What Will Agent Roles Look Like in 2035?

The role of an agent is changing fast – as customer needs become more complex and technology continues to reshape day-to-day life in the contact centre. But with so many moving parts, what will an agent’s role look like 10 years from now?

To find out what the future might hold, our Editor – Megan Jones – spoke to Brittany Hodak, Dan Eddie, Marianne Withers, Michel Stevens, Sandra Thompson, and Shep Hyken.

Agents Will Have a 360-Degree View of Each Customer

Technology will be a game-changer in how agents handle calls, as we’re moving toward a time where AI is going to give agents everything they need to know to succeed. This will reshape customer conversations, how agents build rapport, and much more!

Brittany Hodak, customer experience speaker and author of ‘Creating Superfans’ — Brittany Hodak

“Agents will likely have a 360-degree view of each customer before they even say a word. They’ll be able to anticipate needs, offer proactive solutions, and create WOW moments effortlessly.

Gone are (hopefully!) the days of explaining our issues to multiple agents at one company.” – Brittany Hodak, Keynote Speaker & Author of Creating Superfans

Working Alongside AI Tools Will Become the Norm

As trailblazers such as Simplyhealth are already proving, there’s ample opportunity for AI tools to sit alongside human agents, helping to take away mundane tasks and drive greater operational efficiency.

As of February 2025, the Simplyhealth team had already successfully deployed voice assistants in their contact centre, which now resolve approximately 30% of their total call volumes without human intervention.

Not only this, but Salesforce Einstein allows the team to use ChatGPT to generate email responses to their customers, empowering the human agent to simply check the email and hit Send.

These ever-evolving possibilities will work wonders for personalization too!

Shep Hyken, CAO (Chief Amazement Officer) at Shepard Presentations LLC — Shep Hyken

“We’re going to see far more personalization in future! For example, the ability to personalize thousands of emails with more than just names, such as spinning up emails that say, “It was great to have you with us for your wife’s birthday last year, would you like to book room number 234 again, so you can celebrate with us this year too?”

So much of this is already possible and will become the norm across organizations by 2035 – giving all agents a springboard for even more amazing interactions.” – Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer (CAO) at Shepard Presentations LLC

For examples of where AI is transforming the role of agents to deliver exceptional CX, read our article: The Superhuman Touch – How to Blend Agents and AI for Maximum Impact

Emotional Intelligence and Empathy Skills Will Be Even More Vital

In a world that will be increasingly dominated by machines, what makes us human will inevitably become all the more important too, so we’ll see even more emphasis on agents’ soft skills, such as critical thinking and empathy.

Michel Stevens, Customer Experience Master (CXM) — Michel Stevens

“Emotional intelligence and empathy will become vital skills over the next 10 years!

We can already see the start of this trend in many contact centres that are already heavily reliant on technology to relieve agents of repetitive tasks.” – Michel Stevens, Customer Experience Master (CXM)

Agents Will Need More Support Than Ever Before

All of these changes will put added pressure on agent roles too, as AI and automation handle more and more routine tasks, freeing up agents to tackle just the complex issues.

“This is something we must be very careful of, as agents will have to handle more dissatisfaction and complaints activity.

Therefore, companies will have to understand the support they have to implement to manage their people’s vulnerabilities in handling many more difficult calls.” – Marianne Withers, Founder of withers jones

Thankfully, the agents of the future will get this in a multitude of ways!

Starting with top-notch support from their team leaders, who will become resilience experts, nurturing and supporting agents under ever more pressure.

They will also become all-round experts in keeping motivation and morale high – recognizing the value of everything from general wellbeing, to plotting out tailored career development pathways to keep people engaged in the long term.

Sandra Thompson

“By 2035, the role of the team leader will likely have evolved into more of a psychologist and a really stunning performance coach.

They will be working harder than ever before to keep their team engaged and retain them for the long haul too, adapting to the needs of the upcoming generations of workers coming the ranks who really value career progression opportunities.” – Sandra Thompson, The Ei Evolution

If you want to discover some of the key signs you need to support your teams more, read our article: 21 Signs You Need to Better Support Your Contact Centre Teams

Agent Wellbeing Support Will Take on a Whole New Meaning

The variety and availability of wellbeing support will have likely advanced significantly due to AI and wearable technology too!

Imagine a time when every agent has wearable technology that keeps check of the physical state of their body temperature, heart rate, and more, dialled into a system that flags when their stress levels are rising or they need a break.

So much of this is already possible, but by 2035 this could have extended to not only capturing the data but automatically taking action too!

Even booking in a day of annual leave and a much-needed spa break – without any human intervention or approval. Now, doesn’t that sound nice?

Agents’ Salaries Will Increase to Reflect the Complexity of the Work

It won’t just be about emotional support either. Financial compensation will shift in agents’ favour too, and we’ll likely see salary increases across the board, as contact centres will need to be actively paying more to those agents who are willing and able to think critically and support ever more complex customer needs.

Dan Eddie, Director Of Customer Service, Simplyhealth — Dan Eddie

We’re already seeing early signs of this in contact centres embracing AI, as Dan Eddie, Director of Customer Service, explains,

“Our people are now more valuable to us than ever before, so we’ve made sure to increase their salaries to reflect this – raising them by around 35% over the past three years alone.”

Alongside this, we’ll also likely see a shift away from entry-level hiring in favour of more mature and experienced candidates entering the contact centre.

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The Role of an Agent Will Be Vastly Different From What We See Today

By 2035, the role of an agent will be vastly different from what we see today. AI will be fully integrated into daily operations, automating routine tasks and allowing agents to focus on complex, emotionally charged interactions. However, with greater responsibility comes greater challenges.

Emotional intelligence, empathy, and critical thinking will become the defining traits of top-performing agents.

Ultimately, the agent of 2035 will not just be a problem-solver but a strategic customer advocate – empowered by technology yet defined by their uniquely human skills.