Hot Takes or Hard Truths? The 2026 AI & CX Reality Check with Transcom

Everywhere you turn, the conversation about AI and customer experience sounds the same. AI will replace the contact center. Customers don't want to talk to humans anymore. Automation will fix everything. But how much of that is actually true — and how much of it is costing brands real customers, real revenue, and real trust?

Nicole Willing sits down with Cortney Jonas Burnos, VP of AI and Digital at Transcom, and Jeff Blair, Chief Growth Officer, to put the industry's boldest AI and CX assumptions under the microscope.

Eight hot takes. Two experts with decades of frontline CX and AI experience between them. Zero tolerance for hype.
What emerges isn't a defence of AI or a rejection of it. It's something more useful: a clear-eyed, evidence-backed challenge to the assumptions quietly shaping — and in some cases, quietly damaging — CX strategy in 2026.

You'll find out why 78% of customers now attempt self-service first — and why self-service is simultaneously ranked the least effective channel for resolving issues. You'll hear why the brands seeing the biggest returns from AI are actually spending more on customer experience, not less. And you'll understand why the biggest barrier to AI transformation isn't technology at all.

The conversation covers the moments that matter most — when digital tools fail, when customers escalate, when a bot loop turns a manageable issue into a brand reputation problem. It challenges the idea that outsourcing means losing control. It reframes what great agents actually do in an AI-powered environment. And it draws a straight line between poor automation decisions and the customer churn that follows.

If your 2026 CX strategy is built on any of these assumptions, this is the conversation you need to have before your next budget decision.

The real question, as Jeff Blair puts it, isn't whether AI will replace the contact center. It's whether organisations are ready to rethink how customer experience actually operates in an AI-powered world.

The hot takes are provocative. The hard truths are harder to ignore.

Stay ahead of the trends shaping customer experience — explore more insights, interviews, and analysis at CX Today.

Learn how Transcom is helping organisations design smarter, AI-powered customer experiences.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Welcome to CX Today. I'm Nicole Willing. Everybody turned right now. The conversation about AI and customer experience sounds the same. AI replaced the contact center, customers don't want to talk to humans anymore, automation will fix everything. But how much of that is actually true? Today we're doing something a little different. We're reacting to some of the biggest hot takes about AI and CX across the industry and putting them through a reality check. To do that, joining me are Jeff Blair, Chief Growth Officer, and Courtney Jonas Burnus, VP of AI and Digital at Transcom. Welcome guys. Thanks for joining me.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Hello, looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

Great. So before we jump in, do you want to tell us a little about yourselves?

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Yeah, absolutely. So appreciate the opportunity to join you today. The discussion that we have is very fitting. Myself, I've been in the BPO industry for almost 25 years, very passionate about CX and the impact it has on our employees, but also the impact that we have on our brand partners and their customers. So again, looking forward to the dialogue this morning.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

And Nicole, I'm also excited for this conversation. I've worked in customer care technology and AI for about a decade. And we're now reaching an inflection point where we're seeing AI transform customer experiences. I think it's a really exciting time to be here and to have this talk.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Definitely. And I'm looking forward to getting your insights into these hot takes. So if we start with one of the biggest myths shaping customer experience in 2026, is AI replacing the contact center? Jeff, what's your response?

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Yeah, I think the short answer is no. AI is not replacing the contact center, but I'm certain most would agree it's definitely transforming our industry pretty holistically. Courtney, I don't know what's your thoughts about this.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yeah, absolutely. I feel like the companies that understand the difference are the ones that are actually going to get value from AI. What's really interesting here is the separation between replacing the contact center and augmenting the agents in the contact center.

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Right, yeah. So let's dig into some of the assumptions around that. So hot take number two is customers just want digital tools and they don't want to talk to people. Jeff, what does the data actually say about that?

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Well, if by talk to us you mean traditional voice support, then yes, customers absolutely desire their support to be digital in nature. Uh in fact, from a recent study uh that we conducted, we found about 78% of customers now attempt self-service first before any other channel. Uh the interesting part is self-service is also ranked as the least effective channel for actual uh actually resolving issues. So customers want the digital options, but when those tools fail, they abandon them very quickly. And we call that the experience gap, meaning companies are investing heavily in digital tools, but when those tools break down, that proper human support experience isn't ready to pick up where the AI failed.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Yeah, exactly. So then we'll see how that plays into hot take number three, which is AI is primarily a cost-cutting tool. Courtney, what do you say to that?

SPEAKER_01 3:10

This is one of the biggest misconceptions in our industry. If the only reason you're deploying AI is to reduce costs, you're probably underusing it. I encourage leaders in this space to have some imagination. It's not about the product itself. It AI is the infrastructure that powers everything. The brands that see the biggest impact are using AI to orchestrate the entire customer experience, doing things like smarter routing, using real-time agent assistance, creating predictive insights, and doing better decision making. Interestingly, many of those companies actually spend more on their customer experience and on the AI that powers it, not less. They're investing in better experiences, not just fewer interactions.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Absolutely. So then hot take number four, AI adoption is a technology challenge. Jeff, how do you respond to that?

