Every January, we get flooded with predictions about AI growth skyrocketing and customers wanting better experiences. Thanks for the insight. Here's what I think is actually happening — and what will matter in 2026.
2025 was the year AI got serious
Behind all the "agentic AI" marketing buzz, real progress happened. We moved past the assumption that larger context windows and more parameters would solve everything. Models learned to think, not just respond. Tool use emerged — AI that can actually interact with other systems and update itself.
Consumers need generalized intelligence — assistants that can help with anything. Businesses need specialized intelligence — AI that deeply understands their specific domain, customers, and operations.
The real shift in 2026
Companies will finally mature past the "AI = automation = fewer humans" equation. That framing was always too narrow. AI unlocks capabilities we've never had — which means creating roles that don't exist yet. In contact centers specifically, this plays out in three ways:
1. We move beyond the broken metrics patchwork
For decades we've stitched together QA scores, CSAT, AHT, and service levels to approximate success. All of these were influenced by human bias and organizational goals. AI-powered analytics let you freely explore what actually happened with your customers — historically and in real time — across 100% of interactions, not a small sample.
2. Dispositions finally die
You know the drill — the ever-growing picklist where agents select one code supposed to capture both customer need and interaction outcome. I had a customer with over 1,000 items in their disposition list. The data was never accurate. AI can understand what happened in a conversation without forcing humans to categorize it badly. Intent detection replaces the checkbox.
3. Policies get a fresh look
The AI era forces companies to revisit policies that only existed because of old technology constraints. Instead of paying humans to screen every caller for fraud, what if we trusted customers by default and used AI as the safeguard to catch actual bad actors? Trust more, verify smarter, handle exceptions better than ever.
Looking ahead
Once companies internalize these shifts, the real question becomes: what do we build that wasn't possible before? Not "how do we do the same things cheaper" — but what entirely new capabilities can we create? That's the conversation worth having in 2026.
About the Author: Ray Bohac is CEO and Co-Founder of Spearfish. He's spent 20+ years building and optimizing high-volume contact centers for mid-market through Fortune 500 companies.
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