AI Adoption in CX Hits 92%, but Consumer Trust Remains Key Hurdle — Five9, Inc.

Event summary

Five9's 2026 Business Leaders Customer Experience Report found that 92% of organizations have implemented or piloted AI in customer service.
80% of consumers are willing to use AI-powered customer service, but two-thirds still prefer speaking with a human.
71% of consumers consider it very or extremely important to know when they are interacting with an AI agent.
84% of organizations are still transitioning from on-premises infrastructure to cloud-based systems.

The big picture

Five9's report highlights the rapid adoption of AI in customer experience, but underscores the strategic challenge of building consumer trust. The findings suggest that long-term success will depend on how well AI is integrated into customer journeys and employee workflows, rather than just the scale of deployment. This aligns with broader industry trends where AI execution is becoming as important as AI adoption.

What we're watching

AI-to-Human Handoffs: How organizations will address the discrepancy between decision-makers' claims of preserving context during AI-to-human handoffs and consumers' experiences of repeating themselves.
Infrastructure Transition: The pace at which organizations complete their transition from on-premises to cloud-based infrastructure, which is critical for effective AI execution.
Flexible AI Strategies: Whether decision-makers can successfully implement flexible AI strategies that align models, workflows, governance, and human oversight to each use case.