I’ve arrived in Las Vegas for AWS re:Invent. It is, as you might expect, rather large. The sensory overload is significant, but amidst the noise, Amazon Connect is making a quiet but bold promise: they want to make customer service agents "superhuman."
It’s a fascinating concept. The idea isn't to replace the human on the phone but to give them a teammate that actually does things.
Before we get into the details, if you are trying to keep track of everything happening this week, you can find our full AWS re:Invent 2025 Event Guide here and our full re:Invent hub of news here.
The headline news centers on 'Agentic AI'—a term you are likely familiar with by now. Amazon Connect is rolling out 29 new capabilities designed to show it’s more than just a buzzword. Unlike the rather rigid chatbots that would get confused if you phrased a question the wrong way, these agents can reason, look up accounts, and process requests. The goal is to handle the drudgery, the notes, the summaries, the form-filling, so the human agent can focus on being, well, human.
"We're now entering an era of agentic AI in Connect." — Pasquale DeMaio
Here is what that actually looks like for the people doing the work.
Agents Get Instant Access to Enterprise Knowledge
There is nothing worse than being on the phone and not knowing the answer. It’s awkward for everyone.
To fix this, Amazon Connect is connecting its AI agents directly to enterprise knowledge bases via Amazon Bedrock. It means the AI can pull accurate answers instantly during a conversation.
They have also added support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It sounds technical, but it essentially means the AI can talk to other systems—like inventory databases or order management platforms—without a fuss. And for those already invested in the ecosystem, these AI features now extend seamlessly into the Salesforce Contact Center.
Amazon Connect Just Made Proactive Outreach Easier for Service Teams
Ideally, you fix the problem before the customer has to call you.
The new "Journeys" feature allows businesses to design multi-step experiences that adapt based on what the customer does. Combined with new predictive insights, the system can spot churn risks or purchasing interests and suggest reaching out proactively.
They have also added WhatsApp support for outbound campaigns. Given how much of the world lives on that app, it feels like a necessary addition.