Bengaluru, India, Jan 29: Zendesk today released its Customer Experience (CX) Trends 2026 report, revealing that Contextual Intelligence—the real-time fusion of AI, data, and human insight—is redefining what exceptional customer service looks like. As customer expectations rise rapidly, the report highlights how organisations that intelligently apply AI are pulling ahead, while others risk eroding trust and loyalty.
In India, customer expectations are evolving at an unprecedented pace. According to the report, 80% of Indian consumers say their service standards have increased over the past year, while 79% want more personalised experiences powered by AI. Crucially, 96% expect clear explanations for AI-driven decisions, underscoring that transparency is now as important as speed and efficiency.
Despite this demand, significant gaps remain. Only 44% of organisations currently provide a fully inspectable AI decision trail, and just 44% of customer service agents consider trust and transparency a top priority, exposing a disconnect between consumer expectations and organisational readiness.
Leaders Act as Risks Become Clear
CX leaders are increasingly aware of the consequences of fragmented systems and opaque AI. 91% believe disconnected data threatens consistent service delivery, while 92% say customers will abandon brands that fail to resolve issues on first contact.
To address these challenges, Indian organisations are accelerating adoption of advanced CX technologies. Nearly 49% have already implemented prompt-analytics hubs, a figure expected to rise to 93% within the next year, while 92% are implementing AI reasoning controls to improve transparency and governance.
Based on insights from over 11,000 consumers, CX leaders, and service agents across 22 countries, Zendesk’s eighth annual CX Trends report shows that the most successful organisations are blending AI’s scale and speed with human empathy and judgement.
“AI is no longer the differentiator—how intelligently it’s applied is,” said Tom Eggemeier, Chief Executive Officer, Zendesk. “When 85% of CX leaders say a single unresolved issue can cost them a customer, speed, accuracy, and empathy become non-negotiable. The best CX systems connect past interactions with present intent to anticipate what’s next. That’s contextual intelligence in action.”
Mitch Young, Senior Vice President, APAC, Zendesk, added,
“India’s digital-first growth has raised the bar for customer experience. Customers don’t just want faster responses—they expect first-contact resolution, personalised service, and AI that can clearly explain its decisions. Organisations that combine strong data foundations with responsible AI governance are building trust and loyalty, while others risk inconsistency and customer churn.”
Five Key CX Shifts Shaping 2026
The Zendesk CX Trends 2026 report identifies five major shifts transforming customer experience in India:
- Memory-Rich AI Redefines Personalisation
- Customers expect continuity across interactions 83% want agents to pick up conversations without repetition, and 72% feel frustrated when forced to repeat information. Nearly 98% of Indian CX leaders agree that maintaining context across channels strengthens relationships.
- Instant Resolution Becomes the Baseline
- Speed alone is no longer enough. 89% of Indian consumers say responsiveness and resolution directly influence purchase decisions, while 96% of CX leaders see AI as critical to accelerating issue resolution.
- From Omnichannel to Multimodal Experiences
- Customers increasingly expect seamless movement between voice, chat, images, and video within a single interaction. 89% prefer brands that enable text, image, and video sharing in one continuous thread, while 92% of CX leaders believe Voice AI is now mature enough to transform CX.
- Promptable Analytics Drive Smarter Decisions
- Real-time, AI-powered insights are becoming central to CX strategy. 94% of leaders say promptable analytics deliver answers in seconds, with adoption expected to jump from 52% today to 94% within a year, despite concerns around standardisation.
- AI Transparency Is Non-Negotiable
- With 96% of Indian consumers expecting clear AI explanations, transparency is fast becoming mandatory. While only 44% of organisations currently provide auditable AI decision records, 92% are implementing or planning AI reasoning controls.
The Future of CX
Together, these trends highlight a fundamental shift: contextual intelligence is becoming the foundation of exceptional customer experience. Organisations that unite AI capability with human understanding, transparency, and trust will be best positioned to differentiate, build loyalty, and scale sustainably—particularly in India’s fast-evolving digital economy.
The full Zendesk CX Trends 2026 report is available for download and offers detailed insights into the five trends shaping the future of customer experience and actionable guidance for staying ahead.
Methodology
The Zendesk CX Trends 2026 report is based on two global surveys conducted in June 2025 across 22 countries, including India, with 6,182 consumers and 5,115 CX leaders, managers, and agents participating.