Insights from Deloitte Digital & Zendesk Customer Experience Deep Dive
Customer expectations have fundamentally changed
Customer expectations continue to rise faster than many organisations can adapt.
According to the Zendesk CX Trends 2026 report, customer experience is entering what Zendesk describes as the era of contextual intelligence — where AI combines customer history, behavioural data and business knowledge to deliver interactions that feel continuous rather than transactional.
The research highlights several notable shifts:
81
%
of consumers expect agents to avoid asking them to repeat information.
74
%
become frustrated when they have to repeat
details across channels.
85
%
of CX leaders believe customers are likely to leave a brand after unresolved
issues.
Taken together, these findings suggest that customers increasingly judge organisations not simply by the availability of AI, but by how intelligently itis applied throughout the customer journey.
From automation to contextual intelligence
For many organisations, the first generation of customer service AI focused primarily on efficiency; deploying chatbots to answer common questions or deflect routine enquiries.
Today's AI capabilities are considerably more sophisticated.
Modern AI platforms are designed to understand customer intent, access relevant knowledge in real time, maintain conversational context and determine when human intervention is required. Rather than replacing customer service teams, AI increasingly acts as an intelligent collaborator that supports both customers and agents.
This shift from isolated automation to contextual intelligence enables organisations to:
- reduce response and resolution times
- deliver more consistent experiences across digital and voice channels
- personalise interactions using previous customer context
- assist agents with recommendations and knowledge retrieval
- continuously improve workflows through operational insights.
As discussed during the event, these capabilities become particularly valuable in industries where customer expectations are high and service complexity continues to increase.
AI delivers value when it supports the entire customer journey
One of the key themes emerging from discussions was that successful AI adoption extends well beyond deploying a chatbot.
Leading organisations are embedding intelligence throughout the customer lifecycle—from initial enquiries and onboarding through ongoing support and long-term relationship management.
Zendesk's platform reflects this broader approach by bringing together AI powered automation, omnichannel engagement, knowledge management, workflow orchestration and analytics within a unified customer service environment.
Examples include:
Automate customer service with AI-powered agents and real-time agent assistance.
Deliver seamless experiences through intelligent routing and unified customer context.
Improve performance with insights that drive continuous operational improvement.
Measuring success beyond efficiency
While automation remains an important objective, many organisations are broadening how they define return on investment.
Traditional metrics such as ticket volumes and handling times remain relevant, but they are increasingly complemented by measures including:
- first-contact resolution
- customer satisfaction (CSAT)
- customer effortretention and loyalty
- employee productivity
- AI containment rates
- quality and consistency of service.
Zendesk's 2026 research also highlights growing adoption of AI-powered analytics, with 82% of CX leaders reporting that promptable analytics significantly accelerate access to operational insights, enabling teams to make faster, data-informed decisions.
For leadership teams, this means AI investments should increasingly be evaluated on measurable business outcomes rather than technology adoption alone.
Governance and trust remain essential
As AI capabilities expand, trust becomes just as important as performance.
Customers increasingly expect transparency around AI-generated decisions, while organisations must ensure governance, security and human oversight remain embedded within customer service operations.
The organisations achieving the greatest value from AI are typically those that establish clear governance frameworks alongside deployment; ensuring AI operates within defined policies while empowering employees to intervene whenever required.
This balanced approach helps organisations scale automation without compromising customers confidence.
Looking ahead
The conversations during Deloitte Digital Malta's Customer Experience Deep Dive reinforced an important message:
The future of customer experience is unlikely to be defined by AI alone.
Instead, competitive advantage will come from combining AI with organisational knowledge, customer context, human expertise and well designed operating models.
Technology platforms such as Zendesk provide the capabilities to enable this transformation, but sustainable success depends on aligning those capabilities with business strategy, governance and customer expectations.
As customer interactions become increasingly digital and expectations continue to evolve, organisations have an opportunity to rethink customer engagement—not simply by automating service, but by making every interaction more intelligent, more connected and ultimately more valuable.