A week of innovation: TTEC Digital + Google hackathon in Atlanta

TTEC Digital recently partnered with Google as one of only two partners to host an exclusive hackathon at Google’s Atlanta office, bringing together enterprise clients from healthcare, retail, and public sector. Attendees got a first look at Google’s groundbreaking Next-Gen CES (Customer Engagement Suite) technology and even built their own conversational AI agents using the new solution.

The event wasn’t just about showcasing technology — it was about collaboration. Clients shared real-world use cases and provided live feedback, helping shape the future of customer engagement. The energy in the room underscored one truth: innovation happens when technology and expertise come together.

“Google’s innovation in customer engagement will redefine how our clients connect with their customers by delivering experiences that are faster, smarter, and more human.” Caleb Johnson, VP Enterprise Sales

What is Next-Gen CES?

Today’s customers want instant answers, empathetic interactions, and solutions tailored to their unique needs. Next-Gen CES is designed to meet these demands, combining advanced AI with a secure, scalable foundation for omnichannel engagement. Here are some of the features that hackathon attendees were able to explore:

• Conversational agents: Human-like, multimodal, and available 24/7, these AI-powered agents deliver instant self-service and can handle complex reasoning and deep research.

• Agent assist: Real-time coaching and next-best-action guidance empower human agents to resolve issues faster and with greater empathy.

• Conversational insights and quality AI: Actionable intelligence from every interaction helps organizations continuously improve products, services, and agent performance.

• CCaaS foundation: A robust, secure backbone supports seamless engagement across voice, chat, SMS, and more.

Moving beyond automation

As hackathon participants learned, Next-Gen CES isn’t just about automating tasks — it’s about creating connected, hyper-personalized engagement. The platform’s generative-first architecture enables rapid development, state-of-the-art features, and interoperability with existing systems. Agents (both human and AI) can collaborate in real time, leveraging memory and personalization to deliver experiences that feel truly human.

Platform highlights:

• Natural, empathetic bi-directional streaming audio

• Simple personalization and real-time multimodal interactions

• Multi-channel capabilities (web, phone, SMS)

• Complex reasoning and agent actuation

• Advanced guardrails and responsible AI safety filters for compliance

Industry use cases:

• Retail. Personalized recommendations, order automation, inventory checks, and proactive promotions

• Healthcare. Appointment scheduling, claims inquiries, HIPAA-compliant handoffs, and medication management

• Public sector. Citizen service automation, multilingual support, secure data handling, and proactive notifications

"I'm still buzzing from the Google and TTEC Digital Hackathon. We had the incredible opportunity to witness clients utilizing the new tooling firsthand for rapid development and deployment of effective customer-facing solutions. It was truly inspiring, and an honor to work directly with Google to put on the hackathon." Mark Eichten, Executive Director, Conversational AI

The power of partnership

TTEC Digital’s partnership with Google has included preferred partner status for innovative solutions from contact center to agentic AI, leading to a proven track record of successful deployments. With thousands of digital CX projects completed and a global team of experts, plus numerous collaboration opportunities like this recent hackathon, TTEC Digital brings advanced expertise to help organizations successfully unlock the full potential of Next-Gen CES.

“Our partnership with Google is about more than technology — it’s about co-creating solutions that transform customer experiences at scale.” Whitney Kirchner, Partner Director

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The future of customer engagement is here, and it’s more human, intelligent, and connected than ever. Whether you’re in retail, healthcare, public sector, or another industry, TTEC Digital can show you how Next-Gen CES helps deliver experiences that delight customers and drive measurable business results.

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