Delivering amazing customer experiences and rapid issue resolution across multiple engagement channels is immensely challenging. Without advanced AI and automation—across voice and digital channels—customer journeys meet friction and service reps struggle to work efficiently, leading to spiraling costs and dwindling customer loyalty. 

However, when customers and service reps are supported with AI-powered automation and contextual guidance, the experience is smoother for everyone, whether it’s in self-service or assisted service. 

2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Engagement Center 

Microsoft has been recognized as a Leader.

As we enter this new era of AI-fueled customer service, we’re proud to announce that Microsoft has been named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant* for CRM Customer Engagement Center.

We believe this placement recognizes our comprehensive AI-powered omnichannel capabilities, our continued commitment to rapid AI innovation, and the successes our global customers are achieving with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service.  

Gartner defines CRM customer engagement center (CRM CEC) as a cohesive set of software built around core case management tools used to provide customer service and support by engaging with customers, while intelligently orchestrating the processes, data, systems, and resources of an organization. CRM CEC applications also offer workflow management capabilities and may be used as a system of record for customer interactions. 

AI fuels customer service excellence 

Customer service leaders understand that resolving customer issues is not the sole measure of success. Long-term customer loyalty depends on the ability to deliver fast, personalized experiences in every engagement channel. That’s why it’s so important that Customer Service provides comprehensive, AI-enhanced capabilities across omnichannel customer journeys and throughout service processes—on a global scale.  

By delivering intelligent self-service and giving service reps the tools and insights to boost productivity, fuel collaboration, and strengthen customer relationships, we help service organizations transform operations and increase customer satisfaction. What’s more, with Microsoft Copilot in Customer Service, organizations can now take their service capabilities to new heights. 

Since Microsoft introduced Copilot into the applications millions of people use every day, its generative AI capabilities have empowered people to achieve more—and that’s especially true in customer service. 

Copilot is one of the capabilities that sets Customer Service apart. It provides an AI assistant to help service reps onboard faster, accelerate resolutions for even the most complex cases, and free up time to build stronger customer relationships. 

Service reps worldwide now rely on Copilot to handle routine tasks—such as accessing knowledge, summarizing, and drafting personalized emails—releasing them to focus on delivering high-value engagements that build customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Lenovo increases service rep productivity by 15% and reduces average handle time by 20% 

One organization that is seeing the benefits of Copilot in its customer service operations is the global technology company Lenovo. The company’s Premier Support services give customers access to thousands of advanced technicians to resolve issues and minimize downtime.  

To keep pace with growing demand, Lenovo needed automated, AI-based solutions that could streamline operations, automate repetitive tasks, and boost customer satisfaction. The company uses Customer Service and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center to enhance the support experience for customers and service reps. 

When a customer reaches out for support, they interact with Copilot in an AI chat assistant to explain their issue in natural language. Copilot then offers service reps suggestions for optimal solutions, based on millions of historical customer interactions, so reps spend less time finding information and can focus on resolving the issue. Copilot also completes post-call summarization, saving reps even more time. 

The results are a 15% improvement in service rep productivity, a 20% reduction in average handling time, and record-high customer satisfaction. 

“Our Premier Support service reps are seeing a boost to their productivity and seamless service delivery…average handling time has fallen by 20% and agent productivity is up 15%.” 

Chen Lu, Director, Services IT Delivery, Lenovo 

Apollo helps customers have smoother journeys 

It’s a similar story at Apollo, a major tour operator in the Nordic region, which is using Copilot to help enhance the customer experience for more than one million travelers a year.  

The company has built a chatbot in Microsoft Copilot Studio that it expects to respond to up to half of its customer inquiries, providing tailored answers in seconds in Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, and Dutch. When cases need to be escalated to a human service rep, Copilot can assist by surfacing relevant information at the right time and completing routine administrative tasks such as call summarization. 

“It is always our goal to provide our customers with the journey of a lifetime. Thanks to [Microsoft] Dynamics 365, we can offer each customer personalized experiences with the details that matter most—and we can do it quickly, which is a win for our customers and our business.” 

Glenn Bisgaard, Sales Director, Apollo 

Copilot and Agents: The next evolution of AI-fueled customer service 

Building on the capabilities of Copilot, we’re now introducing AI agents in Copilot, as well as empowering organizations and individuals to create their own agents in Copilot Studio. These agents help transform operations by executing business processes, working alongside or on behalf of a person, team, or organization. 

