Cresta launches “Agent Operations Center” to unify human + AI workforce in customer service

Cresta, a leading provider of AI-powered customer-experience solutions for contact centers, has unveiled its newest product: the Agent Operations Center – a first-of-its-kind unified “command hub” that gives enterprises control over every conversation in their contact center, whether handled by a human or an AI agent.

The Agent Operations Center allows supervisors – now recast in a new role as “AI Supervisors” — to monitor live interactions in real time, detect high-risk or emotionally charged conversations, and intervene when needed. Supervisors can choose to quietly guide an AI agent’s next response, send direct messages to customers through the AI interface, or take over the conversation entirely via a “forced handoff,” ensuring smooth transition without forcing customers to repeat themselves.

According to Cresta CEO Ping Wu, as AI agents begin to handle more and more customer interactions, businesses need “visibility and control” to scale automation responsibly – and the Agent Operations Center delivers precisely that, combining automation with human judgment.

What the Agent Operations Center enables

Real-time supervision and guidance: Supervisors can watch several live chats. They can check sentiment and context, then step in to ensure compliance, accuracy, and brand voice.

Human-in-the-loop automation: The system promotes collaboration. Agents, both human and AI, can request help from supervisors. Supervisors can also step in or communicate directly during AI-led interactions.

Seamless transitions between AI and human agents make the customer experience smooth. This handoff keeps things easy, even when control shifts from AI to a human during the chat. This avoids losing context or creating friction.

Governance, compliance, and consistency matter for businesses. This approach gives a clear way to use AI. It keeps conversations compliant, on-brand, and high-quality, no matter the volume or channel.

Also Read: Zendesk and AWS Partner to Deliver AI-Powered Contact Center Transformation

Why this matters – especially for B2B Marketing & Advertising firms

While the immediate application of Cresta’s news is within contact centers and customer service operations, the ripple effects for B2B marketing, advertising, and business operations are far-reaching. Here’s how:

Enhanced customer experience becomes a competitive differentiator

In B2B marketing, customer experience sets brands apart. Clear and timely communication is key for enterprise clients, agencies, and small businesses. With Agent Operations Center, companies can keep automated interactions high-quality, on-brand, and compliant. This builds trust, which is vital in B2B relationships. Purchases here are often large, complex, and involve long-term commitments.

Scalability without sacrificing quality – enabling leaner operations

Marketing and advertising firms often notice more customer inquiries during certain times. These spikes usually happen when they launch campaigns, handle billing, renew contracts, get creative approvals, or deal with service issues. A hybrid human-AI workforce helps manage these high volumes without needing more staff. Monitoring and intervention ensure quality stays high as volume increases. This efficiency can save money. It also lets businesses use their people for more valuable tasks. They can create campaign strategies or work closely with clients instead of just doing routine support.

Better compliance, brand safety, and consistent messaging

Advertising and marketing must follow strict rules, especially in finance and healthcare. Regulations can also vary by region. Human oversight of AI-created or AI-delivered messages helps ensure compliance and brand consistency. Real-time supervision and handoff reduce the risk of errors, miscommunication, or off-brand responses. This is vital for agencies managing multiple clients and brands.

Data-driven optimization and deeper insights

Implementing systems like the Agent Operations Center includes features like analytics, sentiment detection, and insight gathering. You can see these in Cresta’s platform. B2B advertisers and marketers find these analytics useful. They reveal customer pain points, service sentiment, user journey friction, and common queries. These insights can improve marketing strategy. They help refine messaging, enhance onboarding, and shape future products.

Paving the way for more AI adoption in marketing workflows

Firms that succeed with human-AI hybrid models in customer service might also use automation for marketing tasks. This includes content generation, lead qualification, client onboarding, and sales support. The launch of the Agent Operations Center shows that AI oversight is maturing. It reduces a major barrier-lack of control and confidence—in AI adoption. Advertising and marketing agencies can use this to enhance AI in creative tasks, data analysis, campaign management, and client support.

Potential Challenges & Considerations for Businesses

Of course, this shift also raises some potential challenges that marketing and advertising firms – and businesses more broadly – need to account for:

• Change management and workforce reskilling: The emergence of roles like “AI Supervisor” means firms must invest in training existing staff or hiring new people who can monitor and manage hybrid workflows. This could be a cultural and operational shift.
• Governance and data security: Even with oversight tools, using AI in customer interactions brings risks — for example, mishandling sensitive data, compliance mistakes, privacy concerns – particularly for firms operating in regulated industries or multiple geographies.
• Balancing automation and human touch: While automation offers efficiency, B2B customers often value human consultation, especially in complex or high-stakes interactions. Firms must find the right balance between AI-driven speed and human empathy/expertise.
• Implementation cost and integration: Deploying a system like Agent Operations Center may require integration with existing CRM, telephony, chat, and knowledge systems – which entails investment in infrastructure and change management.

What this means for the future of B2B Marketing & Advertising

The launch of Cresta’s Agent Operations Center could mark a turning point in how businesses — particularly B2B marketing and advertising firms — think about human + AI collaboration. As more firms adopt hybrid models for support and customer experience, three trends may accelerate:

Shift from reactive support to proactive engagement. With real-time insights, firms can do more than just answer questions. They can reach out first. This includes onboarding, upselling, campaign reviews, and customer success outreach.

Automation of Routine Marketing Operations: AI agents, with human guidance, handle lead qualification, FAQs, billing questions, and campaign performance inquiries. This helps agencies grow without needing more support staff.

Personalization and segmentation with data: AI acts quickly. Human oversight keeps messages personalized, consistent, and compliant across different accounts.

In other words, businesses that effectively use hybrid human-AI teams may gain a competitive edge as they become common. They provide faster, reliable, and scalable services. They also keep the human touch and brand consistency that B2B clients need.

In conclusion, Cresta’s launch of the Agent Operations Center is more than just another AI tool — it is a maturation of AI adoption in customer experience, offering a governance-oriented, scalable, human-in-the-loop approach. For B2B marketing and advertising firms, that could be a powerful enabler: helping them deliver consistent, high-quality customer experiences at scale, optimize operations, and lean more heavily into automation — without sacrificing the human connection that clients value.