The State of AI in CX: From Assistive to Agentic

New research from CX Network and Kustomer surveys 342 CX leaders on the shift from rules-based AI to autonomous agents, where teams are investing, how AI is reshaping operations and journeys, and why governance and ethics now decide which brands machine customers recommend.

By Kustomer·May 26, 2026·2 min read

What’s in the Guide

AI has become the operational layer of customer experience.

In CX Network’s 2026 survey of 342 practitioners, AI-powered technologies for operations ranked as the #1 trend shaping CX through 2030 for the second consecutive year. Agentic AI and AI agents took second place. The story is no longer whether to deploy AI, but where, how autonomously, and under what guardrails.

Where the money is going.

When asked where they’ll invest CX budget in 2026, practitioners pointed first to agentic AI and AI agents (29%), followed by automation of CX and service functions (22%), conversational AI (15%), and AI/ML for business operations (13%). Year-on-year, 46% expect to increase generative AI spend, 40% will spend more on agentic AI, and 39% will increase spend on other AI tools for CX.

The backend is where the leverage lives.

As Jack Borto, principal software engineer at Kustomer, puts it in the report: “The flashy part is the chatbot, the backend is where the real leverage lives.” Intelligent routing, full-coverage CSAT scoring, automated knowledge-gap detection, and continuous quality evaluation are quietly doing more for service outcomes than any single customer-facing bot.

Customers are bringing their own AI.

A growing cohort of buyers now start journeys by asking an AI assistant rather than typing a search query. That means discoverability, Generative Engine Optimization, and Answer Engine Optimization are now CX problems. Algorithmic buyers judge brands on operational reality (delivery reliability, return ease, sentiment, contact volume), not brand promise.

Governance is no longer optional.

Organizations with org-wide AI governance climbed to 43% this year, up from 37% in 2025. Awareness of how AI uses customer data is now the top customer behavior shaping CX planning. As author Katja Forbes warns: once machine customers screen suppliers algorithmically for governance credentials, “proper governance is your ticket to the premium tier.”

Inside the report:

The pivotal role CX plays in AI procurement and decision-making
How CVS Health built 100,000 agentic AI customer twins to scale voice of customer
How LoadUp’s AI agent handles 100% of inbound SMS sales inquiries and resolves 33% end-to-end
The five customer journey moments where AI should assist (not lead)
Three questions every governance policy must answer in an agentic economy

Download the full report to see all 10 figures, four case studies, and the practitioner playbook for embedding AI responsibly.