"... CONTACT CENTER SALARIES MAY MOVE CLOSER TO THOSE OF PROFESSIONS THAT REQUIRE SPE- CIALIZED EXPERTISE."
FEATURE
And there appears to be every indication that this change will not only continue but accelerate in 2026.
To provide advice and guidance for contact centers, we reached out to our Advisory Board to find out what contact center trends, in this context, do they foresee in 2026? And are they the same, changed, or new as compared to 2025?
MIKE AOKI
REFLECTIVE KEYNOTES, INC.
1. HUMAN AGENTS WILL HANDLE MORE COMPLEX AND EMOTIONAL INTERACTIONS
• AI will take on more of the quick, routine interactions, which means higher percentages of the remaining questions will require human judgment.
Ironically, voice may become more important in 2026 as agents handle the complex issues that customers prefer to discuss by phone.
• Even with advanced AI, many customers will still seek human reassurance. Some will call to confirm that the AI’ s answer is correct. Others will have unique or unusual questions that automated systems cannot handle.
• Customer service has always been the“ exception department.” If a question had a standard answer, it would already be in the product design or on the FAQ page. Humans remain essential for handling unforeseen customer service exceptions.
2. TALK TIME( TT) WILL RISE EVEN AS AFTER-CALL WORK( ACW) DECREASES
• As AI handles simpler inquiries, what remains for human agents are the emotionally charged or technically complex situations that take longer to resolve.
As a result, TT may increase. That needs to be accepted and adapted to by your workforce management( WFM) team.
• On the other hand, ACW time may shrink due to stronger AI tools that summarize interactions and complete fulfilment steps.
"... CONTACT CENTER SALARIES MAY MOVE CLOSER TO THOSE OF PROFESSIONS THAT REQUIRE SPE- CIALIZED EXPERTISE."
-- MIKE AOKI
3. COACHING WILL SHIFT TOWARD EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• Coaching will shift in 2026. Process and fact-based coaching will become less frequent because agent assist tools provide the correct steps.
Instead, team leaders will spend more time developing emotional intelligence and communication skills in their human agents, since those are the skills required for handling more challenging interactions.
4. AGENT HIRING PROFILES AND PAY EXPECTATIONS WILL CHANGE
• As simpler Tier 1 inquiries get handled by AI, human agents will take on typical Tier 2 interactions. That means emotional intelligence, problem solving, and emotional customer support skills will become the new baselines for frontline agents. That demands a higher skill set.
• There are early signs contact centers may begin hiring from fields such as social work or psychology. These backgrounds align with the rising need to calm upset customers, listen empathetically, and manage emotionally complex situations.
If this shift continues, starting contact center salaries may move closer to those of professions that require specialized expertise. These may mirror IT support salaries, where entry-level workers often start with advanced credentials.
5. DEMOGRAPHIC MISMATCHES AND COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES WILL CREATE NEW CHALLENGES
• Demographics will add complexity. Gen Z employees often prefer text and may have limited experience with phone conversations. Yet many callers, especially older customers, still rely entirely on voice.
So, you may wind up with Gen Z agents, who dislike talking on the phone, getting yelled at by Boomer customers who only want to talk on the phone!
• There is an equal mismatch in written channels. Some older agents focus heavily on creating carefully composed paragraphs in chat, while many younger customers communicate in short, rapid bursts.
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