The last 12 months have seen external forces – from Big Tech to regional regulators – reshape what CX means and what it is capable of, accelerating change and forcing new ways of working.
Whether it's consumers using AI assistants to guide their journeys, the growing demand for data privacy and security, or new rules around AI use and the accessiblilty of contact channels, these changes have led practitioners to ask fundamental questions about how they can reach and engage customers and how they can ensure CX remains relevant when third parties handle the customer relationship.
CX Horizons: The state of CX in 2026 is based on CX Network's annual survey, completed by 342 CX practitioners, service leaders, experience designers, analysts, and consultants, between December 2025 and January 2026.
To add meaning to the results, CX Network put the figures to 12 leading CX practitioners from fashion, media, consultancy, healthcare, retail and ecommerce, finance, communications, and technology.
This report uses their insights to examine the key actions they must take to remain relevant in an agentic trading environment; why generative AI should be used with caution; and the factors influencing customer behavior.
Download the report to find out:
- Why consumers are using AI to create their own seamless and efficient journeys
- How to work with vendors in the current trading environment and the key questions to ask when acquiring new tools
- What pracitioners are spending to bring their strategies to life
Explore our 2026 CX Horizons series in full
- 10 trends changing CX in 2026
- How practitioners are spending their CX budgets 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
Explore our State of CX archives in full:
- The state of CX APAC 2026
- State of CX tech 2026
- The Global State of CX 2025
- State of CX tech 2025
- The Global State of CX 2024
- The Global State of CX 2023
- The Global State of Customer Experience 2022
- Global State of Customer Experience in EMEA 2022
- Global State of Customer Experience in Financial Services 2022
- The Global State of Customer Experience in 2021
- The Global State of Customer Experience 2020
- The Global State of Customer Experience 2019
- The Global State of Customer Experience 2018
- The Global State of Customer Experience 2017
- The Global State of Customer Experience 2016