How to Succeed as a CX Leader in 2026

If 2025 was the year contact centres learned to live with AI, 2026 will be the year they lead with it!

After years of struggling to keep up with rising expectations, we’re finally seeing technology mature enough to help humans do what they do best: solve problems, show empathy, and create meaningful moments of connection. But success isn’t automatic!

So, as we head into 2026, we’ve put the spotlight on what separates top performers from the rest – with key recommendations based on our latest industry research – to reveal what every CX leader should really focus on this year.

…Starting with Steve Blood from Five9, sponsor of the CX portion of the research, who helped interpret what the data is telling us, and what it means for organizations trying to balance innovation, efficiency and experience:

10 Ways to Succeed as a CX Leader in 2026

1. Put FCR and Knowledgeable Advisors at the Top of the Wish List

When asked what they value most, customers were clear: 30% want First Call Resolution (FCR) and 29% want Knowledgeable Advisors.

These two pillars define great experiences – and they’re finally within easier reach, thanks to new AI-powered tools that help advisors find answers faster and with greater confidence.

The alignment between what customers want and what AI can support is striking. Real-time agent assistance, call summarization, and knowledge retrieval can help even new hires deliver consistently high-quality service.

CX takeaway: Customers don’t want to be transferred or promised callbacks – they want their issue solved first time, by someone who knows what they’re talking about.

2. Remember “Polite Doesn’t Make Up for Wrong”

Interestingly, professionalism ranked lower as a customer priority, signalling that customers are less concerned with how something is said than with whether it’s right.

In the words of one operations leader: “Polite doesn’t make up for wrong.”

Customers today want clarity, not courtesy scripts. They want to feel that the person (or bot) they’re speaking with has the knowledge and authority to help them.

CX takeaway: Train and coach for outcome confidence – clarity, speed, and assurance – over word-perfect professionalism.

3. Embed Feedback Into the Heart of CX Design

Listening has become the defining skill of successful CX organizations. Contact centres are no longer designing experiences based on assumptions but on real feedback – from both customers and employees.

“Your customers are telling you exactly how to win their loyalty – in surveys, reviews, social posts, and conversations you didn’t even ask for.

The smartest companies treat that feedback like gold and move quickly to turn it into better experiences.

Companies that embed feedback into their culture create the kind of loyalty and emotional connection that turns everyday customers into passionate superfans.” – Brittany Hodak, Keynote Speaker and Author of Creating Superfans

CX takeaway: Stop and ask yourself, “Are we really listening to our customers? Or are we just doing what WE think is best?”

Watch the video below to find out what else was discussed when Call Centre Helper’s Megan Jones spoke to Brittany Hodak, Keynote Speaker & Author of Creating Superfans, about our research and whether contact centres are making the most of customer feedback:

4. Upgrade HOW You Listen to Feedback

It’s not just about listening either. It’s about upgrading HOW you listen to feedback!

There’s clear evidence that the feedback ecosystem is evolving. Traditional channels are all in decline – including email surveys (down from 59.3% to 55.2%), website surveys (down from 18.6% to 13.6%), and paper surveys (down from 6.4% to 5.2%).

Meanwhile, Voice of the Employee (up to 54.3%) and speech/text analytics (up from 12.1% to 25%) are rising fast.

Paul Pember, Founder of CX Score, believes AI is behind this shift:

“AI is going to transform how customer insights are captured and used, with rapid advances in journey analytics, qualitative analysis, and speech/text analytics giving CX teams the ability to connect insight sources in real time.”

CX takeaway: Replace static surveys with AI-driven sentiment and speech analytics that capture how customers really feel – instantly and at scale.

Watch the video below to find out what else was discussed when Call Centre Helper’s Rachael Trickey spoke to Paul Pember, Founder & Chief Consultant at CX score, about our research and how contact centres should be capturing customer feedback:

5. Combine Voice of the Customer and Voice of the Employee

Don’t forget to ask your colleagues what they think too! The rise of Voice of the Employee (VoE) as a CX data source is one of the most promising trends in the report.

Frontline staff often know what’s broken before analytics can prove it. By merging VoE with Voice of the Customer (VoC), organizations can spot systemic issues faster and fix them before they damage satisfaction scores.

CX takeaway: Create unified “listening dashboards” where both customer and employee insights drive experience improvements.