Copilot agents range from simple information retrieval and summarization agents to fully autonomous agents capable of working independently, planning, and orchestrating other agents. 

Over the next few months, we’ll be releasing several autonomous agents specifically for enhancing customer service: 

• The Customer Intent Agent continuously discovers new intents from customer conversations and keeps self-service tools and service reps updated with new customer issues and how to resolve them. 
• The Customer Knowledge Management Agent uncovers insights from human-assisted case notes, transcripts, summaries, and more to update existing knowledge articles or draft new ones, keeping self-service tools evergreen and empowering service reps with up-to-date knowledge and guidance. 
• The Case Management Agent reduces reps’ administrative burden and shortens handle times by automating key tasks, including case creation, updates, wrap-up, summary, follow-up communications, and closure. 

We’re thrilled to be recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, and we’re equally excited about what the future holds as we continue to advance the capabilities of Customer Service. But most importantly, we look forward to seeing the results as we work alongside our pioneering customers to help them deliver even more efficient and effective customer service. 

Next steps 

Read the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Engagement Center report. 

Learn more about: 

• Customer Service 
• Microsoft 365 Copilot for Service 

¹Gartner, Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Engagement Center, ,                             

*Gartner is a registered trademark and service mark and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.   

**This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from Microsoft.   

The post Microsoft is named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for CRM Customer Engagement Center  appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Imagine a large retailer with a contact center that supports customers who speak multiple languages. Previously, they needed separate bots for each language, making things complicated and slowing down deployments. Now, with multilingual voice agents, the retailer can handle all customer calls using one phone number, easily switching languages mid-call based on customer input.

That is why we are excited to announce support for multilingual voice agents authored with Copilot Studio for the Dynamics 365 Contact Center voice channel. This new feature expands Copilot Studio’s capabilities from messaging to voice interactions, enabling businesses to handle calls in multiple languages using a single bot. 

Simplified multilingual support

Voice agents are IVR bots that leverage the capabilities of Copilot Studio. With multilingual voice agents, contact centers no longer need separate bots for each language. A single voice agent can support multiple languages, leverage unified business logic and integrations, and be deployed across all languages with just one click. This can help organizations to: 

• Lower TCO: Managing one bot reduces maintenance complexity because updates are centralized rather than spread across several language-specific bots. 
• Accelerate deployment: Updates and new features are deployed to all languages simultaneously, accelerating the overall rollout process. 
• Improve CSAT: Customers can switch languages mid-call without needing to dial different phone numbers, offering a more personalized and seamless experience. 

Key scenarios

The multilingual voice agents support two key scenarios for managing voice interactions in different languages. 

Mid-call language switch

In multilingual regions, a single phone number serves all customers. The voice agent can switch languages mid-conversation based on user input, such as selecting a language from a menu. Designers must localize content for each supported language and manage the logic-switching within Copilot Studio. 

Language based on dialed number 

Alternatively, to start the conversation in the language based on the dialed number, the contact center admin can assign dedicated phone numbers for each language, leveraging a single voice agent. When a customer calls, the voice agent initiates the conversation in the correct language, delivering a seamless experience as long as the bot supports the voice channel’s primary language. 

Escalation to a service representative

When the voice agent can’t resolve a customer’s query, or when the customer requests human assistance, administrators can configure routing rules to escalate the call to a customer service representative queue matching the conversation’s language. This feature ensures the service representative continues the conversation seamlessly in the customer’s preferred language, improving the overall customer experience.

Streamlining the experience 

This simplification reduces operational complexity and costs while boosting CSAT, as customers no longer need to memorize different numbers for language-specific support. Moreover, if a customer requests to speak with a service representative, the system can route the call to a service rep fluent in the appropriate language, ensuring a smooth handoff. 

Learn more 

For a complete list of languages supported by Copilot Studio, visit the supported languages page. This article provides details on languages supported by voice agents, helping bot designers in planning effective multilingual customer service. 

Watch a short video introduction.

Read detailed instructions on configuring and localizing your multilingual bot for both messaging and voice channels:

• Configure multilingual voice agents in Dynamics 365 Contact Center 

• Multilingual agent configuration in Copilot Studio 

These articles guide administrators through the detailed steps for voice agent configuration and localization, ensuring smooth deployment of multilingual voice agents with Copilot capabilities in the voice channel.

