Know what AI will really do to your headcount before you sign.
AI vendors sell with their own ROI math. We add back the human work it leaves out: escalations, repeat calls, quality reviews and per-conversation fees. Then we tell you the exact resolution rate the AI must hit before you save a dollar.
Neutral by design: we don't sell AI and we take no vendor referral fees.
"AI resolves 40%, so you need 40% fewer agents." It doesn't work that way.
Simple vendor math skips five costs that every contact center leader has seen in real life. Put them back and a deal that looked like a headcount cut can lose money.
Harder escalations
When the AI hands off, the customer is frustrated and repeats themselves. Those calls take longer.
False resolutions
The AI marks it solved. The customer calls back, and a person handles it anyway.
Oversight
Someone has to review the AI's work for quality, compliance and audit.
Fees on every touch
Per-conversation pricing charges for the calls the AI fails, not just the ones it solves.
Queues don't shrink evenly
Smaller teams lose efficiency. 40% fewer calls never means 40% fewer agents.
The gap between the vendor's number and the real one
Staffing needed at each AI resolution rate, modeled with industry-standard Erlang C after escalations, repeat calls and reviews.
FTE needed by AI resolution rate
Illustrative example, not client data: 20,000 calls a month, 6-minute handle time, 80/30 service level, $45K loaded cost per FTE, $1 per AI conversation, $3K monthly platform fee, 20% extra time on escalations, 10% false resolutions, 5% of AI calls reviewed.
One contact reason. One month of data. One clear answer.
No integrations, no software to install, and no customer personal data. Just the numbers you already report.
Share your numbers
Monthly volume, talk, hold and after-call time, hours, service level target, shrinkage and loaded cost. Add the AI vendor's quoted resolution rate and pricing.
We model every scenario
Erlang C staffing at every AI resolution rate from 0% to 100%, with escalation time, repeat calls, quality reviews and AI fees included.
You get the answer
A branded one-page report and a live readout with Mark: break-even rate, real FTE, cost, payback, and what to negotiate or pilot next.
The math is tested against published benchmarks and a year of real calls
Every model rests on its staffing engine, so we tested ours four ways before putting a client's name on a result.
Exact match
Reproduces the standard Call Centre Helper Erlang C worked example to the decimal.
11 of 11
Staffing matched a separately built engine in every scenario, from 3 agents to 200+.
361,417 calls
A full year of bank call center data. Actual service fell inside the model's predicted range, hour by hour.
No padding
The model leans toward slightly more staff, so the savings it shows are savings you can defend.
For the people who have to live with the AI decision
COOs and VPs of Operations
Decide whether to buy, and what results to hold the vendor to.
WFM leaders
Build the staffing plan for after go-live with numbers that hold up.
CFOs and procurement
Check the vendor's ROI case before the contract is signed, not after.
BPO executives
Show clients what work remains after AI and protect contracts and pricing at renewal.
CX consultants
Give clients a defensible, repeatable model instead of a one-off spreadsheet.
Transformation teams
Sequence pilots by the contact reasons where AI can actually pay back.
Clear, fixed prices. Start free.
Every paid engagement includes a mutual NDA, a branded report and a live readout.
AI Reality Check
- Your numbers entered live
- Break-even rate on the spot
- Real vs vendor FTE
- No file to download, no obligation
AI Capacity Assessment
- Full model on your data
- Branded one-page report
- 60-minute readout with Mark
- Vendor quote reviewed
- Free rerun with pilot results within 90 days
Program Assessment
- Everything in the Assessment
- Ranking of where AI pays back first
- Pilot design and success measures
- Executive presentation
- Vendor negotiation points
BPO & Enterprise
- Assessments across clients or sites
- Co-branded client reports
- Renewal and RFP support
- Priority access to the licensed tool
25% off your first assessment
For our first five clients, in exchange for an anonymized case study.
Free rerun with real results
Run your pilot, send the measured numbers within 90 days, and we update your report at no charge.
15% off for BPO partners
BPOs that bring assessments for their clients get partner pricing on every engagement.
Prices in US dollars. One offer per engagement. Travel, if requested, is billed at cost.
Contact center and BPO advisory, from the people side of the KPI
Creative Contact Solutions helps BPOs, contact centers and customer operations leaders turn operational friction into measurable performance, starting beneath the KPI.
Operational diagnostics
Find the workflow, staffing and leadership causes behind missed service levels, CSAT and cost targets.
Performance recovery
Turnaround plans with a clear operating cadence: daily huddles, weekly reviews, MBRs and QBRs.
Workforce management
Staffing models, schedule adherence, shrinkage and overtime control that hold up week to week.
Quality and coaching systems
Scorecards and coaching frameworks that move QA, handle time and retention together.
Vendor and BPO governance
Onshore, nearshore and offshore partner management, SLAs, and executive-ready QBR narratives.
AI-enabled workflow evaluation
Where AI assist and automation fit, what oversight they need, and how to measure them honestly.
Mark Allen
Founder and Principal Consultant
Built by an operator, not a software vendor
Mark Allen has spent more than 15 years running contact centers and managing BPO partners across the US, Mexico and the Philippines, from the floor to multi-site P&L. He built the AI Capacity Assessment because leaders kept being asked to sign AI contracts based on math that no operations leader would accept.
Outcomes from Mark's operating roles before founding Creative Contact Solutions; they inform CCS advisory work and are not CCS client results.
Common questions
Do you sell AI or take vendor referral fees?
No. The assessment is only useful if it's neutral, so we don't resell AI products and we don't accept referral fees from vendors.
What data do you need, and is it safe?
Only operating totals you already report: volumes, handle times, hours, service targets, shrinkage and cost per FTE, plus the vendor's quote. No customer personal data. Every paid engagement starts with a mutual NDA.
Our AI vendor says they'll resolve 60%. Can you check that?
Yes. We show what 60% would really mean for staffing and cost, what it takes to break even, and which assumptions the vendor's number depends on, so you know what to put in the contract and test in a pilot.
Does this work for chat and email, not just voice?
The current model covers voice queues in depth. Chat and email are modeled on request as part of a Program Assessment.
Can I buy the calculator itself?
A licensed version for internal teams and BPOs is planned. Ask about early access when you contact us.
How accurate is it?
The staffing engine matches published benchmarks exactly and was back-tested on 361,417 real calls. AI results are only as good as the AI assumptions, which is why every number is tagged as an estimate, vendor claim, pilot result or measurement, and why we offer a free rerun with pilot results.
Book a free AI Reality Check
Thirty minutes, one contact reason, your numbers. You'll leave knowing the resolution rate your AI has to hit.
- Based inAsheville, North Carolina. Serving clients across the US, remotely.