6. Build Feedback Loops That Drive Visible Action

…And always close the loop with any feedback you collect!

Collecting feedback is easy; acting on it is where most organizations stumble. Customers want to see evidence that their feedback leads to tangible change.

That means closing the loop – not just thanking them for their input, but showing them the improvements made because of it.

CX takeaway: Publish “You Said, We Did” updates internally and externally. It strengthens trust and encourages ongoing engagement.

7. Strike the Right Balance With Self-Service

Self-service continues to reign supreme when it comes to perceived ROI – with 37.9% of CX professionals citing it as the area delivering maximum value for money.

That’s hardly surprising. When self-service works well, it deflects contacts, cuts costs, and improves satisfaction. But when it fails, it frustrates customers faster than almost any other channel.

“Today’s consumers are growing accustomed to instant gratification through rockstar brands like Amazon, which give them answers quickly, efficiently, and intuitively.

Customers now expect or hope for similar experiences with all brands they interact with. However, I caution my clients about going “all in” on self-service solutions.

Most customers still prefer the human-to-human experience.  The best companies strike a balance between in-person and digital interactions.” – Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations

CX takeaway: Automate routine tasks, but keep humans available for complex, emotional, or high-value interactions (as well as on standby for when self-service doesn’t give them what they need).

Watch the video below to find out what else was discussed when Call Centre Helper’s Xander Freeman spoke to Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer, about our research and what CX channels contact centre leaders should invest in:

8. Stop Prioritizing Efficiency With Your Chatbots

Despite massive investment, 70.9% of chatbot interactions are still rated mediocre or worse.

So, what’s happening behind the scenes here?

“The industry has prioritized efficiency over the richness of the customer experience. About 29% of respondents have good or excellent interactions, indicating that when chatbots work, they deliver that swift, transactional efficiency that some customers appreciate.

Yet the overwhelming “mediocre” rating shows there’s still a disconnect. We’re seeing bots that are built more around speed and pre-programmed steps rather than the way humans naturally converse.

Think about it: a chatbot often handles one linear task at a time. But in real conversations, there’s more of a flow. One question might spark another, and customers might not even know exactly what they need until they start talking.

Right now, a lot of bots fall apart the moment the conversation stops being a neat, straightforward transaction.” – Vinay Parmar, Managing Director of Customer Whisperers Limited

CX takeaway: To move beyond “mediocre”, design chatbots that reflect how humans actually interact – by being layered, contextual, and adaptive. Just focusing on speed isn’t going to get you there! You have to design a truly conversational experience that understands and responds to the customer’s real needs.

Watch the video below to find out what else was discussed when Call Centre Helper’s Rachael Trickey spoke to Vinay Parmar, Managing Director at Customer Whisperers Limited, about our research and chatbot experience:

9. Use AI to Connect the Dots, Not Create Silos

With multiple data sources – surveys, chat transcripts, speech analytics, CRM records – CX teams often struggle with fragmented insights. AI offers a way to unify them.

After all, organizations that integrate multiple, complementary channels, underpinned by AI, will be best positioned to capture a complete, actionable picture of their customer experience.

CX takeaway: Build connected ecosystems, not isolated tools. The future of CX lies in unified intelligence that spans voice, digital, and operational data.

10. Be Prepared for the AI-Driven CX Frontier

Only 12.1% of contact centres say they have no plans to introduce AI. The rest are already implementing or exploring it. Therefore AI is no longer a futuristic concept – it’s the operational backbone of modern CX and you don’t want to get left behind!

The challenge now is focus. With so many potential applications, CX leaders must prioritize use cases that deliver measurable value and human benefit.

CX takeaway: There’s no time like the present! Start exploring use cases where AI could make a big difference in your contact centre.

Harness Technology to Amplify – Not Replace Humanity

The key to CX success in 2026 isn’t just adopting new technology – it’s aligning people, process, and purpose around what really moves the dial:

• Customers want effortless, accurate, empathetic service.
• Agents want to feel empowered, not replaced.
• Leaders want visibility and insight to make smarter decisions.

And it’s all within reach for the contact centres that harness technology to amplify – not replace – humanity. They will be the ones that not only meet expectations in 2026, but set the new standard for CX excellence.

Author: Megan Jones