Contact center vs. call center: What’s the difference and why it matters
By Celia Cerdeira
0 min read
Discover the key differences between call centers and contact centers—and why the shift to AI-powered, omnichannel support is redefining customer experience.
Every excellent customer relationship starts with a conversation—but in today’s world, customers expect more than just a phone call. They want fast answers, personalized service, and the freedom to connect on their terms.
Call centers were the go-to for customer support for decades, but their phone-only approach and long wait times often led to frustration. Today, organizations must adapt to changing customer expectations or risk losing them to competitors.
Contact centers expand the possibilities by offering multiple communication channels and AI-powered automation. Contact centers can provide a smoother, more personalized customer experience, support agent workflows, and give organizations a competitive advantage.
This article will break down the key differences between call centers and contact centers and explain why the latter is transforming customer experience.
Table of contents.
What is a call center?
A call center is a dedicated office where teams of agents handle inbound and outbound customer calls. These teams typically assist with orders, returns, service requests, and troubleshooting, serving as a company’s frontline for customer interactions.
The first modern call center emerged in the late 1960s in the United Kingdom. By the 1970s, call centers became mainstream with the introduction of Rockwell International’s Galaxy Automatic Call Distributor, a telephone booking system that streamlined call handling.
Around the same time, telephone headsets gained popularity, inspired by those used in NASA’s Mission Control Center during the Apollo missions. Headsets made it easier for agents to manage high call volumes efficiently.
The introduction of toll-free “800 numbers” revolutionized customer service by allowing customers to call businesses at no cost, shifting the expense from consumers to companies.
During the 1970s and 1980s, technological advancements revolutionized call centers. Key innovations included:
-
Speech recognition, paving the way for interactive voice response (IVR) systems.
-
Text mining to analyze customer interactions.
-
Universal and virtual queues for smarter call distribution.
-
Automatic call distribution (ACD) to route calls efficiently.
-
Skills-based routing to match customers with the most qualified agents.
These advancements laid the groundwork for the next evolution of customer service: the contact center.
What is a contact center?
While both call center and contact center agents troubleshoot customer issues, a contact center leverages advanced technologies and multiple communication channels to offer a better customer experience, while making agents’ jobs easier.
Connecting with customers on their terms.
A traditional call center relies exclusively on voice communication, offering just one channel for customer interactions. In contrast, a contact center provides an omnichannel experience, allowing customers to connect through multiple platforms for a frictionless experience.
Those multiple communication channels might include:
- Phone: Traditional voice support.
- Email: Ideal for less urgent inquiries.
- Social media: Support via platforms like X (Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.
- SMS messaging: Quick, on-the-go assistance for mobile users.
- Live chat & AI chatbots: Instant online support via human agents or AI.
- Video calls: Personalized support for complex or high-value interactions.
A customer might start a conversation over the phone, follow up via email, and continue through live chat—without repeating their issue or losing context. This flexibility ensures that every customer can engage in the way that suits them best, whether that’s texting for quick support, emailing for a detailed inquiry, or calling for a personal touch.
Unlike a call center, which may be limited by business hours and agent availability, a contact center can offer 24/7 assistance. AI-powered chatbots can handle common inquiries instantly, reducing wait times and improving response efficiency. As a result, organizations can deliver faster resolutions and higher customer satisfaction.
Leveraging data for more efficient customer service.
Call centers can collect basic customer data, such as previous call logs and agent notes, which provide some insight into past interactions. However, this data is often limited in scope and may not give agents the complete picture of a customer’s history or needs.
In contrast, contact centers leverage advanced software and customer relationship management (CRM) integrations to compile a rich, detailed dataset that enhances customer interactions.
Contact centers provide access to crucial contextual information, such as:
-
Previous interactions: Ensures seamless conversations across phone, email, chat, and other channels without requiring the customer to repeat questions.
-
Purchase history: Enables personalized recommendations and proactive assistance.
