Five9, provider of the Intelligent CX Platform, today released its 2026 Business Leaders Customer Experience Report, uncovering how organizations are moving from AI experimentation to execution in customer experience. The global study found that 92% of organizations have already implemented or piloted AI use cases in customer service. Yet despite rapid adoption and measurable business results, consumer trust remains the defining challenge. While 80% of consumers are willing to use AI-powered customer service, two-thirds still prefer speaking with a human.
92% of organizations have implemented or piloted AI use cases in customer service.
80% of consumers are willing to use AI-powered customer service, but 66% prefer speaking with a human.
71% of consumers consider it important to know when they are interacting with an AI agent.
83% of consumers say they still have to repeat themselves after being transferred to a human agent.
84% of organizations are still transitioning from on-premises to cloud-based infrastructure.
Phone remains the most preferred customer service channel overall.
The findings reveal that consumers are placing new expectations on AI-powered customer service. While many are willing to engage with AI for routine interactions, they expect transparency, choice, and seamless transitions when human assistance is needed. 71% of consumers consider it very or extremely important to know when they are interacting with an AI agent, highlighting the growing role of transparency in building trust. Phone remains the most preferred customer service channel overall, and that preference increases steadily with age, rising from 23% of Gen Z consumers to 66% of consumers in the Silent Generation.
The AI-to-human handoff is make-or-break for customer experience. Nearly all decision-makers say their organization preserves context during AI-to-human handoffs, yet 83% of consumers say they still have to repeat themselves at least sometimes after being transferred — raising questions about whether organizations are accurately measuring handoff success. This gap between organizational perception and consumer experience highlights a critical area for improvement in AI-powered customer service.
CX infrastructure is still catching up to AI ambition. 84% of organizations are still transitioning from on-premises infrastructure to cloud-based, underscoring that AI execution depends on the systems, data and workflows underneath it. This transition is essential for organizations to fully realize the benefits of AI-powered customer experiences and ensure seamless integration across channels.
There is no one-size-fits-all AI playbook. Decision makers are split between end-to-end platforms, hybrid approaches and best-of-breed tools, reinforcing the need for flexible AI strategies that align models, workflows, governance and human oversight to each use case. This diversity of approaches reflects the complexity of implementing AI across different organizational contexts and customer needs.
Amit Mathradas, CEO of Five9, commented: "AI has clearly crossed the threshold from promise to production in customer experience, but the next challenge is much harder than deployment. Winning with AI in customer experience will come down to more than automating interactions at scale. It requires making every experience more relevant, more trusted and more human – giving customers choice, equipping agents for higher-value work, preserving context across every handoff and building AI strategies that can scale responsibly across the business."
About Five9
Five9 is the proven, open cloud platform for customer experience. Cloud-native since 2001 and built by voice experts for the agentic era, Five9 powers contact centers for more than 3,500 enterprises across 140+ countries, including leading health systems, financial institutions, and organizations across every major industry. The Five9 platform, powered by Genius AI, serves every channel and workflow, together with the governance, control, and ecosystem flexibility that even the most regulated enterprises demand. Practical AI that learns from every interaction, driving real outcomes for customers and the businesses that serve them.
