How it started, how it’s going: 5 Ways CX spending has changed this decade

We may only be six years in, but a lot has happened this decade. And from Covid to agentic AI, many of these events have had a direct impact on how CX practitioners operate. 

Every year, CX Network asks members to share the trends that are influencing their work, how they are investing to achieve their goals, and the obstacles they encounter when doing so. 

Looking back on the last five editions of this research confirms the scale of change in CX. At the start of the decade, practitioners were investing to achieve targets such as customer loyalty or driving NPS, whereas today they are spending on specific tools, such as AI agents and automation. 

At the same time, the obstacles to these investments have also changed and the influence of global business and economic conditions is clear. In 2022, the top investment obstacles were interoperability and time constraints. Since 2025, the research shows local and global economic conditions have changed how businesses justify and prioritize investment in CX – and how the pressure to prove ROI is growing. 

Based on CX Network's annual research into the state of CX, this article explores five key trends that can be identified when the last five editions of the survey are analyzed together. It focuses on the top CX spending priorities between 2023 and 2026 and the top 10 investment obstacles recorded in the research between 2022 and 2026.

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How CX investment has changed since 2023

Each year, CX Network asks research respondents to select their top three spending priorities from a list of more than 20 choices. The graphic below shows the four-year trend for the 10 most selected responses, 2023-2026.

1. CRM and chatbots are the only tech to make the top 10 every year

If there are two things CX clearly can't live without, it's chatbots and a CRM.

These are the only two response choices to consistently make the top 10 list of most selected responses over the last four years – and as technologies, both have undergone notable advances over this period.

Previously, the humble CRM was an essential yet mostly passive means by which to track customer relationships. A foundation of modern CX, it could handle data management, customer support and segmentation, and analytics and reporting.

It has developed rapidly since 2023, explaining why so many organizations invest in these capabilities and tools each year. Today's CRMs feature AI to elevate customer understanding and, in the most sophisticated cases, automate actions using agentic AI.

Chatbots and conversational AI are another fast-moving area of CX. In 2023, chatbots were primarily used to handle high or fluctuating contact volumes, allowing organizations to scale support in line with demand or simply triage day-to-day inquiries.

Some forward-thinking organizations also rolled out chatbots as navigational tools for vast product catalogs. Today, conversational AI is changing how customers and organizations interact across the customer journey. This ranges from customers using their own AI assistants, to product discovery bots in a retailer's  proprietary ecosystem, and service and support bots, with a growing focus on voice AI. 

2. Investments in data insights and analytics peaked in 2024

Data is the bedrock of successful AI use. Data that is fragmented, incomplete or old creates operational constraints. However, as an area for investment and as a CX trend, data insights and analytics peaked in 2024. That year it emerged as the number one most selected trend influencing the work of practitioners and the second most important area for investment. In 2026 it was the ninth most selected trend and fifth most selected investment priority.

In part, this could be because the future of CX isn't about data alone; it's about actionability. 
Babul Balakrishnan, senior vice president of CX for Thunes, says: "We don't need more dashboards. We need better decisions in the moment, guidance that helps agents, systems, and leaders know what to do next, not just what went wrong last week. CX also needs data governance and structure. Without clean, trusted, well-connected data, every AI or automation ambition eventually stalls."

These results aren't to say the data piece is solved. It remains an investment priority for many, but other priorities take precedence right now. Furthermore, when it comes to data preparation, some agentic AI tools can execute most of the work practitioners previously had to do manually.

The other trend around data is that customers have a deeper appreciation of its value than they have in the past. This was evident in the 2026 top customer behavior trends, where awareness of how AI works/uses customer data was the most selected response.

How the investment obstacles facing CX have changed since 2022

CX Network's research also asks respondents to disclose their three most pressing obstacles to investment from a list of more than 20 choices. The graphic below shows the five-year trend for the 10 most selected responses, 2022-2026.

