ACP: The Amazon Connect Podcast

CloudInteract - cloudinteract.io

This is The Amazon Connect Podcast - the show that focuses on Amazon Connect and related technologies. Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.On ACP our experts meet once every 2 weeks to discuss the latest news and deep dive into topics such as CRM integration, AI, Scheduling & Forecasting, Training & Development and lots more.If you're a contact centre supervisor, a service owner, and IT Admin or an AWS Developer there's something for you here. Increase your knowledge and understanding of Amazon's popular customer service application.We'd love to answer your Amazon Connect questions on the show so if you have something you'd like our experts to discuss email us at podcast@cloudinteract.io.ACP: The Amazon Connect Podcast is created and produced by CloudInteract and is not affiliated in any way with Amazon Connect.

  1. 3d ago

    36: Forecasting, Capacity Planning & Scheduling

    Send us Fan Mail Amazon Connect Forecasting, Capacity Planning & Scheduling (FCS) Explained — Native WFM, Agent Self-Service, Data Lake & Notifications Tom Morgan and Alex Baker welcome Pavan Dusanapudi, a senior architect on the Amazon Connect team, to discuss Amazon Connect Forecasting, Capacity Planning, and Scheduling (FCS) and how it compares to workforce management.  Pavan explains how FCS uses historical contact data and ML/AI to forecast volumes, plan staffing, and optimize schedules, emphasizing native, one-click enablement versus lengthy third-party WFM integrations. They cover agent-focused capabilities in Amazon Connect workspaces such as schedule viewing, overtime offers, time-off requests, and shift exchanges, plus a new schedule/activity notification feature using the Connect rules engine with email, tasks, and EventBridge destinations.  The episode also highlights Amazon Connect Data Lake access for FCS data and use cases like adherence, payroll reporting, shift rotation equity, and scheduling metrics, and recommends piloting FCS in one business unit with available funding options and a 90-day free trial. Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    24 min

  2. May 19

    35: TACUG

    Send us Fan Mail Tom and Alex welcome John Ing, freelance Amazon Connect consultant and founder of the independent Amazon Connect user group, to discuss the group’s rapid growth over two years, its community-led agenda, and why smaller, Chatham House Rules-style events enable candid sharing and practical problem-solving. John compares Connect community dynamics across the UK, Australia, and the US, noting similar challenges but greater scale and regional “clusters” in America that may require multi-city events. He outlines the difficulty of funding events while preserving independence and keeping attendance free. The conversation also covers AWS’s recent Amazon Connect rebranding, speculation on broader strategy beyond contact centers, and where organizations are on agentic AI adoption—mostly experimentation and POCs, with production limited due to testing, observability, and risk concerns—before talking about the upcoming user group even in London on June 3 - register at tacug.org. Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    28 min

  3. May 5

    34: Acquisitions & Renames

    Send us Fan Mail In an unplanned “emergency” episode of the Amazon Connect Podcast, host Tom Morgan, co-host Alex Baker, and AI agent co-host Aria recap AWS Summit London and discuss two major announcements that reshape how they talk about Amazon Connect: AWS’s acquisition of NLX and the “What’s Next with AWS” event in San Francisco. They note the increased visibility and buzz around Amazon Connect at the London summit, then unpack NLX as a low/no-code visual builder for conversational AI flows, including examples cited like United Airlines deploying on Connect faster than expected, plus questions about integrations, platform agnosticism, and whether AWS is acquiring talent. They then explain AWS redefining Amazon Connect as a four-product family—Amazon Connect Customer (the original platform), Health, Decisions, and Talent—framed around “humorphism,” and debate implications, bias risks in AI-led hiring, ecosystem impacts for partners, and the growing need for testing and governance of AI agents. Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    30 min

  4. Apr 21

    33: News and Events

    Send us Fan Mail Tom Morgan and Alex Baker catch up on recent Amazon Connect and contact center updates, including a blog post on the EU AI Act requiring clear AI disclosure at first interaction and strong logging/auditing by August 2, with significant GDPR-scale penalties and shared-responsibility implications for AWS customers.  They also discuss a LinkedIn video on voice models that argues data, prompts, guardrails, action execution, and testing matter more than voice choice, and discuss roadshows, the Amazon Connect User Group event in London on June 3, and AWS Summit London at ExCeL with multiple Amazon Connect sessions and demos. AI agent co-host Aria joins to discuss customer examples like Centrica’s reported 38% handle-time reduction and Richmond, Virginia moving 911 dispatch to Amazon Connect, plus Salesforce deprecating the CTI adapter in favour of Service Cloud Voice and new Connect coaching workflows tied to evaluations. Links: EU AI Act Article 50: What Contact Centre Owners Need to Know Before August | The thoughtstuff Blog Video: Everyone wants to know what voice model to use for their AI Agent | LinkedIn The Independent User Group for Amazon Connect AWS Summit London 2026 00:00 Welcome Back to ACP 00:48 Episode Agenda Catch Up 01:32 EU AI Act Deadline 05:15 Compliance Shared Responsibility 06:54 Voice Models Beyond Hype 08:23 Roadshows and User Group 10:18 AWS Summit London Preview 14:57 Aria Joins News Roundup 16:11 Richmond 911 on Connect 18:38 Salesforce CTI Deprecation 21:26 New Voices and Languages 22:02 Coaching Workflows and Culture 25:11 Wrap Up and Subscribe Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    26 min