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Well, uh the majority of companies have access to the technology. I think the real challenge is more organizationally based. AI transformation needs to happen in a structure, um, very unified, cross-functional effort. And without this, projects fail. Uh, they fail to achieve full outcomes, and often they create um that that failure would create a CX environment that moves backwards, not forwards. So, yes, the the IT element is very critical, but it's not any more critical than elements like process redesign, the governance of AI itself, employee training, leadership alignment, marketing and legal input. So there's a lot of additional factors uh included.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

There's a lot more to take into account. So then with the technology, often comes outsourcing, but hot take number five suggests that outsourcing customer service means losing control. Courtney, is that true?

SPEAKER_01 4:51

That was probably true years ago, but today the most successful outsourcing relationships look really different. We operate um in partnerships with our clients. The best CX partners bring capabilities that companies can struggle to build internally. Uh, so for example, we have access to global talent. We're very strong in AI integration across all of our accounts globally. Um, we know how to do analytics, we have operational expertise. So we bring those to these partnerships. It's not about giving up control, it's about scaling that expertise within more customer experience organizations.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Absolutely. Then hot take number six, one of the big ones, AI will eliminate customer service agents. Jeff, what's the reality on this one?

SPEAKER_00 5:38

I I love all these hot takes that are we we hear them so frequently. This this one we hear a lot. Uh I I believe an alternative view is AI has changed the support landscape. It's it's changed the human element of support from being a repetitive task, uh, or even a repetitive task taker for that matter, to a higher value problem solver. So support queries that are directed to agents are more complex and they can be more emotionally charged. And this ultimately makes the agent's work even more critical to a brand's reputation. So the role isn't disappearing. Um, it it's it's really evolving, and AI can help agents be more successful. And also AI can help with higher levels of job satisfaction as well.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Well said, Jeff.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

Exactly, because hot take number seven, building on that, automation automatically improves customer service. Is that true, Courtney?

SPEAKER_01 6:30

That is absolutely not true. Um, bad automation is actually one of the fastest ways to damage CX. We've all had an experience where we've interacted with a broken chat bot or got stuck in endless IVR loops or had to repeat information over and over to different um agents who handled our calls. Customers don't hate automation, they hate friction. The worst experience today isn't talking to a person, it's actually broken automation.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

Exactly. So again, that leads nicely into hot take number eight, our final one, which is customers hate talking to customer service. Jeff, do they?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Yeah, I think it it parallels what Corby just spoke to. They don't hate speaking to someone, they hate speaking to someone who can't help them. Uh so you know, agents without decision-making authority, agents that don't have a view into pre-miss support attempts and the background of what that was or might have been, the the inability to understand an agent, uh, friction with long hold times, and that list could go on. But but when customers reach someone knowledgeable who can actually solve the problem, be empathetic, satisfaction increases. It just does.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Yeah, absolutely. As you say, as cut we all experience that ourselves as customers. So, what's the biggest takeaway? That AI isn't replacing the contact center, it's redefining how it works. Customers want digital tools and the convenience they bring, but when those tools fail or the issue becomes more complex, human expertise still matters. So the companies getting it right aren't the ones choosing between technology and people. They're designing experiences where both work together. So the real question isn't whether AI will replace the contact center, it's whether organizations are ready to rethink how customer experience actually operates in an AI-powered world. Courtney, do you want to share closing thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Sure. Uh one of the biggest shifts we're seeing is how organizations think about AI itself. The companies that are truly succeeding around AI aren't using it just to deflect contacts or cut costs. They're treating it like a foundational capability to power the entire customer experience. That means using AI to orchestrate journeys, to enable agents with better insights and information and to make smarter operational decisions. In a lot of cases, those brands are actually willing to invest more because they understand the long-term value of better experiences. The real opportunity isn't just automation, it's about designing the right balance between technology and people.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Yeah, absolutely. That balance is so important, isn't it? Jeff, would you like to add closing comments?

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Yeah, I think that's all very accurate. I believe the bow on all of this is that the data continues to show that a real gap remains between what companies are deploying for support technologies and processes versus what's actually solving the problem. So AI adoption isn't just a technology challenge. It is an organizational challenge. And by partnering with providers like Transcom, it's not about losing control. It's really about the right partnership evolution, right partnership ecosystem and mutually driving CX outcomes together.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Sure. Well, you've definitely given our viewers some practical points to think about there. So that's all for today's reality check. A big thank you to Jeff and Courtney from Transcom for joining us and helping cut through some of the noise around AI and customer experience. Thank you both for your time.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

Thank you, Nicole. And to our viewers, if you found this useful, make sure you subscribe to CX Today, where we're covering the trends, tools, and strategies shaping the future of customer experience every week. You can find us at CXToday.com. If you want to continue the conversation, connect with us on LinkedIn and make sure you subscribe to our newsletter. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.