3. Economic conditions directly impact which CX business plans get the green light 

Since 2024, global and local economic conditions have had a notable, direct impact on CX spending. While these response choices did not make the top 10 in 2022 and 2023, in 2024, global and local economic conditions were selected by 20 percent and 28 percent of respondents respectively, ranking these responses in fifth and 10th place. The trend continued, albeit on a smaller scale in 2025 and 2026. 

Business confidence has taken a hit across the world since 2020,  with only temporary uplift. Today, the picture remains mixed and the impact of this on CX is evident in the 2026 research results.

Speaking to CX Network is 2024, Yvette Mihelic, director of CX for John Holland Group and a CX Network Advisory Board member, said: "Globally, the economic environment is tightening and we all know that the funding that gets pulled first is that from areas that are unproven in their value to business. To counteract this mindset, we need to demonstrate and validate that CX is critical to business growth and development and can provide not only revenue increases, but also achieve efficiencies in delivery resulting in reduced operating costs."

4. Internal sign off is becoming more complicated

Against this backdrop, it comes little surprise that the top investment obstacles are dominated by a struggle to win hearts and minds for CX investment. 

The data shows that over the last five years practitioners have been working to overcome board-level and stakeholder buy-in, a lack of human resources, time constraints, internal talent constraints, and complicated internal sign off procedures. In 2026, lack of awareness around the benefits of investment also made the top 10 responses. 

"Being smart with our business cases and thoughtful in our concept creation will create a deeper understanding of not only the direct value of CX, but also the indirect, such as brand and reputation uplift," Mihelic said. "Now more than ever we need to be resilient and engage with our cross-industry cohorts in order to convert more and more stakeholders to the power and value of exceptional CX.

5. ROI is a persistent obstacle for those working to progress CX

ROI didn't emerge as the top investment obstacle until 2024, when global and local economic conditions also started to change the investment landscape. Since then, however, it has held the top spot each year. 

While these results can be taken together as proof that CX has a tougher time securing financial backing, correlation does not equal causality. 

What we can be sure of is that the pressure to prove ROI is increasing, because elsewhere in the survey, respondents are directly asked if this is the case. In 2024, 66 percent said the pressure to prove ROI is increasing, while the figure stood at 64 percent in 2025 and 52 percent in 2026. 

On how to overcome the challenge Montserrat Padierna, customer knowledge and experience lead for Walmart Canada and a CX Network Advisory Board member, said: "ROI becomes clearer when intelligence does not stop at analysis, it closes the loop. The real value of AI in market and customer intelligence is not simply faster insight generation, but faster reapplication of learnings back into the business. VoC, NPS, behavioral data and market signals must directly inform operational decisions, digital journeys and commercial strategy."

However, "technology alone does not solve ROI," Padierna added. "Integration, governance and human judgment convert intelligence into commercial value. ROI is ultimately about demonstrating that the organization can learn, adapt and improve continuously, not just analyze more efficiently," she adds. 

Conclusion: The pressure is real, but CX has a plan

Some of the key trends that have emerged so far this decade prove CX is influenced by more than customer satisfaction scores and contact volumes. Practitioners are increasingly under pressure to directly link their work to business outcomes such as revenue growth, while businesses are feeling the pressure of lower confidence, economic shocks and tariffs.

Practitioners are also working hard to find internal allies who can support their plans and help them secure budget. 

With more organizations working towards revenue growth, higher market share and stronger customer bases, investments have shifted in focus from targets, such as loyalty and driving NPS, to specific tools, such as AI agents and chatbots. This indicates that as the going gets tough, CX is doubling down on capabilities and narrowing the focus on experience quality, as well as efficiency. 

Explore the 2026 CX Horizons series 

• CX Horizons: The full resuts and analysis of the state of CX in 2026
• How practitioners are spending their CX budgets in 2026
• 10 trends changing CX in 2026
• 5 things to know about the state of CX in 2026
• How to tackle 5 challenges facing CX in 2026
• How to connect with customers in the AI age
• The 10 major changes on the horizon for CX