Category: Uncategorized

Intent-based routing transforms customer support with AI (Leveraging Generative AI to automatically detect customer needs and route work items without manual rule-setting).

Real-time User Journey

This journey highlights how AI removes the “guesswork” from traditional keyword-based routing:

1. Customer Inquiry: A customer sends a complex, multi-sentence email: “I received my order #1234 but the screen is cracked and I’d like a refund or a replacement as soon as possible.”
2. AI Intent Detection: The Intent-based Routing engine analyzes the natural language of the email. Instead of just looking for the word “cracked,” it understands the underlying intent is “Product Damage” and “Returns.”
3. Automated Classification: The AI automatically tags the conversation with the correct “Intent” category and assigns a high-priority level because it involves a damaged shipment.
4. Precision Routing: The system identifies that this specific intent requires a “Returns Specialist” with “Hardware” skills. It bypasses general triage and sends the case directly to the specialist’s queue.
5. Agent Resolution: The specialist receives the case already categorized. They don’t need to spend time re-classifying the issue, allowing them to initiate the replacement process immediately.

Step-by-Step: How to Enable This Feature

Intent-based routing is part of the AI-enhanced Unified Routing suite. Follow these steps to configure it:

• Step 1: Admin Center Access

Sign in to the Customer Service admin center or Contact Center admin center.

• Step 2: Enable AI Routing

Navigate to Routing > Work classification. Ensure the toggle for AI-based routing is set to On.

• Step 3: Create Intent Categories

Navigate to Intents under the routing menu. You can either manually create intent categories (e.g., Billing, Technical Support) or allow the AI to suggest categories based on your historical data.

• Step 4: Train the Intent Model

Provide sample phrases or point the system to your existing case data so the AI learns how customers describe specific problems. (Microsoft provides pre-trained models for common service scenarios to speed this up).

• Step 5: Set Up Intent-based Rules

In your Workstream settings, go to Route to queues. Create a rule where the condition is “If Intent Equals [Product Damage]”, then route to the [Returns Queue].

• Step 6: Monitor and Refine

Use the Routing Diagnostics tool to see how the AI is classifying intents. You can “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” classifications to help the model learn and improve its accuracy over time.

Infographic: Keyword vs. Intent-based Routing

Capability	Keyword-Based (Legacy)	Intent-Based (AI)
Logic	Matches specific words (e.g., “Broken”).	Understands context and meaning.
Maintenance	Requires manual update of thousands of rules.	AI learns and adapts to new phrases.
Accuracy	High risk of “False Positives.”	High precision even with complex language.
Triage	Often requires human manual re-routing.	Fully autonomous classification and routing.
Setup Time	Months of rule-building.	Days of AI training/Pre-built models.

References

Intent-based routing transforms customer support with AI

Email editor template changes in Dynamics 365 Customer Service (Deprecation of legacy editors in favor of a single, unified modern rich text editor).

Real-time User Journey

This journey illustrates how a Customer Service Administrator transitions from legacy templates to the modern editing experience:

1. System Notification: The Admin receives notice that the legacy rich text and enhanced email template editors have been deprecated as of May 23, 2025.
2. Accessing Templates: The Admin navigates to the Email Templates section in the Customer Service hub to update a standard “Case Resolution” template.
3. Automatic Migration: Upon opening the existing template, it automatically loads into the new Modern Rich Text Editor. No manual migration of the content is required.
4. Advanced Styling: The Admin notices the new HTML support. They switch to the HTML view to add specific CSS width units to ensure the template renders perfectly across mobile and desktop devices.
5. Quality Check: The Admin removes a nested table structure that was causing formatting issues in the old editor, taking advantage of the modern editor’s improved reliability.
6. Deployment: After a “Smooth Preview” check, the template is saved and immediately becomes available for agents to use when closing cases.

Step-by-Step: How to Enable This Feature

Because this is a platform-wide deprecation and upgrade, the feature is enabled by default for all users. However, admins should take the following steps to manage the transition:

• Step 1: Verify the Editor

Navigate to Settings > Templates > Email Templates. Open any template; it should now display the modern toolbar and offer an HTML editing tab.

• Step 2: Review Legacy Layouts

Since the “drag-and-drop” layout editor is being phased out, open any templates that used complex layouts to ensure they have converted correctly to the rich text format.

• Step 3: Update HTML Widths

To prevent rendering errors at runtime, Microsoft recommends manually validating that appropriate width units (e.g., width=”100%” or specific pixel values) are present in the HTML code of your templates.

• Step 4: Flatten Table Structures

If a template looks “broken,” check the HTML source for nested tables. The modern editor performs best with simplified table structures.

• Step 5: Admin Center Toggle (If applicable)

In some environments, you may need to go to the Power Platform Admin Center > Environments > [Your Environment] > Settings > Email > Email settings to ensure “Enhanced email template editor” is toggled correctly if you wish to use specific advanced features.

Infographic: The Shift to Modern Email Templates

Feature	Legacy Editor (Deprecating)	Modern Editor (New Standard)
User Interface	Split between “Rich Text” and “Enhanced.”	Unified: One interface for all templates.
Design Method	Drag-and-drop layout blocks.	Rich Text + HTML: Greater precision and branding.
HTML Support	Limited or inconsistent.	Full HTML Editing: Style content exactly as needed.
Reliability	Known formatting and preview issues.	Enhanced Stability: Smoother rendering at runtime.
Legacy Support	Phasing out.	Auto-conversion: Existing templates open here automatically.

References

Email editor template changes in Dynamics 365 Customer Service

Enhance supervisor visibility by monitoring waiting chats (Improving insights and management for asynchronous conversations in Dynamics 365 Contact Center).

