Cisco is updating its Webex cloud collaboration platform with a new toolset called Dialog, described as an "agentic harness" that directs AI to handle customer interactions. The company says Dialog tasks various agents with keeping the consumer happy, as they'll "keep working on the customer's behalf after a conversation ends." This means agents can coordinate "across people, agents and backend systems."
The platform also speeds up onboarding, treating "AI agents like new teammates" by letting them peruse employee handbooks and knowledge bases. Cisco promises a safety-forward experience via Splunk, a data analysis platform it acquired a few years ago. The company suggests Dialog "continuously refines agent performance with every interaction."
As for employees, the updated Webex will let anyone invite AI agents into "spaces, meetings and calls to execute complex, multi-step work." Cisco gives an example of an agent pulling up statistics during a presentation. However, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found earlier this year that even the best-performing AI agent failed to complete real-world office tasks 70 percent of the time.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing