Agentic AI in Healthcare: Increasing Capacity, Not Just Cutting Costs
The rise of Agentic AI is the new frontier in CX and the potential behind it is impossible to ignore. Agentic AI sees the shift from simple reactive processes to proactive actions meaning multi task/complex problems are now open to be solved by AI. We’re on the brink of a technological shift where hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft, and Google will host intelligent ‘agents’ in the cloud, functioning much like digital employees. These ‘agents’ will handle everyday operational tasks with autonomy, consistency, and speed – which for contact centres means radically increasing the effective capacity and streamlining the experience for customers.
While there has been some recent negative stories about virtual agents going rogue and companies reverting back to using human agents, agentic AI can be a transformative tool if set up properly and utilised where it’s are best suited. There is no doubt that practical use cases are already here and healthcare is a prime candidate for revolution.
A Real-World Problem: Prescription Management
Take GP surgeries. Managing repeat prescriptions should be a straightforward task, yet countless patients across the UK will tell you it’s anything but. From endless call queues to delays, miscommunication, and inefficiencies, it’s clear that the system is overwhelmed.
Now imagine deploying a 'Prescription Agent' - an AI-driven digital employee whose sole task is to manage prescription workflows: checking requests, confirming dosages, communicating with patients, and coordinating with pharmacies. It works 24/7, doesn’t get fatigued and scales instantly.
You’ve just increased your surgery’s capacity without increasing headcount.
Now multiply this across the NHS, and you’ve scaled the effective workforce dramatically—without hiring a single additional person. The same logic can apply to appointment booking, test result delivery and multiple other tasks. With intelligent, task-focussed AI agents, it is possible to realistically increase the system’s effective capacity at a fraction of the cost of the current inefficient process and with a far greater ability to scale and adapt. It’s not science fiction; it’s practical, scalable, and ready now.
From Healthcare to Customer Experience: The Same Playbook Applies
This same principle also applies to contact centres in other industries. Don’t think of AI as a cost-saving tool, although it is, think of it as a capability multiplier.
The real message isn’t "Cut costs with AI." It’s “Would you like to triple or quadruple your customer support capacity?” And those seeking cost savings will reap the benefits anyway.
Agentic AI isn’t just the next tech trend. It’s a new workforce model. One where the ceiling for capacity, consistency, and responsiveness is fundamentally redefined. But it requires intelligent application and you need to avoid the common pitfalls.
It goes without saying that nuance is everything. There will undoubtedly still be a need for humans to deal with more complex queries and ones where customers still want human interaction. So with that said how can you set up for success.
Here’s how to do it right:
- Start small: Pilot, assess, refine, and scale gradually.
- Segment your interactions: Identify what’s simple, complicated, and truly complex. AI should handle the first two, not the third.
- Apply consistent quality checks: Hold your AI agents to the same standards as your human ones.
- Use sentiment analysis: Detect frustration early and escalate to a human when needed.
- Avoid repetition: AI should cut loops, not create them. Escalate quickly when it’s stuck.
- Control your AI’s knowledge base: Don’t rely entirely on large language models—define boundaries and use structured prompts relevant to your business and customer needs
- Fix bad processes first: Automating a broken workflow won’t make it better. Rethink before you replicate.
Where We’re Headed
We’re on the cusp of an abundance era, not where we replace people, but where we remove the bottlenecks that are holding them back. Agentic AI offers a chance to dramatically increase organisational capability in a way that’s flexible, scalable and built for the realities of modern service delivery.
At CloudInteract, we bring together deep contact centre experience and advanced AI capability. We’re already deploying agentic AI where it makes the biggest impact; empowering intelligent agents with the data, context, and guardrails they need to deliver real outcomes.
Want to explore how agentic AI can scale your contact centre’s capacity?
👉 Book a free 30-minute envisioning call
Let’s talk about where you are today — and where you could be in just 90 days.
