The technology industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the increasing customer expectations for personalized and efficient service, the need for cost-effective and scalable customer support solutions, and the rising demand for seamless omnichannel experiences, as well as growing importance of technologies such as chatbots and virtual assistants that can understand and respond to customer queries in real-time, sentiment analysis algorithms that gauge customer emotions, and predictive analytics models that assist in forecasting customer needs. Additionally, cloud computing infrastructure and big data analytics play a crucial role in handling and processing large volumes of customer data for enhanced insights and decision-making. In the last three years alone, there have been over 1.5 million patents filed and granted in the technology industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Artificial intelligence in technology: intelligent contact centers. Buy the report here.
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However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilizing and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
185+ innovations will shape the technology industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the technology industry using innovation intensity models built on over 1.6 million patents, there are 185+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, quantum AI, GenAI for coding and emotion AI are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Biological computing models, defect detection models, and circuit designing AI are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing.
Innovation S-curve for artificial intelligence in the technology industry
Intelligent contact centers is a key innovation area in artificial intelligence
Intelligent contact centers refer to customer service centers that leverage cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to deliver highly personalized and efficient customer support. These contact centers are specifically designed to automate operations, minimize expenses, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 495+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established technology companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of intelligent contact centers.
Key players in intelligent contact centers – a disruptive innovation in the technology industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to intelligent contact centres
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance | 51 | Unlock Company Profile |
| ZTE | 200 | Unlock Company Profile |
| AT&T | 145 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Avaya | 1233 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Motorola Solutions | 61 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Microsoft | 135 | Unlock Company Profile |
| TTEC | 52 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Verint Systems | 230 | Unlock Company Profile |
| USAA | 147 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Teleperformance | 68 | Unlock Company Profile |
| 8x8 | 60 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Salesforce | 59 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nice | 227 | Unlock Company Profile |
| 247.ai | 94 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Bank of America | 102 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Dell Technologies | 67 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories | 1000 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson | 91 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Medallia | 104 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | 95 | Unlock Company Profile |
| IBM | 164 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Talkdesk | 149 | Unlock Company Profile |
| SoundBite Communications | 162 | Unlock Company Profile |
| People.ai | 182 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Greeneden U.S. Holdings II | 144 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Afiniti | 242 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Verizon Patent And Licensing | 95 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Afiniti Europe Technologies | 91 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Avaya, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Nice, and Afiniti are among the top patent filers in intelligent contact centers.
Alphabet is another leading patent filer in intelligent contact centers. The company’s patents are aimed at invention describing methods, apparatus, and computer readable media related to utilizing a context of an ongoing human-to-computer dialog to enhance the ability of an automated assistant to interpret and respond when a user abruptly transitions between different domains (subjects).
In various implementations, natural language input may be received from a user during an ongoing human-to-computer dialog with an automated assistant. Grammar(s) may be selected to parse the natural language input. The selecting may be based on topic(s) stored as part of a contextual data structure associated with the ongoing human-to-computer dialog.
The natural language input may be parsed based on the selected grammar(s) to generate parse(s). Based on the parse(s), a natural language response may be generated and output to the user using an output device. Any topic(s) raised by the parse(s) or the natural language response may be identified and added to the contextual data structure.
By geographic reach, People.ai leads the pack, followed by LivePerson and Afiniti Europe Technologies. In terms of application diversity, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories holds the top position, followed by Avaya and Medallia.
Intelligent contact centers have transformed the customer service landscape, revolutionizing the way organizations interact with their customers. The innovation involves the integration of artificial intelligence technologies, such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, to enable advanced and automated customer support systems.
To further understand how artificial intelligence is disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
