Walking the halls of WebexOne in San Diego, you’re struck by two things: the sheer volume of noise about AI, and the quiet reality that most enterprises are still wrestling with the same old demons. Rising costs, fragmented systems, frustrated customers. It’s the business equivalent of being stuck in an airport queue — too many handoffs, not enough clarity, and a nagging suspicion that no one’s really in charge.
So, when we sat down with Vinod Muthukrishnan, VP & COO of Webex Customer Experience, we wanted to ask: is all this “Connected Intelligence” branding just marketing gloss, or is something genuinely changing?
The Challenges Haven’t Changed – They’ve Accelerated
Vinod didn’t start with shiny new features. He started with the business problem.
“The challenges haven’t changed — they’ve just accelerated. Customers still want intuitive, human experiences. The danger is we keep throwing more technology in the middle and make things harder, not easier.”
This is the battleground for modern enterprises: supervisors want visibility, agents want support, and customers want empathy. Adding more dashboards isn’t the answer.
AI Quality Management: Coaching, Not Surveillance
Cisco’s new AI Quality Management is positioned as a re-imagining, not an incremental add-on. Supervisors can now identify real-time coaching opportunities, while agents receive helpful nudges without feeling like they’re under constant surveillance.
“It’s not a new module — it’s the foundation of a new way of managing quality.”
AI Agents as Orchestrators
Webex’s AI Agent and Cisco AI Assistant are designed less like bots and more like conductors. They don’t just answer questions, they orchestrate workflows, spot issues, and smooth over the cracks between different systems.
In Vinod’s words, this is about creating a “symphony” of customer interactions — where human and AI work together seamlessly.
Open, Not Boxed In
Vinod was quick to emphasise Webex’s open stance. Rather than locking customers into a Cisco-only ecosystem, Webex is expanding integrations with Salesforce, Amazon Lex, and Epic.
“We don’t believe in boxes. We believe in open, seamless, collaborative platforms.”
This commitment to interoperability reflects Cisco’s broader Connected Intelligence theme — making technology invisible to the customer while unifying fragmented journeys for the enterprise.
What’s Next: Humanising AI
Looking ahead, Vinod said the next chapter is about making AI more human. That includes expanding into 50 new languages, enabling complex multi-agent orchestration, and making backend complexity “delightfully invisible” to customers.
If Cisco can deliver on that promise, then “Connected Intelligence” won’t just be a conference slogan — it could become the missing link in creating seamless, empathetic, AI-driven customer experiences.
