Secure Video Calling in Amazon Connect (Without the Risk)

A surprising number of contact centers roll out video support the same way they roll out a new IVR prompt: fast, broad, and with security bolted on later. That’s how you end up with agents asking customers to “turn on your camera” before anyone’s verified who’s actually on the other end.

Secure video calling in Amazon Connect is different when you treat identity and session control as part of the customer journey, not a separate project. Done right, video becomes a high-trust channel for moments that matter—claim inspections, device troubleshooting, ID checks, complex onboarding—while still fitting into an AI-enabled, automation-heavy contact center.

This post is part of our AI in Customer Service & Contact Centers series, and it focuses on a practical pattern: keep the experience simple for the customer, keep agents in one workspace, and enforce authentication with short-lived credentials so your video channel doesn’t become a fraud magnet.

Why contact centers are adding video—and why security can’t be optional

Video support is gaining traction because it solves problems voice and chat struggle with. If a customer can show a cracked component, a skin reaction, a broken seal, or an error light, you can skip five minutes of clarifying questions and get to resolution.

But video also raises the stakes:

• Identity risk increases: camera-on doesn’t equal verified identity.
• Data exposure expands: screenshots, shoulder surfing, and accidental PII on camera become real issues.
• Session hijacking becomes possible if links are reusable or not bound to a verified customer.

Here’s the stance I’ve found most useful: treat video like a privileged action. If a workflow is “high assurance” (refunds, account changes, medical or financial guidance, KYC), video should be gated by authentication and logged like any other sensitive interaction.

The core pattern: voice-to-video escalation with OTP authentication

The cleanest way to add video without tearing up your operating model is escalation:

1. Start in voice (or chat) as usual.
2. The agent decides video will speed up or de-risk the interaction.
3. The customer receives a one-time link and a one-time PIN.
4. The customer authenticates using the PIN.
5. The video session routes back to the same agent, keeping context intact.

This is exactly the kind of design that pairs well with AI in the contact center:

• AI can recommend video escalation (based on intent, sentiment, or repeated failure states).
• Automation can create tasks, send messages, and validate OTPs without agent gymnastics.
• Analytics can track where video actually improves outcomes (AHT, FCR, CSAT) versus where it’s just “cool.”

A quick architecture view (what talks to what)

At a high level, the secure implementation uses:

• Amazon Connect for contact handling, agent workspace, and video/web calling flows
• Amazon Connect Tasks to standardize how agents initiate video
• AWS End User Messaging (SMS) to deliver the video link and one-time PIN
• AWS Lambda to generate/store/validate PINs and read configuration
• Amazon DynamoDB to store short-lived verification data with automatic expiry
• Amazon S3 + Amazon CloudFront to host the lightweight web page that loads the communication widget

If you’re thinking “that’s a lot of moving parts,” the important point is this: each service has one job, and the security posture comes from how you bind them together—especially TTL-based expiration and PIN validation inside a Connect flow.

Step-by-step: how secure video calling works in the real customer journey

The best designs are easy to explain to operations and security teams. Here’s the full journey in plain language.

1) Call reception and agent decision

A customer contacts your Amazon Connect instance through normal channels. The agent works the issue and decides video will help.

Common escalation triggers:

• “Show me the damage” (claims, returns)
• “Point the camera at the device” (tech support)
• “Let’s confirm identity documents” (regulated onboarding)
• “We need a live walkthrough” (installations, field support alternatives)

2) Agent initiates a standardized video task

Instead of improvising (“I’ll email you a link”), the agent uses a task template in the Agent Workspace.

Minimum required fields that matter for security and routing:

• Customer mobile number (where the SMS will be sent)
• Agent identifier/username (so the video session maps back to the right agent)

This is a subtle but important operational control: standardization reduces mistakes. When escalation is ad hoc, you get wrong numbers, wrong links, and untraceable flows.

3) Automation generates a PIN and stores state

Submitting the task triggers an Amazon Connect flow that invokes Lambda.

That Lambda:

• Looks up configuration parameters
• Stores the PIN and customer details (phone number, contact ID) in DynamoDB
• Kicks off the SMS that includes (a) the web link and (b) the one-time PIN

This is where the “enterprise-ready” part starts to show: the system is building a short-lived, auditable record that ties the escalation to a specific contact.

4) Customer opens link and authenticates inside Amazon Connect

The customer taps the link from SMS, lands on a simple page hosting the web calling widget, and starts the video calling experience.

A new Amazon Connect flow prompts the customer to enter the PIN.

Then a second Lambda function:

• Retrieves the stored PIN from DynamoDB
• Validates the entered PIN
• Approves or rejects access

No PIN, no video.

5) TTL cleanup prevents link reuse and reduces blast radius

Two expiry windows matter:

• PIN expires after 5 minutes (tight window to reduce fraud and replay risk)
• All stored data expires after 30 minutes (cleanup to limit sensitive footprint)

That combination is the difference between “we have a secure flow” and “we have a link that could be forwarded.” In practice, TTL is one of the most effective, low-friction security controls you can add to customer-facing authentication.

