Ever had a customer call at 3 a.m. about a late package? Back in the day, they’d get a voicemail and a bad mood. Now, an AI voice agent answers in seconds, tracks the order, and sends a follow-up text. No hold music, no annoyed customers. That’s what AI is doing for call centers—handling thousands, sometimes millions, of calls a day without breaking a sweat.
So, how many calls can AI take on daily? I’ll walk you through it in plain English, include examples like Bigly Sales (which generates 100 to 100 million calls a day), and provide you with practical tips to make your call center run smoothly.
What’s AI Doing in Call Centers?
AI call centers aren’t some sci-fi dream—they’re real tools using tech like natural language processing (NLP) to talk to customers. Human agents might manage 50 to 100 calls a day before they’re ready to collapse. AI doesn’t need a nap. It blasts through simple stuff like “Where’s my order?” or “Book me an appointment” in seconds.
That leaves your team free for the messy calls—like someone freaking out over a billing error. Bigly Sales, for example, can handle 100 to 100 million calls daily, making it a lifesaver for businesses of all sizes.
What Affects How Many Calls AI Can Handle?
Not all AI is built the same. Here’s what decides how many calls it can knock out in a day:
- Tech Muscle: The system’s guts—servers, cloud tech—matter a ton. Bigly Sales uses auto-scaling setups that handle thousands of calls at once, with no lag, even when everyone’s calling on Cyber Monday.
- Call Vibe: Easy questions, like “What’s my balance?” take AI about 10 seconds. Thorny issues, such as a warranty fight, can slow things down and may require a human touch.
- CRM Hookup: When AI syncs with tools like Salesforce or Zendesk, it quickly retrieves customer information. That can shave 30-50% off call times, letting AI tackle more calls.
- Talk Skills: Good NLP means AI understands what people say, including accents, and can switch between languages like English and Spanish. Bigly Sales nails this, boosting the number of calls it can handle.
- Juggling Act: AI doesn’t do one call at a time. It’s like a superhuman multitasker, managing hundreds of calls, texts, and data updates all at once.
Stories of AI Killing It
Bigly Sales is a beast, handling 100 to 100 million calls a day. A telecom company used its AI to answer 40% of billing questions without a human, churning through thousands of calls an hour. Nobody waited on hold.
Other tools hold their own. Bland AI’s technology handles thousands of calls with almost no downtime, keeping costs remarkably low. Salesforce’s Service Cloud AI reduced call times by 20% for Wonolo, enabling them to assist more customers daily. These stories show AI can run circles around human teams.
Why This Matters for Your Business
When AI takes on crazy call volumes, you get some serious perks:
- Cheaper Bills: Fewer human agents mean lower payroll costs. Saving a few seconds per call can add up to millions a year.
- Never Closes: AI is on 24/7, so customers get answers anytime, no matter where they are.
- No Slacking: AI doesn’t get grumpy or forget details. It’s the same solid answer every time.
- Happy Customers: Fast replies and no waiting make people love you.
- Handles Spikes: AI ramps up for busy times, like holiday sales, without requiring you to hire temporary staff.
Where AI Trips Up
AI is not a magic wand. It can struggle with emotionally charged or complex calls, such as someone ranting about a negative experience. Those need a human heart. Privacy’s a big deal too—mishandling personal info can break laws like GDPR, so security’s gotta be tight. And if the AI isn’t set up correctly, it might produce incorrect answers, which can upset customers. Tweaking it regularly, like IBM Watson does, keeps it on point.
Humans and AI
AI is here to make them shine. Imaginative play is using AI for mundane tasks and humans for the more challenging ones. Gridspace’s AI, Grace, passes weird requests—like someone asking if their pet tiger can board a plane—to human agents. This setup keeps things fast while still maintaining a personal touch when it matters.
How to Get AI Working for You
Wanna try AI? Here’s a dead-simple plan:
- Check Your Stats: Review call logs to determine the average call duration. Tools like Five9 or Convin give you the information you need quickly.
- Start Easy: Spot the repetitive questions—like “Where’s my package?”—that jam your lines. Automate those first.
- Pick a Winner: Go for tools like Bigly Sales, Dialpad, or Genesys with killer language skills and CRM connections.
- Test It Out: Start small, track call times and customer feedback, and refine AI scripts every week to optimize performance. A 30-day test might cut call times by 15%.
- Keep It Fresh: Feed AI new data to make it smarter, so it doesn’t get stale.
What’s Next for AI Call Centers?
AI is just warming up. By 2030, it could handle 30% of the calls that humans currently handle. Cool new tech, like Emotion Logic’s AI that senses moods, might soon pick up if a customer’s annoyed and adjust its tone. If you start using AI now, you’ll be ready to wow customers and save cash while your competitors scramble.
The Bottom Line
AI can handle anywhere from 100 to 100 million calls a day—way more than any human crew. Bigly Sales proves it, scaling up like it’s nothing. By handling repetitive calls, syncing with CRMs, and delivering professional communication, AI enhances call centers, making them faster, more cost-effective, and better for customers.
Team it up with humans, lock down your data, and keep fine-tuning to stay sharp. Getting started with AI today puts you ahead, ready to handle whatever customers throw your way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calls can a call center handle per day?
Humans do 50 to 100 calls a day, depending on the gig. AI, like Bigly Sales, can handle up to 100 million calls daily with automation and robust technology.
Can AI make phone calls?
Yup. AI tools like Bigly Sales use voice systems to make or answer calls for stuff like support, sales, or scheduling, sounding scarily human.
Will AI take over call centers?
Not totally. AI handles the easy calls, but humans still manage the emotional or complex ones. Experts predict that AI could hold 70-80% of calls within the next few years.
How does AI make call centers quicker?
AI reduces call times by 20-25%, handles frequently asked questions (FAQs), and routes calls efficiently. That means faster answers and happier customers.
How much does AI for call centers cost?
It varies by tool and size. Bigly Sales starts at $0.09 a minute for some plans.
