5 resolutions every CX leader should commit to in 2026

You might say we take resolutions rather seriously at Zendesk. After all, delivering “resolutions” is quite literally what we do.

We’ve made it our mission to deliver the kinds of service resolutions that keep customers and businesses moving forward. And at the same time, we strive to be that trusted partner helping teams evolve right alongside the technologies shaping the modern service experience.

It’s no secret that AI is transforming how we work, but for customer service teams, it’s practically rewriting the job descriptions. Every role within support, from agents to leaders, is changing in some way.

Every role within support, from agents to leaders, is changing in some way.

Before anyone panics, this doesn’t spell widespread job cuts or a robot uprising. Most jobs will remain; they’ll just look smarter, faster, and a bit more interesting. And entirely new roles are emerging that will set AI up for success and bring service to a whole new level.

As we look ahead to the coming year, I can’t stress enough how big of an opportunity this is for CX leaders. It’s a chance to elevate the role of support, give humans a more meaningful role, and make the business genuinely better for it.

So while end-of-year resolutions are famously easy to make and hard to keep, here are five you’ll actually want to keep to prepare, get organized and equip your people for change. Join us in committing to these five resolutions and to a 2026 defined by opportunity, purpose, and exactly the right mindset to embrace the AI era.

Resolution #1: Redefine the scope of support

For years, we’ve been using the terms “customer service” and “customer experience” interchangeably, but they’re really not the same thing. While customer service steps in to support customers after a purchase, customer experience encompasses the entirety of the journey across all customer channels and touchpoints.

With AI now able to tackle so much of what defined customer service work in the past, teams can finally shift their gaze to the bigger picture. Experiences matter, not one-off interactions and by focusing on the former, support can finally level up to what it always should have been: a high-stakes, strategic arm of the business.

Instead of waiting for problems to land in the queue, AI is giving teams the space to get out in front of them by helping them anticipate issues, prevent repeats, and improve what’s happening upstream. This requires working with product, sales, and operations to fix the root causes of frustration and using every interaction as intelligence to make the business run better.

Resolution #2: Rethink your workforce

With support playing a more strategic role, the next step for leaders is rethinking the people who make it happen. For decades, service has been powered by people. Managing more volume meant hiring more people, but that model no longer fits.

You don’t need an army of human agents to handle password reset requests or order status checks—you don’t really need them to process refund requests either. For one, it’s not cost effective, but it’s also not a good use of their time and talents.

With AI now able to fully automate all the repetitive, rule-based work, humans are free to take on more valuable, interesting work like complex problem solving or deepening relationships with customers. These are the things you want them to be focused on, not firefighting failures or confirming a delivery date for the 50th time that afternoon.

Resolution #3: Build new expertise inside CX

As CX teams redefine their roles and responsibilities, leaders will need a new layer of talent—dedicated experts to configure, monitor, and improve how AI works, much like product managers or engineers in a tech org. These aren’t engineers in a traditional sense, but people who understand both customer experience and how AI operates within it.

This is one of the biggest changes we see for support roles today. We’re calling this new role the “AI service architect,” and at a high level, these people will be responsible for configuring, managing, auditing, and continuously improving all AI functions within the organization. They’ll be responsible for training AI agents much like they would a human agent, designing systems that mirror what a human would need to perform specific tasks with the right sequence, tools, and instructions.

Resolution #4: Operate like a product development team

One of the things I’ve learned from meeting with customers is that the best way to internalize this new AI service architect role is to think like a Product Development team—agile, iterative, and constantly looking to improve.

Success here requires support leaders to define clear success metrics, test hypotheses, use data to inform action, and not be afraid to experiment. This means running operations with the same discipline that product teams use to build and ship: testing new workflows in controlled environments, measuring outcomes, and learning from every result.

Every change, whether it’s a new AI prompt or escalation flow, should be versioned, reviewed, and rolled out thoughtfully. The goal is to build CX systems that get better with every release, not ones that sit stagnant or degrade over time.

Resolution #5: Build an organization that can adapt

As the saying goes, change is the only constant—and while AI is establishing a new rhythm for how teams operate, in no way is this a one-and-done shift.

Rather than getting hung up on forecasting every change, CX leaders should instead be asking themselves how they can design their teams to be more adaptable. This should include carving out a new, elevated Head of CX role to ensure that AI strategy is aligned across the business. It should also include upskilling team members, continually monitoring AI performance, and ensuring that customers remain at the center of every decision you make.

This isn’t a “set it and forget it” technology, and as AI learns and evolves, so must the teams that work alongside it.

Resolutions that stick

Most resolutions fade quickly, but these are meant to last. By transforming how service teams operate, businesses can realize greater value for their people, their customers, and the larger business.

2026 is teed up to be another busy year of change. Not only will it test how well organizations can adapt, but also how committed they remain to their purpose. For us, that’s helping our customers to move forward and evolve with confidence. The best resolutions fix problems, strengthen relationships, and create lasting impact.

Now, that’s the kind of resolution worth keeping.