and logistics tools to take real action
• Adapt to accents, phrasing, and customer context
• Escalate seamlessly, with full transcript and context, when a human is needed

This is what we call Agentic AI, voicebots that behave more like your best agent, not just a smarter IVR.

“Our consumers are increasingly interested in self-service and automated experiences,” said Nicole Kyle, managing director and co-founder of CMP Research, on the Dialed In podcast. “Because the consumer is more digitally dextrous than they've ever been before on average.”

What this means for contact centers

If you’re still relying on legacy IVRs or first-gen voicebots, here’s what you’re missing:

What to look for in a modern voicebot

As you evaluate solutions, ask yourself:

• Does this system understand natural language or just parse keywords?
• Can it resolve full issues or does it just redirect?
• Does it plug into our backend systems, or act as a standalone widget?
• Does it offer conversation analytics, QA, and reporting?
• Can we measure ROI clearly, or are we guessing at impact?

And perhaps most importantly: Does it actually reduce agent workload, or just delay it?

The bottom line

The voicebot has evolved. Today’s contact centers don’t need containment, they need resolution.

Agentic AI voicebots are no longer theoretical. They’re live in production, handling millions of conversations with:

• Faster response times
• Lower cost to serve
• Higher CSAT
• Fewer escalations

Your customers expect a smart, natural conversation, not a throwback to “Press 1 for frustration.” And now, with modern voice AI, you can actually deliver it.