Happy New Year… and Here We Go Again!
Happy New Year and welcome back to what promises to be another interesting year in customer experience.
We’re a little later in the month this month because we slightly extended our own New Year celebrations this year with the arrival of our fourth grandson, Reuben Victor Cross, who made his entrance on 5th January, weighing in at a very respectable 7lb 7oz. He’s already reminded us of two important CX truths:
- Humans still matter more than systems
- When someone genuinely needs care, speed comes second to presence (Which, incidentally, is also true at 3am.)
As many of you return to full inboxes, dashboards and customer conversations, there’s a growing sense that 2026 isn’t about shiny new CX ideas – it’s about getting the fundamentals right in a world that feels louder, faster and less forgiving than ever.
Here are five CX themes we’re hearing repeatedly from CX leaders right now, backed by real data – plus a few practical thoughts on navigating them without exhausting your teams or your customers.
What’s on the CX Radar for 2026
Customers aren’t becoming unreasonable – they’re becoming overloaded.
According to research published by CSG International, 70% of consumers say brands send so many messages they stop paying attention and 59% admit they’ve deleted important service communications because they looked like generic marketing.
So when customers miss updates, deadlines or instructions, it’s often not apathy – it’s cognitive overload.
What helps:
- Ruthlessly simplifying customer communications
- Clearly separating service-critical messages from promotions
- Using technology to reduce noise, not amplify it
Sometimes the most customer-centric move is sending less, not more
CX teams caught between efficiency and empathy
Frontline teams are living a daily contradiction:
- “Be faster.”
- “But also… be more human.”
A Glance CX report found that 75% of consumers felt frustrated after AI-driven service interactions, even when responses were quick – because the issue wasn’t fully resolved. Speed without resolution simply moves frustration along faster.
Customers don’t remember how quickly you replied.
They remember whether you sorted it.
What helps:
- Rebalancing KPIs so resolution and effort matter as much as handling time
- Designing journeys where humans step in before customers hit breaking point
- Giving agents insight and authority, not just scripts
Your people usually know what good service looks like. The system just needs to let them deliver it.
Trust is eroding in automated journeys
Customers don’t hate AI.
They hate hearing “The system won’t let me” especially when no human seems accountable.
The same CSG research shows that 56% of customers feel uncomfortable allowing AI to take actions on their behalf, particularly when decisions are opaque or escalation isn’t clear.
Trust erodes fastest when:
- Decisions feel hidden
- Accountability is unclear
- Customers can’t reach a human when it matters
What helps:
- Being upfront about when AI is being used – and why!
- Designing visible, easy human escalation paths
- Making sure someone always owns the outcome
Automation should feel supportive, not evasive.
CX credibility at board level is under pressure
CX has officially grown up.
Boards are no longer asking, “Are customers happy?”
They’re asking, “What’s the commercial risk if this experience fails?”
CX Today and Fluent Support both highlight that CX leaders in 2026 are being measured on their ability to connect experience to retention, cost-to-serve, complaint escalation and reputational risk – not just NPS.
What helps:
- Translating CX metrics into revenue protection and risk reduction
- Linking friction to churn, rework and operational cost
- Positioning CX as a commercial discipline, not a soft one
The upside? CX leaders who can speak this language are gaining real traction at board level.
The re-humanisation of service is becoming the differentiator
Here’s the quiet twist.
While many organisations are doubling down on automation, the brands quietly outperforming their peers are doubling down on:
- Listening
- Ownership
- Presence
- Human judgement
The Glance CX study also found that loyalty drops sharply when customers feel human support has been removed entirely even if the technology is working “as designed”.
AI works best when it acts like a brilliant assistant, not a gatekeeper.
What helps:
- Designing intentional human moments into key journeys
- Using AI to support people, not replace them
- Giving frontline teams permission to care – and act!
Small human moments still create disproportionate loyalty. That hasn’t changed.
Over to You
As we head properly into 2026, we’re curious:
- Which of these feels most real in your organisation right now?
- Where are your teams feeling the tension most acutely?
- And where could one small shift make a meaningful difference?
As always, Spotlight on Service (SOS) exists to spark honest conversations – not polished perfection, so hit reply or add your feedback in the comments box to share your experiences.
In the meantime, here’s to a year of thoughtful choices, human moments and CX that genuinely works.