  5. Apr 7

    32: We're Back... and AI Agents have changed everything

    Send us Fan Mail Tom Morgan and co-host Alex Baker return to the Amazon Connect Podcast after a break since re:Invent, explaining that rapid developments in AI agents and increased client demand have driven their focus. They revisit Amazon Connect’s Unlimited AI pricing and argue it now makes more sense as AI features spread across the entire platform, reflecting a shift toward an “AI-first contact center,” bolstered by nearly 30 AI capabilities announced at re:Invent. They discuss Enterprise Connect news including Predictive Insights and Amazon’s view that call deflection is the wrong sole success metric, plus Amazon Connect Health as a vertical offering with built-in healthcare agent capabilities. They introduce ARIA, an AI co-host, to debate deflection vs. resolution, Klarna’s AI-first staffing reversal, and why processes, monitoring, transcript analysis, and human escalation paths are critical for successful AI-agent deployments. 00:00 Welcome to ACP 00:36 Why We Went Quiet 01:24 Unlimited AI Pricing Shift 02:53 AI First Connect Era 04:32 Enterprise Connect Highlights 05:36 Amazon Connect Health Focus 07:58 Klarna Reality Check 09:32 Meet ARIA AI Co Host 11:01 Rethinking Deflection Metrics 14:22 Designing Human Escalation 17:02 Observability and Iteration 18:54 Are AI Agents Ready 22:33 ARIA Name and Takeaways 23:52 Debrief and Wrap Up Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    26 min

  6. 12/04/2025

    31: AWS re:Invent 2025

    Send us Fan Mail Amazon Connect Feature Updates: re:Invent Highlights In this special episode of ACP during re:Invent Week, Tom and Alex dive into the latest announcements and features for Amazon Connect. From AI-powered automation to new agent tools, this episode covers some of the 29 new updates including native testing capabilities, email automation, chat workflows, MCP support, and real-time chat message streaming. Also, discover the highly-anticipated Nova Sonic LLM's integration for more natural voice interactions and enhanced agent assistance. Stay tuned for insights on predictive analytics, knowledge bases, and more. 00:00 Introduction and Overview of re:Invent Week 01:09 Amazon Connect's Major Announcements 01:48 Deep Dive into New Features 04:18 Testing and Simulation Capabilities 07:15 Automated Email Responses and Chat Workflows 10:00 Model Context Protocol and Real-time Chat Streaming 14:53 Nova Sonic: The Game-Changing LLM for Voice 20:17 AI-Powered Summaries and Predictive Insights 24:57 Knowledge Bases and Third-Party Integrations 30:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    32 min

  7. 11/03/2025

    30: Mobile Connect

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Tom and Alex sit down with Ruben Opdenakker, Head of Product at Ideal Systems, to explore the mobile evolution of Amazon Connect — and how it's transforming the way organisations engage with customers. Traditionally known as a powerful cloud contact centre solution, Amazon Connect is now breaking free from the desk with Mobile Connect. Discover how mobile capabilities are enabling field sales teams, engineers, and other remote employees to connect with customers on the go, all through a dedicated mobile app. Whether you're in tech, CX or operations, this episode is packed with insights on making customer engagement smarter, faster, and truly mobile. Listen now and reimagine what’s possible with Amazon Connect, wherever your team works. Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    29 min

  8. 06/05/2025

    29: Proactive Engagement

    Send us Fan Mail Join Tom and Alex in this episode of ACP as they discuss the latest in outbound campaigns and proactive engagement with Anjan Mukherjee, Head of Product for Amazon Connect.  Discover the evolution of consumer communication preferences, the importance of personalized engagement, and how AI-driven solutions are transforming business outreach. Learn practical insights and examples on boosting customer loyalty, increasing sales, and improving customer satisfaction using Amazon Connect's powerful tools.  Don't miss out on understanding the future of proactive customer engagement!  Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.

    29 min
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About

This is The Amazon Connect Podcast - the show that focuses on Amazon Connect and related technologies. Find out more about CloudInteract at cloudinteract.io.On ACP our experts meet once every 2 weeks to discuss the latest news and deep dive into topics such as CRM integration, AI, Scheduling & Forecasting, Training & Development and lots more.If you're a contact centre supervisor, a service owner, and IT Admin or an AWS Developer there's something for you here. Increase your knowledge and understanding of Amazon's popular customer service application.We'd love to answer your Amazon Connect questions on the show so if you have something you'd like our experts to discuss email us at podcast@cloudinteract.io.ACP: The Amazon Connect Podcast is created and produced by CloudInteract and is not affiliated in any way with Amazon Connect.

Information

  • Creator
    CloudInteract - cloudinteract.io
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 CloudInteract - cloudinteract.io
  • Show Website
    ACP: The Amazon Connect Podcast

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