Transforming Telecom and Media Call Centers with AI: Insights from Kuljesh Puri, Persistent Systems

Leadership and Experience

Kuljesh Puri, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Communications, Media & Technology at Persistent Systems, brings over 26 years of experience in software, telecom, and semiconductor industries. His extensive background includes leadership roles at Tech Mahindra, Harman International, and Aricent, focusing on telecom product engineering, business growth, and engineering roles.

The Evolution of Call Centers with AI

Call centers have evolved from simple cost centers handling customer queries to sophisticated multi-channel service hubs. AI innovations such as omnichannel experiences, multilingual self-service, sentiment analysis, and predictive churn management are essential today. Agentic AI is revolutionizing customer service by managing end-to-end tasks autonomously, enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Enhancing Customer Interactions with Predictive Analytics, Automation, and NLP

Predictive analytics anticipates customer behavior, automation accelerates responses, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) enables natural, human-like conversations via chatbots and virtual assistants. Together, these technologies create faster, personalized, and improved customer interactions, fostering loyalty.

AI’s Role in Seamless Omnichannel Experiences

AI integrates data across multiple channels like websites, social media, and calls, ensuring consistent and personalized communication. This frictionless experience allows customers to switch channels without losing context, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.

Overcoming Challenges in AI Deployment

Integrating AI with legacy systems, migrating to the cloud, managing high-quality data, and addressing privacy and security concerns are major challenges. Persistent Systems helps organizations navigate these issues, ensuring smooth transitions and improved customer experiences.

Real-World Example: Enhancing Contact Center Analytics

Persistent partnered with a leading U.S. telecom provider to develop a Google Cloud Platform-based analytics layer processing over a billion messages daily. This enabled near real-time insights into customer sentiment and agent performance, improving operational efficiency.

AI Adoption in Telecom vs. Media

Telecom focuses on billing, connectivity, and churn prediction, using AI to optimize these critical areas. Media companies utilize AI for detecting account sharing, managing subscriptions, content curation, and enhancing engagement through self-service automation.

Cultural and Organizational Shifts for AI Success

Embracing AI requires a data-driven culture, cross-department collaboration, investment in AI talent, workforce reskilling, agile methodologies, and strong leadership to align AI initiatives with business goals.

Impact of Starfish Associates Acquisition

The acquisition strengthens Persistent’s AI-powered contact center and unified communications capabilities by integrating Starfish’s enterprise communications automation platform, enhancing AI-driven business transformations and operational excellence.

Addressing Data Security and Privacy

Persistent ensures compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA through encryption, anonymization, access controls, transparency, and ongoing AI audits, giving clients secure and responsible AI-powered customer service solutions.

Future Vision for AI in Telecom Customer Experience

In the next five years, AI will transform telecom contact centers into proactive engagement hubs. Agentic AI will handle routine tasks autonomously, enabling personalized, real-time, human-like interactions. Predictive analytics and omnichannel integration will further enhance customer experiences, with Persistent supporting telecom and media companies through secure, innovative AI implementations.