The post Try multilingual voice agents in Dynamics 365 Contact Center appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

While data is often hailed as the key to unlocking business success, the reality for many sales teams is more complex. How do you sift through mountains of information and determine which leads deserve attention? Which deals are truly progressing, and how can you accurately forecast the outcomes of your efforts? 

At the heart of this challenge lies the core issue of pipeline prioritization. Without clear data-backed guidance, sales teams are forced to rely on intuition, guesswork, or outdated customer relationship management (CRM) systems. The potential for missed opportunities, wasted effort, and inaccurate forecasts is enormous. 

Sales reps have a lot on their plates managing multiple leads at once, and every choice can influence a deal. Real-time insights are crucial, but they’re not always easy to come by. That’s where AI-powered predictive analytics can help. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

Close more deals and increase seller efficiency with an AI-powered CRM solution.

Learn more

The need for real-time, predictive insights 

Imagine a sales team that knows not just which leads are in the pipeline, but which leads are most likely to convert. And imagine having the ability to predict the trajectory of a deal with accuracy, and to receive real-time recommendations on how to move that deal forward. This isn’t science fiction; it’s the promise of AI-powered sales optimization. 

For many sales leaders, pipeline prioritization and accurate forecasting have long been elusive goals. Traditional sales systems rely on past data, making it harder to stay ahead and focus on the right opportunities. Real-time insights can solve this by helping leaders prioritize effectively and make smarter decisions to close more deals. 

By using advanced predictive analytics, sales teams not only know where deals currently stand, but also have clear, timely guidance on how to push them over the line. 

The shift to predictive sales management 

So how do we move from a reactive sales approach to a proactive one? The answer lies in predictive insights and AI-powered pipeline management. 

Predictive insights empower sales teams to go beyond surface-level data and identify key trends, patterns, and behaviors that can indicate the likelihood of success. These insights provide sales teams with real-time intelligence about their pipeline, helping them to focus on the deals that matter most. 

Consider a few key scenarios where predictive insights are already transforming sales: 

• Facilitating targeted prospecting. AI tools can analyze past behaviors, customer engagement, and historical data to identify which prospects are most likely to convert. Sales teams no longer need to guess where to focus their efforts—they can let the data guide them. 
• Responding to requests for proposals (RFPs). Crafting the perfect pitch often requires an enormous amount of time and effort. Predictive insights can help sales teams analyze RFP requirements quickly, offer tailored solutions based on previous successful proposals, and even suggest content for a winning pitch. 
• Improving forecast accuracy. Traditional forecasting methods are static, relying on past data. Predictive insights continuously update forecasts based on real-time data, ensuring that sales leaders have the most accurate picture possible of their pipeline’s future. 

These use cases demonstrate that AI doesn’t just help sales teams manage their pipelines—it revolutionizes the way they approach their work, making it smarter, faster, and more precise. 

The Microsoft solution: Turning insights into action 

While the potential of AI and predictive analytics is clear, the challenge for most organizations lies in implementation. Many sales teams already have access to vast amounts of data, but they lack the tools to make sense of it. This is where Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and Copilot in Dynamics 365 Sales can make a real difference. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and its embedded AI capabilities provide the actionable insights needed to optimize pipelines, drive smarter prospecting, and improve deal closure rates. Let’s take a closer look at how these tools solve the problems faced by modern sales teams: 

• Prioritizing leads with a dedicated agent. Sales Qualification Agent for Dynamics 365 Sales works hand-in-hand with sellers to research leads around the clock using external and internal data. Sellers receive a prioritized list of leads with recommended next actions. Sales Qualification Agent can then proactively draft personalized customer emails, giving time back to sellers to focus on customer engagements. 
• Optimizing revenue forecasting. Teams can harness real-time insights from their sales pipeline to refine revenue expectations. Traditional forecasting tools are reactive, but Dynamics 365 Sales provides predictive forecasts, continuously updated based on customer interactions and behavior patterns. This enables sales teams to adjust their strategies dynamically, based on the most up-to-date insights. 
• Enabling efficient pipeline management. By automating routine tasks, such as lead follow-ups and report generation, Dynamics 365 Sales frees up valuable time for sales reps to focus on building relationships and closing deals. The result? A more streamlined sales process and improved win rates. 

Close more deals with predictive insights 

When sales success depends on agility and precision, real-time relationship insights and predictive analytics are essential. With Dynamics 365 and Copilot, organizations can transform their data into actionable insights, enabling their sales teams to operate smarter, faster, and more effectively. Sales leaders who embrace these tools will be better equipped to prioritize their pipelines, forecast accurately, and close more deals. 

