"... YOU’ LL SEE CONTACT CENTERS BALANCING COST PRESSURES( USE AI, AUTOMATE) AGAINST THE GREATER LONG‐TERM VALUE OF SERVICE AND TRUST."
FEATURE
WHAT CHANGES: DEVELOPMENTS, ISSUES, AND TRENDS IN THE CX THAT YOU HAVE HEARD FROM CONTACT CENTERS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS THAT WILL LIKELY CONTINUE INTO THE NEXT 12 MONTHS? WHAT ARE THEIR DRIVERS?
RAJ BALASUNDARAM
VERINT
RAJ BALASUNDARAM( RB): One of the biggest trends that will likely continue is the push for results-driven AI implementations. Deployments focused on AI experiments are falling behind those that are focused on outcomes. This is pushing organizations to reevaluate their AI strategies, with many abandoning solutions that don’ t deliver scalable results.
Customer expectations are [ also ] rising, with 64 % of young adults( 18-34-year-olds) in Verint’ s“ The State of Customer Experience 2025” research saying their expectations for CX have increased over the past year.
As a result, contact centers are prioritizing practical, measurable uses of AI that provide what customers want: faster, automated self-service, with seamless handovers to human agents when needed.
We often see that focusing on how AI can handle specific contact center tasks, or aspects of a process, can be more successful than overly broad initiatives that are difficult to scale without major disruptions.
MANISHA POWAR
QUALTRICS
MANISHA POWAR( MP): Over the past year, contact centers have flagged a few clear CX shifts that look set to continue and they’ re all connected.
First, service still matters more than almost anything. Qualtrics’“ 2026 Consumer Trends” research shows customers who pick a company for great service report the highest satisfaction and trust( about 13-plus points above average).
That makes customer service a real trust anchor, especially when the economy feels uncertain. The driver: when things go wrong, people want quick, competent, empathetic resolution, and that’ s what builds loyalty.
"... YOU’ LL SEE CONTACT CENTERS BALANCING COST PRESSURES( USE AI, AUTOMATE) AGAINST THE GREATER LONG‐TERM VALUE OF SERVICE AND TRUST."
‐‐ MANISHA POWAR
At the same time, AI is everywhere, but it’ s a mixed bag. More consumers are using AI and sentiment is improving overall yet trust in organizations to use AI responsibly remains low. And for customer support specifically, AI is underperforming; only about 20 % have used AI for support and a surprising share say they got no benefit.
So, contact centers are experimenting with automation but are running into quality and trust problems. The driver here is twofold: rapid AI deployment to cut costs and scale, plus immature solutions that don’ t yet replicate the empathy and judgment humans provide.
Privacy and personalization are another tension point. Customers want tailored experiences, but most still think privacy risks outweigh the benefits of personalization.
That skepticism limits how aggressively firms can use data, and it forces contact centers to be far more transparent about data handling and consent. The driver is repeated stories and headlines about data misuse; consumers are cautious.
Feedback and listening are changing fast. Direct feedback rates are at all‐time lows and when customers do speak up, their feedback is fragmenting across websites, apps, email, chat, and other touchpoints instead of funneling into classic surveys [ Ed. Note, also see BOX ].
That means contact centers relying on traditional post‐interaction surveys are missing most customer sentiment. The driver is behavioral change; consumers prefer convenient, contextual ways to share input; or they don’ t share at all.
Customer satisfaction and likelihood to trust, recommend, and purchase rebounded in 2025 after a dip in 2024, especially in competitive industries where switching between brands is easy. But nearly half of consumers still choose companies mainly on value: and those relationships tend to have lower trust and are more fragile.
So, you’ ll see contact centers balancing cost pressures( use AI, automate) against the greater long‐term value of service and trust.
CARMIT DIANDREA
NiCE
CARMIT DIANDREA( CD): Over the past year, three themes have consistently come up in conversations with contact centers: rising customer expectations, the need to better support agents in the increasing complexity of their roles, and the growing impact of AI-driven automation.
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