-
Customer lifetime value (CLV): Helps prioritize and tailor service for high-value customers.
By unifying data across multiple channels, contact centers provide agents with a complete view of the customer relationship, enabling faster issue resolution, personalized recommendations, and even proactive support before a problem arises.
Optimizing workflows through the power of AI.
Contact centers don’t just facilitate conversations—they optimize them. By combining AI-driven intelligence with human expertise, contact centers can transform customer service from a reactive support function into a proactive strategic advantage.
AI-powered analysis of customer interactions can help agents anticipate needs and improve performance. On the front end, AI-powered features can streamline customer inquiries and enhance their overall experience.
Some of the most impactful AI capabilities include:
-
Intelligent call routing: Directs inquiries to the right agent or self-service option for faster resolution.
-
Customer sentiment analysis: Helps agents gauge customer emotions in real time, allowing for more empathetic responses.
-
Advanced analytics: Identifies customer pain points and tracks agent performance to drive continuous improvement.
By leveraging omnichannel communication, data integration, and AI-driven insights, contact centers deliver a more seamless, efficient, and personalized customer experience—setting a new standard for customer service.
What are the different types of contact centers and call centers?
Call and contact centers serve the same fundamental purpose—connecting businesses with their customers, whether for inbound or outbound communications. Call centers and contact centers are often remote or virtual, and both increasingly leverage AI tools to optimize operations.
The difference is that contact centers, in all of these cases, expand on traditional call center functions in ways that improve agent workflows and customer satisfaction.
Inbound contact centers vs. inbound call centers.
Inbound centers are where customers turn when they have an issue. Customers might reach out for service inquiries such as order or billing questions, technical support, or other troubleshooting.
-
Inbound call centers allow customers to call in with questions and talk with an agent directly.
-
Inbound contact centers take a more flexible approach, allowing customers to contact them through the channel of their choice, whether calls, texts, emails, chats, or other means.
Outbound contact centers vs. outbound call centers.
Outbound centers empower agents to reach out proactively, whether to contact potential customers, collect feedback, follow up with current customers, or share special offers.
-
Outbound call center agents focus on calling customers, a standard method in telemarketing and upselling efforts.
-
Outbound contact center agents might use various channels to contact customers. Contact center software can integrate with CRM systems to automatically update contact lists.
Virtual contact centers vs. virtual call centers.
The need for remote flexibility has led to the rise of virtual customer service teams. The virtual or cloud model avoids the need for costly on-premises infrastructure and makes it easier to scale capabilities as needed.
-
Virtual call centers consist of remote agents who handle inbound or outbound calls.
-
Virtual contact centers operate entirely on cloud-based platforms, meaning agents can work from anywhere using a computer and an internet connection.
AI-powered contact centers vs. AI-powered call centers.
Artificial intelligence is transforming customer service by streamlining interactions and enhancing efficiency.
- AI call centers support agents through automatic call routing. AI can’t replace live call center agents but can enhance customer service.
- AI contact centers leverage advanced AI tools, including chatbots, virtual assistants, and predictive analytics. These features deliver more personalized, convenient support to customers while streamlining workflows for agents.
Overall, while both call centers and contact centers serve as customer communication hubs, contact centers offer greater flexibility, efficiency, and personalization.
Top KPIs for call centers vs. contact centers.
Call centers and contact centers share many of the same key performance indicators (KPIs), especially those focused on efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, their focus differs:
-
Call centers primarily handle voice interactions, meaning KPIs tend to revolve around call-handling efficiency, agent performance, and resolution speed.
-
Contact centers must also measure omnichannel engagement and customer experience across different touchpoints.
While both call and contact centers focus on delivering high-quality customer support, tracking the most relevant KPIs helps an organization optimize its operations, improving both customer experience and agent productivity.
KPIs common to both call centers and contact centers.
-
First call resolution (FCR): Measures how often a customer issue is resolved in the first interaction.
