2026年1月联络中心新兴技术市场研究

Emerging Contact Center Technology:An Introduction Three-in-five consumers feel the customer experienceregressedin 2025. The majorityof contact center employees, meanwhile, faced overwhelming sources of frustrationand inefficiency – and demonstrated insufficient levels of productivity and engagement. What will it take to right the ship in 2026? How will organizations cultivate engagingcontact center environments and, in turn, deliver satisfying customer experiences? Mindset alone is not the answer. Contact centers havelongembraced concepts like“competing on the customer experience” and “being where their customers are.”They have long celebrated the importance of operational culture, famously noting that“happy agents equal happy customers.” Unfortunately, they have lacked an appropriate mechanism for turning thesecustomer-centric ambitions into customer experience actualities. They did notestablish a framework for sufficiently empowering human employees to makepersonal, lasting, and lucrative connections. They did not adequately build an enginefor fueling frictionless, personalized, predictive, and proactive care at scale. Success, then, will come from locating and leveraging the appropriate tools and solutions.It will come from harnessing the power of emerging contact center technology. How can contact centers identify, implement, and optimize the right solutions? Whatstrategic and operational challenges will they have to overcome? What metrics shouldthey use to evaluate and calibrate their success? And what precise role will AI – andother emerging technology categories – play in this journey? Citing exclusive and extensive industry research, this Market Study answersthose questions. Table of Contents 2Emerging Contact Center Technology: An Introduction4Methodology & Demographics4About the Author5Key Findings6A Means to a Customer-Centric End10Are There Too Many Cooks In The Evaluation Kitchen?12Evaluating the Past Before Embracing the Future: ATechnology Scorecard15Emerging AI Technology: The Best Solutions Will StrengthenTrust and Foster Human Connections20The Data Directive: Contact Center Intelligence That WillDrive A Lasting CX Impact22The Next Wave: Tomorrow’s Technologies That AreAttracting Enthusiasm Today25Partnership Over Product: How Technology Providers AreShaping CX28Beyond Innovation Theater: The Reality of Contact CenterTech in 202631Why Thumbtack Chose Maven AGI: A Q&A on Investing inAgent-Based CX33Separating CX Technology Value From Hype in 2026: HowContact Center Leaders Turn Insight Into Action36The Agentic Enterprise: When Technological Unity DrivesHuman Connectivity40From Innovation to Maturity: The Next AI Journey45Future-Proofing Your Contact Center AI Strategy48Appendix492026 Editorial Calendar50Meet the Team Methodology & Demographics To illuminate the Emerging Contact Center Technology landscape, CCW Digital conducted asurvey in January 2026. The survey polled leaders responsible for customer contact, customerexperience, operations, and information technology on their overarching visions, investmentplans, and top challenges. Example respondent job titles included head of customer experience, director of support centers,vice president of customer care, chief information officer, director of guest experience, globalcustomer service director, director of operations, and vice president of patient services. Respondents represent companies of most industries and size ranges. About the Author Brian Cantor Principal Analyst, CCW Digital Customer Management Practice Brian Cantor is the Principal Analyst and Director for CCW Digital, the global onlinecommunity and research hub for customer contact professionals. In his role, Brian leadsall customer experience, contact center, technology, and employee engagement researchinitiatives for CCW. CCW Digital’s articles, special reports, commentaries, infographics,executive interviews, webinars, and online events reach a community of over 180,000. A passionate advocate for customer centricity, Brian regularly speaks on major CXconference agendas. He also advises organizations on customer experience andbusiness development strategies. Key Findings 1For customer contact leaders pursuing new technology in 2026, the top objectivesare improving customer service and experience outcomes, elevating data andintelligence quality, and managing efficiency.2Numerous industry trends, especially the pushes for proactive personalization,AI-assisted shopping, and frictionless engagement, are also shaping technologyinvestments and strategies.3Beyond emphasizing the aforementioned outcomes, technology providers canconnect with buyers by offering attractive pricing models, compelling platformintegration, and low-code customization.4Product demos, one-on-one sales conversations, partner endorsements, andindustry reports are the most effective vehicles for communicating that value.5When it comes to technology investments, leaders know they need to d