AI adoption shows no signs of slowing. In 2025, organizations focused on scaling intelligently, targeting practical use cases, and building confidence in automation. In 2026, the landscape will shift again. Regulations are becoming real. And the contact center remains on the front lines of both innovation and risk.

According to CallMiner’s 2025 CX Landscape Report, 71% of organizations now have a dedicated AI governance function. Yet 67% admit they’re still deploying AI without the governance structures needed to manage risk. The tension between speed and oversight is hitting a breaking point.

As 2026 approaches, customer experience (CX) leaders will feel new pressure to operationalize AI with discipline, compliance rigor, and sharper data practices. Below are the trends shaping that future, and what they mean for teams preparing for the next wave of transformation and automation.

AI governance boards fade as compliance takes over

Prediction by Jeff Gallino, CallMiner CEO

Last year, AI councils and governance boards emerged to guide responsible adoption. They gained influence quickly, shaped procurement, and aligned stakeholders. But that era is already shifting.

In 2026, governance boards will become less central to buying decisions, with compliance teams rising in their place. As the EU AI Act and similar regulations come into force, oversight stops being a choice and becomes a requirement.

Organizations will no longer ask whether they need guardrails. They’ll focus on how fast they can implement them. Governance boards that once advised strategy will hand the baton to compliance leaders who enforce it.

Why it matters:

• Oversight formalizes into policy and audit-ready processes
• Vendors must demonstrate measurable risk controls, not soft assurances
• Responsible AI moves from principle to a legal obligation

What used to be voluntary guidance is now enforced as law. Teams that prepare early will navigate the transition with less disruption and more confidence.

AI becomes the best customer service rep

Prediction by Jeff Gallino, CallMiner CEO

Automation is crossing a performance threshold. By the end of 2026, half of all customer interactions will be fully automated — and many of those AI-led experiences will surpass human service for routine issues.

In 2025, 40% of organizations in the CX Landscape cited AI’s ability to help customers resolve issues independently as a top CX benefit. That momentum is accelerating, with faster responses, higher accuracy, and consistency across channels. These qualities build trust, even among customers who aren’t actively seeking AI support.

In other words, AI is no longer working only behind the scenes. It is handling full interactions, reducing friction for customers and creating more predictable workflows for teams.

Why it matters:

• Contact centers redesign their staffing around AI-forward workflows
• Human agents focus on empathy, judgment, and escalation complexity
• AI becomes the first line of service for high-volume, simple needs
• End-to-end automation becomes a realistic standard for CX

Every automated interaction becomes a chance to create value. AI will enable leaders to gain speed and scalability, while freeing their teams to focus on what humans do best.

Strategic data pruning emerges as the new CX advantage

Prediction by Eric Williamson, CallMiner CMO

CX teams spent years collecting more data than they could analyze: dashboards, metrics, feedback. But volume didn’t translate into value.

In 2026, this ‘more is more’ mindset breaks. Leaders begin to delete data that doesn’t drive outcomes and concentrate on high-impact insights that guide strategy, automation, and performance. The CX Landscape shows why this shift is overdue: 62% of leaders say they aren’t using their CX data to its best advantage. The challenge isn’t data scarcity; it’s noise.

Why it matters:

• Teams drop legacy metrics that create distraction without improving actionability
• Data strategies center on ROI, not sheer data accumulation
• AI becomes more effective when trained on refined, high-quality inputs
• Organizations align around tailored datasets that support measurable change

Data pruning will lead to faster insights, stronger automation output, and more unified operations.

Preparing for a compliance-driven, AI-powered, automated CX future

2026 will push organizations toward disciplined automation, stronger oversight, and more intentional data strategies. Governance boards that once guided AI adoption will give way to compliance-led structures. AI will handle half of all customer interactions with growing confidence and reliability. And data strategies will move from collecting everything to prioritizing what moves the needle.

As a result, organizations will refine their data practices, build audit-ready frameworks, and scale AI in ways that improve both CX and operational performance. This coming year, teams will progress from adopting AI to adopting it well — with end-to-end CX automation as a safe, compliant, and reachable goal to improve both customer satisfaction and employee experience.