Real-time User Journey

This journey illustrates how a supervisor manages “Waiting” conversations to prevent customer abandonment:

1. Asynchronous Shift: An agent is handling a chat regarding a complex insurance claim. They ask the customer to upload documents and move the conversation to a Waiting state.
2. Agent Log-off: The agent’s shift ends while the chat is still in the waiting state.
3. Supervisor Review: The Supervisor opens the Omnichannel Real-time Analytics Dashboard. Unlike before, they can now see a list of conversations currently in the “Waiting” status.
4. Transcript Monitoring: The Supervisor clicks Monitor on a specific waiting chat. They review the live transcript and see how long the customer has been waiting for a follow-up.
5. Intervention: Realizing the original agent is now offline, the Supervisor uses the dashboard to Transfer the waiting chat to an active agent.
6. Seamless Continuity: The new agent receives the chat with full context, ensuring the customer is assisted immediately once they provide their documents, regardless of the original agent’s availability.

Step-by-Step: How to Enable This Feature

As this is an enhancement to the existing Real-time Analytics, follow these steps to ensure visibility is active:

• Step 1: Update to Latest Version

Ensure your Dynamics 365 Customer Service or Contact Center environment is updated to the May 2025 release (part of 2025 Release Wave 1).

• Step 2: Access Supervisor Workspace

Open the Customer Service Workspace or Contact Center Workspace app.

• Step 3: Navigate to Analytics

On the site map, go to Real-time Analytics and select the Ongoing Conversation report.

• Step 4: Configure Report Filters

Ensure that the “Status” filter in your report view includes the Waiting state. This state is typically triggered when an agent uses the “Wait” button or when an automated timeout occurs in async channels.

• Step 5: Assign Permissions

Verify that the user has the Omnichannel Supervisor security role. This role is required to see the “Monitor” and “Assign/Transfer” buttons within the analytics dashboard.

• Step 6: Enable Monitoring for Async Channels

In the Customer Service Admin Center, go to Insights > Real-time analytics settings and ensure that monitoring is enabled for the specific messaging channels (Chat, WhatsApp, etc.) your team uses.

Infographic: Supervisor Visibility Over Waiting Chats

Feature	Old Limitation	New Capability
Visibility	Waiting chats were “invisible” in real-time dashboards.	Full Transparency: View all chats in “Waiting” state.
Actionability	Supervisors couldn’t intervene until a chat was “Active.”	Proactive Monitoring: Review transcripts while in waiting.
Resource Management	Chats could get “stuck” if an agent went offline.	Instant Transfer: Move waiting chats to active agents.
Customer Impact	Long delays and high abandonment.	Faster Response: Continuous support across agent shifts.

References

Enhance supervisor visibility by monitoring waiting chats

Empower your contact center workforce with shift bidding and swapping (Enhancing agent flexibility and autonomy through self-service workforce management).

Real-time User Journey

This journey illustrates how agents interact with these self-service features to balance their personal lives with work requirements:

1. Shift Bidding (Proactive): A supervisor publishes a set of “open” shifts for an upcoming holiday weekend. An agent, looking for extra hours, browses the Bidding Gallery in their Dynamics 365 workspace and places a bid on a high-priority morning shift.
2. Automated Awarding: Based on predefined rules (such as seniority or performance metrics), the system automatically awards the shift to the agent and updates their calendar instantly.
3. The Swap Request (Reactive): Later, a different agent realizes they have a personal conflict for a Tuesday shift. They select the shift on their calendar and choose Request Swap.
4. Marketplace Posting: The shift is posted to the team’s “Swap Board.” A qualified colleague sees the request and offers one of their own shifts in exchange.
5. Manager Approval & Routing Sync: Once both agents agree, the manager receives a notification. Upon approval, the Schedule Calendar and Unified Routing engine are updated in real-time, ensuring work is routed to the new shift holder without manual intervention.

Step-by-Step: How to Enable This Feature

To enable bidding and swapping, administrators must configure the Workforce Management settings in Dynamics 365:

• Step 1: Admin Center Access

Sign in to the Customer Service admin center or Contact Center admin center.

• Step 2: Enable Workforce Management Modules

Navigate to Operations > Workforce Management. Ensure “Shift Planning” is active, as bidding and swapping rely on existing shift structures.

• Step 3: Configure Bidding Rules

Go to Shift Bidding Settings. Define the “Awarding Criteria” (e.g., First-come-first-served or Seniority-based) and set the window for when agents can bid on open shifts.

• Step 4: Activate Shift Swapping

Under Scheduling Settings, toggle the Enable Shift Swapping switch to “On.” You can choose to allow “Auto-approval” if the swap meets all coverage requirements, or require “Manager Approval.”

• Step 5: Define Eligibility Profiles

Ensure agents are assigned to the correct Scheduling Profiles. This prevents, for example, a Chat-only agent from swapping into a Voice-only shift.

• Step 6: Update Agent Workspace

Verify that the “Bidding Gallery” and “Swap Board” components are added to the Agent Experience Profile sitemap so agents can see the options in their side navigation.

Infographic: The Workforce Autonomy Model

Feature	Description	Business Benefit
Shift Bidding	Agents compete for/request preferred open shifts.	Reduces the need for supervisors to manually fill gaps.
Shift Swapping	Peer-to-peer exchange of assigned shifts.	Increases agent satisfaction and reduces absenteeism.
Automated Rules	System-driven awarding based on seniority/skills.	Ensures fairness and eliminates administrative bias.
Manager Oversight	Final approval portal for all schedule changes.	Maintains total control over team coverage and SLAs.
Routing Integration	Real-time sync with the routing engine.	Ensures zero downtime during the transition between agents.

References

Empower your Contact Center workforce with shift bidding and swapping