-
Average handle time (AHT): Tracks how long an agent spends resolving a customer inquiry.
-
Customer satisfaction (CSAT) score: Evaluates customer sentiment post-interaction.
-
Service level: Measures how quickly customer inquiries are addressed within a given time frame.
-
Agent turnover rate: Tracks how frequently agents leave a company.
-
Call abandonment rate: The percentage of customers who hang up before reaching an agent.
-
Average wait time: How long customers wait in the call queue before speaking to an agent.
-
Occupancy rate: The percentage of time agents spend actively handling calls versus idle time.
KPIs more relevant to contact centers.
These metrics are beneficial for contact centers seeking to measure efficiency and customer satisfaction.
-
Customer effort score (CES): Measures how easily customers can resolve issues across multiple channels. With a contact center, customers often use self-service, chat, email, or social media before escalating to a live agent.
-
Self-service containment rate: Measures the percentage of inquiries resolved without human agent intervention (e.g., through AI chatbots or knowledge bases). Since contact centers often provide self-service options across channels, this KPI is key to assessing automation effectiveness.
Tracking the right KPIs—whether for a call center or a contact center—ensures organizations can optimize performance, enhance customer satisfaction, and make data-driven decisions that drive long-term success.
Which customer experience solution is right for my organization?
Deciding between a call center and a contact center depends on a company’s needs, customer preferences, and business goals.
For businesses that communicate with customers mainly over the phone, a call center may be the best fit.
However, for companies that value flexibility, personalization, and multichannel engagement, a contact center offers a more dynamic approach. Customers today expect interactions across channels, and meeting these expectations is in any organization’s best interest.
Consider the following factors:
-
Operational scale: Organizations with smaller customer bases may prefer the simplicity of a call center, while those managing high-volume, multichannel interactions benefit from a contact center’s efficiency.
-
Personalization: If tailored customer experiences at scale—such as AI-driven recommendations—are a priority, a contact center is the better choice.
-
CRM integration: A contact center integrates more fully with CRM systems, giving agents access to customer history, preferences, and past interactions.
-
Data analysis: Contact centers provide deeper data insights that can help an organization improve agent efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Choosing between a call center and a contact center comes down to your business needs, customer expectations, and long-term goals—ensuring the right fit can drive efficiency, satisfaction, and competitive advantage.
Give customers the best service with Talkdesk.
Today’s customers expect omnichannel communication and fast, streamlined support across multiple touchpoints. To meet these demands, organizations are adopting AI-powered contact centers that enhance efficiency, improve customer experiences, and reduce operational costs.
Here are two companies where the contact center is driving measurable improvements in customer service.
-
Collins Community Credit Union reduced abandoned call rates by 50% after upgrading to an AI-powered contact center. By leveraging data-driven insights, the company enhanced response times and improved customer experience for inquiries.
-
Glovo, a global delivery service, required 24/7 customer support to match its round-the-clock operations. Implementing a contact center solution allowed for continuous service, leading to a 15% reduction in average handle time (AHT).
Ready to upgrade? Find out more about contact center solutions with Talkdesk. Request a demo today.
Call center vs contact center FAQs.
A call center is a customer support operation that handles inbound and outbound phone calls for services like sales, customer inquiries, and technical support.
A contact center is a multichannel customer support hub that integrates phone, email, SMS, social media, live chat, and mobile apps to provide a connected experience.
Call centers focus only on phone-based support, whereas contact centers offer multiple communication channels for a more flexible, customer-friendly experience. Contact centers also integrate with CRM systems and AI-driven automation, providing a more personalized and data-driven approach to customer service.
Businesses should evaluate their customer communication needs, scalability, industry requirements, and budget when choosing between a call center and a contact center.
- If phone-based support is the primary focus, a call center may be the best fit.
- If customers expect multichannel engagement or self-service options, a contact center provides more flexibility and efficiency.