Deployment approach: fast setup, but make it production-grade

The source implementation uses infrastructure automation (a CloudFormation template) to stand up the supporting components. The workflow is straightforward, but there are a few production choices I strongly recommend making up front.

Configure SMS Sender ID with intent (not just branding)

You’ll configure a Sender ID in AWS End User Messaging to send the PIN and link. Beyond getting the mechanics working, think about trust signals.

What improves completion rates and reduces social engineering risk:

• Use a recognizable Sender ID customers already associate with your brand
• Keep the SMS content consistent: purpose + time window (“PIN valid for 5 minutes”)
• Avoid sending anything that looks like a marketing campaign

Host the widget page with tight domain controls

The web page that loads the communication widget is hosted via S3 and CloudFront. In Amazon Connect you’ll add allowed domains under widget Domain & Security.

Even if you start with minimal security for a proof of concept, production should include:

• Strict allow-listing of domains
• Controlled deployment process for the widget page
• Clear ownership between contact center ops and web/security teams

Don’t skip DynamoDB TTL configuration

TTL is not a “nice to have.” It’s your safety net.

Production checklist for DynamoDB:

• Enable TTL for the 30-minute cleanup field
• Use least-privilege IAM for both Lambda functions
• Log validation outcomes (success/failure, counts, timestamps) to support fraud monitoring

Where AI fits: turning video into a measurable, automatable channel

Video calling is powerful, but if you roll it out as a novelty, you’ll pay for it in handle time and inconsistent outcomes. AI makes video escalation disciplined.

AI can recommend the right moment to escalate

In mature contact centers, the escalation decision shouldn’t rely only on agent instinct. AI-driven workflows can flag:

• Repeated misunderstanding (“customer has re-explained the issue twice”)
• Low confidence troubleshooting states
• High-risk intents (refunds, disputes, account takeover patterns)
• Sentiment drops that predict churn

Even a simple rules layer (intent + duration + failure states) can drive smarter escalation.

Video can reduce AHT and repeats—if you use it surgically

Video isn’t faster for everything. It’s faster when it removes ambiguity.

Strong video use cases:

• Visual inspection (damage, defects)
• Guided configuration (routers, POS terminals, medical devices)
• Form completion and onboarding walkthroughs

Weak use cases:

• Billing explanations
• Password resets (unless paired with higher assurance verification needs)
• General FAQ or policy questions

A practical operating metric I like: video escalation rate by intent. If your video usage isn’t clustered around the intents where it drives clarity, it’s probably being overused.

Secure OTP is the baseline—AI fraud signals are the next layer

OTP + short TTL is an excellent baseline control. Over time, many teams add additional signals, such as:

• Velocity checks (multiple failed PIN attempts)
• Phone-number risk scoring and history
• Anomaly detection (unusual escalation frequency per agent or queue)

The point is not to make customers jump through hoops. It’s to reserve friction for the moments that justify it.

Practical checklist: what to get right before you scale

If you’re preparing to roll this across queues, regions, or regulated lines of business, use this checklist to avoid painful rework.

Security and compliance

• PIN expiry at 5 minutes and data cleanup at 30 minutes (or tighter if you can)
• Document what can be shown on video (PII, payment cards, IDs)
• Define retention rules (especially if you later add recording)
• Validate least-privilege permissions for Connect, Lambda, DynamoDB, and messaging

Operations and agent experience

• Provide a clear playbook: when to use video and when not to
• Make the task template mandatory fields truly minimal
• Train agents on customer coaching (“tap the link, enter PIN, then start video”)
• Add fallback steps when SMS delivery fails (alternate number, voice PIN, or re-send)

Measurement (so video earns its keep)

Track these from day one:

• Video escalation rate by intent and queue
• Auth completion rate (started video flow vs successfully authenticated)
• Impact on AHT and FCR for targeted intents
• Customer satisfaction for video-assisted resolutions
• Fraud or suspicious patterns (failed PIN attempts, reuse attempts)

A simple truth: if you can’t measure video’s impact per use case, you’ll end up debating it by anecdotes.

Next steps: build a secure video lane your customers will actually use

Secure video calling in Amazon Connect works best when it’s treated as a high-trust, high-value lane inside an AI-powered contact center—not a new channel that competes with voice and chat for everything.

If you’re already using Amazon Connect for AI-assisted routing, automated tasks, or agent guidance, video escalation is a natural extension. You’re not adding complexity for its own sake; you’re creating a path for the hard moments where seeing the issue (and verifying the person) reduces risk and speeds up resolution.

If you were to roll out secure video support in one queue before the end of Q1, which workflow would benefit most: claims inspection, device troubleshooting, or high-assurance onboarding? The answer usually tells you where to start—and how to prove value fast.