AI for CX Summit – Day 3 Session 3 Recap

What does “AI readiness” really mean in today’s rapidly evolving contact center landscape? Is your data ready? Are your people prepared? And what happens if you’re not?

In this practical, forward-looking session at the AI for CX Summit, AmplifAI’s Scott Logan moderated a deep discussion with:

• Fred Stacey, CEO of Cloud Tech Gurus
• Ryan Vaughn, VP of Global Solutions Consulting at Nextiva
  

Together, they offered a clear-eyed perspective on what it takes to adopt AI today—without falling into the traps of fear, overengineering, or analysis paralysis.

Who This Session Is For

This panel was built for leaders at every stage of AI exploration—from early-stage curiosity to midstream implementation. It delivered immediate value to:

• CX and Contact Center Executives looking to align AI to customer impact
• Operations Leaders tasked with performance improvement and team enablement
• IT and Data Teams managing integration, compliance, and AI risk
• Transformation Owners navigating where to begin or how to accelerate
  

If you’re trying to build the business case, pick the right tools, or prepare your workforce, this session provided a grounded roadmap for what to do now—and what comes next.

5 Key Takeaways from the Session

1. Don’t Wait for a Perfect Starting Point

You don’t need a multi-year roadmap or a perfect tech stack to get started.

Instead of waiting until every system is connected or every tool evaluated, Vaughn encouraged leaders to begin with a single use case where AI can create immediate lift. Think: surfacing call drivers with conversational analytics or reducing handle time with live agent assist.

“You don’t have to rip and replace your entire system to get started. Begin with a high-impact area and build momentum.”

— Ryan Vaughn, Nextiva

Even basic experimentation builds confidence, unlocks ROI, and reveals internal roadblocks before larger rollout phases begin.

2. People and Change Management Come First

AI doesn’t just require technical readiness—it demands cultural readiness.

Fred Stacey made it clear: most AI project failures have little to do with the tools. Instead, they stem from unclear change strategies, poor communication, and unprepared teams. Agents fear being replaced. Leaders don’t know what success looks like. And IT scrambles to retrofit systems midstream.

“AI readiness starts with people—your change strategy, your communication, and your clarity of purpose.”

— Fred Stacey, Cloud Tech Gurus

Stacey emphasized the importance of transparent communication and inclusive planning from the beginning—especially at the agent and supervisor levels.

3. Real AI Tools You Can Deploy Today

This isn’t theory—there are real, accessible tools already transforming operations.

The panel walked through four high-impact AI solutions that require relatively light lift but deliver real ROI today:

“The tools we dreamed of 20 years ago are real—and they’re here now.”

— Fred Stacey

Even better—many of these tools are channel-agnostic, model-flexible, and quick to implement, making them low-risk, high-reward entry points.

4. AI Readiness Is Built on Data—and Trust

Your AI strategy is only as good as your data—and your ability to secure and explain it.

Ryan emphasized that you don’t need perfect data or mature MDM frameworks. But you do need:

• Clear ownership of data sources
• Awareness of where sensitive data resides
• A plan for structured and unstructured ingestion
• Defined permissions to ensure the right people see the right outputs
  

Fred warned against DIY AI development—especially for companies with limited data governance maturity. From his experience, early-stage builds often lack compliance, access control, and risk mitigation protocols.

“Just because Gen AI feels magical doesn’t mean it’s plug-and-play. Your data still needs purpose, privacy, and guardrails.”

— Ryan Vaughn

5. Security and Compliance Can’t Be an Afterthought

With AI touching customer data, payment details, and internal systems, privacy and compliance must be considered from the start.

The panel stressed:

• Avoiding open-ended prompts on top of PII or healthcare data
• Using vendors with real enterprise security, not just flashy front ends
• Leveraging on-prem or hybrid solutions when data cannot leave your firewall
  

“This isn’t SMS in 2010. It’s personal, it’s sensitive, and it must be secure from day one.”

— Fred Stacey

They also warned against assuming that AI will intuitively know what to redact or restrict. Security policies and data boundaries must be clearly configured and tested, not left to the model.

Expert Quote to Remember

“This is not IVR. This is not social media. This is a step change in how companies operate. You can’t wait it out—you have to get ready.”

— Fred Stacey, Cloud Tech Gurus