AI Brings Frontline Empowerment But Also New Operational Challenges, CCMA Contact Centre Research Discovers
Research from the CCMA (Contact Centre Management Association) reveals that artificial intelligence is driving positive change across contact centres, helping to empower frontline teams and reshape how customer operations work.
However, it is also creating additional complexities and pressures, as simpler interactions are increasingly handled through automation and human advisors must manage longer, more fraught and often more emotionally-charged queries. Alongside this, the use of AI by customers to devise written contacts such as complaints demands significantly more resources from organisations.
The findings, published in the latest edition of Evolution of the Contact Centre, were officially revealed at the UK National Contact Centre Conference (UKNCCC) yesterday, where hundreds of contact centre leaders gathered to discuss the future of customer contact and customer experience.
Drawing on insights from senior leaders across multiple industries, the research explores the major forces impacting today’s contact centre operations.
Now in its eighth edition, the Evolution of the Contact Centre series examines how the industry continues to evolve against a backdrop of technological advancement, changing customer behaviours and increasing organisational complexity.
This year’s research identifies ten key themes influencing the future direction of contact centres, including the accelerating adoption and pressures relating to artificial intelligence (AI), growing customer expectations, the challenge of communicating constant organisational change, frontline empowerment, psychological safety and the increasing strategic importance of customer operations.
Leigh Hopwood, CEO of the CCMA, said:
“The role of AI in the contact centre continues to evolve and change. And one of the strongest messages to emerge from this year’s research is that contact centre leaders are no longer preparing for change. They are leading through it every day.
“Whether discussing artificial intelligence or customer expectations, workforce skills and organisational transformation, our research highlights that leaders in our industry consistently described a world that is moving faster than ever before. Yet what is equally striking is that there remains great optimism. Leaders are embracing new technologies and new ways of working while continuing to focus on what matters most, which is their people and their customers.”
The research was developed through a series of structured focus groups conducted during summer 2026, bringing together leaders from a diverse range of sectors to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping customer contact operations.
The findings highlight that the role of the contact centre leader is increasingly multi-dimensional, with participants reporting that their role involves grappling with closing the gap between customer expectations and operational realities, while also facing growing pressure to translate AI experimentation into measurable customer outcomes and focus on equipping frontline employees with the skills needed for an increasingly technology-enabled future.
Also examined is the extent to which many contact centres are becoming an increasingly important source of business intelligence, customer insight and organisational influence.
Stephen Yap, Research Director, CCMA, said:
“The conversation around contact centres has changed significantly in recent years. While efficiency and performance remain important, leaders are increasingly talking about trust, adaptability, customer insight, employee wellbeing and strategic value.
“What emerged from the research was that this is an industry that is not standing still. Contact centres are becoming more sophisticated, more influential and, in many organisations, more central to business success than ever before.”
Evolution of the Contact Centre 2026 has been produced in partnership with Cresta.
Alan Ranger, VP of International Marketing at Cresta, added:
“AI is already delivering meaningful benefits for customer experience organisations, from giving frontline teams better access to insight to helping organisations respond more effectively to customer needs. But this research also shows why implementation cannot be viewed purely as an efficiency exercise. As routine interactions become increasingly automated, the conversations reaching human advisors are often the ones that require greater judgement, empathy and expertise.
“The opportunity is to use AI not simply to remove work, but to support people through these more complex interactions. Organisations that get that balance right will be better placed to improve both customer outcomes and the frontline experience.”
The report is available to download from the CCMA website Click Here