The post Pipeline optimization: How to prioritize and close more deals  appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Introduction 

Since 2019, Dynamics 365 Finance has supported direct system-to-system integration with the web service provided by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to submit Value Added Tax (VAT) returns for UK-registered companies under the Making Tax Digital (MTD) project. 

Due to security requirements, we must modify our implementation approach. We can no longer support this integration for on-premises deployments of Dynamics 365 Finance. 

Deprecation scope 

To meet security requirements, we are implementing modifications to the Dynamics 365 Finance direct system-to-system integration with the HMRC web service for submitting VAT returns for companies registered for VAT in the UK. This involves the adoption of an Electronic Invoicing service as an intermediary to facilitate secure access to the storage of credentials essential for software authorization within the HMRC APIs. These services will not be accessible from on-premises deployments of Dynamics 365 Finance. 

After transitioning cloud-based customers to the new integration, the current access for on-premises customers will be discontinued. 

Deprecation plan 

In version 10.0.43 of Dynamics 365 Finance, we will introduce a new feature with enhanced security protections. In version 10.0.44 of Dynamics 365 Finance, this feature is enabled by default, and all environments will be transitioned automatically. 

Starting June 6, 2025, we will discontinue support for the UK MTD VAT integration feature in on-premises deployments of Dynamics 365 Finance. 

Recommended alternatives 

Do you have on-premises deployments of Dynamics 365 Finance using current MTD direct system-to-system HMRC web services for VAT returns? Consider the following options to maintain compliance with HMRC’s VAT submission requirements. 

Option I: Migrate to the cloud-based solution, Dynamics 365 online 

Transitioning to the cloud deployment of Dynamics 365 Finance offers several advantages. These include enhanced security, automatic updates, and compliance with HMRC’s MTD requirements. This provides seamless integration and access to the latest Dynamics 365 Finance features. 

Additionally, you can use a cloud-based environment as intermediary software for submitting your VAT return to HMRC from your on-premises deployment. To implement this solution, establish a cloud-based environment configured to interact seamlessly with your existing systems.  

With adjustments to the UK MTD VAT Electronic Messaging, you can efficiently submit your VAT returns to HMRC using Dynamics 365 Finance’s cloud-based solution. This approach allows your organization to benefit from cloud capabilities such as more security options, improved data management, and staying updated with regulatory changes. We recommend this option to ensure compliance with HMRC’s VAT submission requirements. 

For more information about how to adopt the UK MTD VAT Electronic Messaging to submit a VAT return, see Submit a VAT return to HMRC’s MTD web service – Finance | Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Learn. 

Option II: Explore third-party software alternatives 

Customers maintaining on-premises deployment should consider third-party software for VAT return submissions to HMRC. These solutions should meet your operational needs and compliance standards. 

Review these options and act before on-premises VAT submission support is discontinued to avoid disruptions in compliance and VAT reporting. 

The post Deprecation of VAT return direct submission to UK MTD in Dynamics 365 Finance for on-premises deployments  appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

As a marketer, the key to optimize your email performance lies in understanding your customers. Every interaction with a customer is a goldmine of information, revealing critical insights into their behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns. Savvy marketers harness this data to tailor content, enhance customer experiences, and elevate engagement rates.

Despite the rise of new digital marketing channels, email marketing continues to be incredibly effective, with its value only growing over time. According to Forbes, email boasts an impressive average open rate of 36.5% for marketing campaigns, and people are three times more likely to make purchases through email marketing than social media. Hence, data and analytics are becoming indispensable tools for unlocking their full potential and optimizing campaigns.

In this context, we are excited to introduce 4 features to optimize your email marketing:

• Email Heatmap
• Device Types and User Agent Insights
• Link Insights
• Variation Insights

These enhancements are designed to offer a deeper understanding of customer engagement, empowering you to fine-tune your email campaigns and drive effectiveness to new heights.

Visualize engagement patterns to refine your email content and design

Understanding the effectiveness of email campaigns can often be complex, particularly when information and links are abundant. Gaining clarity on which areas or links captivate your audience and drive them to act is crucial for refining the user experience and boosting email performance, but it often requires compiling and analyzing various email metrics. To help simplify this process, you can leverage the click map for your emails. It provides a quick, visual way to understand engagement based on your email design. You can easily discern what is hitting the mark and what’s missing it.

