Zendesk CX Trends 2026

What CX teams need to know now

The new CX trends for 2026 show how contextual intelligence, AI and multimodality are shaping customer service – and what steps companies should be planning now.
  • 5 trends that will redefine CX in 2026
  • Focus on contextual intelligence – AI that truly understands
  • Multimodal interactions across all channels
  • Transparency and governance as key competitive factors
Zendesk CX Trends 2026: Contextual intelligence

What the CX Trends Report 2026 reveals

Customer service will continue to change rapidly in 2026: AI will become more context-aware, self-service will resolve more queries completely, and transparency will become an established standard of expectation. The CX Trends Report study is based on global surveys of consumers, CX managers and operational teams, and shows how companies can make their service processes more stable, efficient and personalised.

76 %
would be more likely to choose a company if text, images and videos could be used in the same thread – without having to start over.
81 %
of CX executives say that easy access to internal knowledge will significantly improve decision-making.
63 %
Customers now expect greater transparency regarding AI decisions than they did last year.
83 %
of CX executives see memory-rich AI as the key to true personalisation.
85 %
CX managers state that customers will stop using brands if problems are not resolved upon first contact.

The CX Trends 2026 Report answers key questions about:

  • Contextual intelligence and its influence on CX
  • Expectations for AI transparency
  • The role of multimodality
  • The further development of self-service
  • New metrics and forms of analytics

It also shows

  • how companies are already using these developments,
  • what customers will value most in the coming year, and
  • which factors have the strongest influence on satisfaction, efficiency and operational stability.

The report thus provides clear guidance for anyone who wants to further develop their customer service in a targeted manner in the coming year.

The five main CX trends for 2026

1. Memory-rich AI

AI retains context across interactions, enabling significantly more personalised, consistent experiences.

Zendesk CX Trends 2026: Autonomer Self-Service

2. Autonomous self-service

Self-service is becoming faster, more accurate and resolves more queries completely before they reach support.

Zendesk CX-Trends 2026: Multimodale Interaktionen

3. Multimodal interactions

Text, speech, images and videos seamlessly intertwine – customers intuitively switch between channels.

Zendesk CX Trends 2026 Nr. 4: Prompt-driven Analytics

4. Prompt-driven Analytics

Analyses become more flexible: CX teams ask questions directly via prompt and receive immediately actionable insights.

Zendesk CX-Trend 2026: Transparente KI-Entscheidungen

5. Transparent AI decisions

Consumers expect comprehensible AI logic. Clear governance and transparency strengthen trust.

↓ Download CX Trends 2026 ↓

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