If you’ve been following the rapid advances in AI, you’ve probably heard about how chatbots and automated systems are bound to wipe out jobs—especially in contact centers. But in the article ”Contra the Heard: Investing in Cinareo”, venture investor Daniel Nieto offers an optimistic view: AI isn’t here to eliminate jobs but rather to transform or enhance them.
In the article, Nieto explains why the BDC Seed Venture Fund invested in Cinareo, an AI-driven startup focused on capacity planning for contact centers. At first glance, it seems counterintuitive to bet on human-centric solutions in an industry supposedly on the brink of AI-driven automation. However, Nieto put forward that true innovation in customer support isn’t about replacing people—it’s about giving them “superpowers” to work faster and smarter.
Modern contact centers handle a variety of customer interactions—via phone, email, chat, SMS, and more. While AI can now handle routine queries or simple account updates, the reality is much more complex. Advanced AI “agents” often lack the trust factor and integration with back-end systems that organizations require for critical actions like processing payments or addressing sensitive customer data. As a result, contact centers aren’t immediately eliminating roles; they’re creating new ones that blend AI’s efficiency with human judgment.
How does Cinareo bridge the gap?
Cinareo addresses the evolving complexity in contact centers by capacity planning—the process of ensuring there are enough trained staff and resources to meet service levels. Traditionally, this involved manual, complex spreadsheets and lots of guesswork. Cinareo’s solution replaces that with quick, accurate reports, helping companies decide how to deploy resources and human agents optimally.
Nieto sees this kind of software as crucial for the future, not just in contact centers but in other industries like healthcare, retail, and beyond. Wherever there’s a need to juggle shifting variables—staff availability, physical resources, or fluctuating demand—AI-driven capacity planning can make a dramatic difference.
Why It Matters
The bigger message here is that new technology often leads to more human roles rather than fewer. What starts as a cost-saving measure can create new jobs requiring people to manage and optimize those tools. Nieto believes we’ll see the same pattern in contact centers: a strong focus on AI, but with humans in the driver’s seat, delivering better service than ever before.
Want to dive deeper into Nieto’s full thesis on Cinareo and why he’s bullish on a future where humans and AI collaborate? Read the full article here
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