Leveraging the heatmap results you can strategically optimize your emails marketing. By identifying the hot spots in your emails that attract the most attention, you can optimize your design and layout to ensure your content is highly visible.

Furthermore, based on those insights you can boost user engagement by:

• Adjusting the length of your emails to align with reader engagement
• Improving the hierarchy of your sections
• Strategically positioning your Call-To-Action (CTA) elements for enhanced visibility

For example, Contoso used the click maps to understand which areas of their emails were the most engaging. They discovered that their call-to-action buttons were not getting enough attention. By repositioning these buttons higher in the email and making them more prominent, they increased their conversion rates.

Inform your content strategy by evaluating the performance of each link in your emails

In email marketing, links and buttons serve as essential navigational tools, guiding recipients towards intended actions. As marketers, our goal is to entice readers to engage with the links embedded within our emails. This engagement is a steppingstone towards increased website traffic, heightened brand awareness, and ultimately, higher conversion rates. Consequently, understanding the performance of these links within your email will help you reach your campaigns goals.

Link insights assist you in making data-driven decisions based on the URL’s engagement in your emails. You can easily evaluate the performance of each link within your emails and identify top performing links. This information can guide the strategic placement and promotion of these links in future emails. Furthermore, the insights derived from link performance can inform your content strategy.

If certain types of links consistently perform well, it may indicate that your audience is particularly interested in that content, suggesting a need to feature similar content more prominently. It can also be used to personalize your emails, understanding which links resonate with your audience can help tailor emails to their interests.

For instance, Contoso used link insights to identify which product links were most popular among their customers. They then featured these products more prominently in future emails, leading to a sales increase for those items.

Optimize your email design and layout based on customer behavior across devices 

Customers interact with emails using a range of technologies and devices.
Understanding the devices and user agents your customers use to interact with your emails is crucial, as it can help you optimize your email design, content, and delivery to align with your audience’s preferences.

In real-time journeys under email insights, you can now get info into the type of applications and platforms your customers use to engage with your emails. You can get data about: device type, email client, operating system, and browser type. By leveraging device data you can optimize your email strategy.

For instance, if most of your customers use mobile devices to read your emails, ensuring your email design is responsive and mobile-friendly becomes essential.

Moreover, knowing the most popular email clients among your customers can guide your testing efforts. By focusing your testing on these platforms, you can ensure that your emails display correctly for most of your audience, improving the overall user experience.

Consequently, by tailoring your email design and content to align with the technologies most used by your audience, you ensure seamless readability for your messages and ultimately increase customer interaction and loyalty.

For example, Contoso used email by device type, and they noticed that a significant portion of their customers were using mobile devices to interact with emails and opened emails on Gmail. By ensuring their email designs are responsive, mobile-friendly, and testing how it renders on Gmail, they increase click-through rates and reduce their bounce rates.

Identify your audience preferences to personalize your email content

Each audience has unique preferences and specific interests. By gaining insights into what content resonates with your customers you can increase open rates and reduce unsubscribes.
Variation Insights serve as a powerful tool in this regard, offering an in-depth analysis of the performance of each email variation you’ve sent. It equips you with a comprehensive understanding of essential interaction metrics, including unique opens, unique clicks, the number of messages delivered, open rate, click rate, spam messages, and unsubscriptions for each variant of your email campaign.

By harnessing these insights, you can easily identify which links and content engage each audience, as well as understanding which audience is the most engaged, enabling you to refine your content strategy effectively. This data-driven approach ensures your messaging remains relevant and impactful for each audience.

For instance, Contoso used variation insights to understand which types of products were most appealing to different segments of their audience. Subsequently after tailoring their new email content to match these preferences, they saw an increase in engagement and an increase in product sales.

Understanding your audience is crucial in email marketing. It is the base upon which successful campaigns are built. Thanks to Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Journeys advanced analytics features, you get invaluable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns. Whether it’s optimizing email design based on device usage, visualizing engagement patterns to refine content, evaluating link performance to inform strategy, or identifying audience preferences for personalized content, these analytics tools are designed to optimize your email marketing effectiveness.

Ultimately, these advanced analytics features not only demystify customer engagement but also offer a roadmap to continuously optimize your email marketing campaigns. Ensuring your messaging hits the mark every time, fostering stronger customer relationships, and driving business growth.

The post Optimize your email marketing campaigns with advanced analytics features appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.