The future of CX is contextual intelligence. Here’s why that matters—and how to level up.

Context is everything is customer service. When a customer reaches out about a return, an issue with their order, or a complex technical problem, the fastest path to resolution always depends on context. Has this customer reached out before? What’s their purchase history? Are there policy nuances that apply to their specific case?

Scaling this level of situational awareness has always been incredibly difficult. Human agents can’t possibly remember everything across a myriad of interactions. Plus, siloed systems often leave customers repeating themselves.

Until now.

Next-generation agentic AI—powered by contextual intelligence—is making it possible to pull from every data source that matters to create experiences that feel effortless and trusted. It can reason and make decisions without human intervention; processing facts while understanding tone, timing, and intent.

At Zendesk, we’ve been exploring its powerful capabilities. And while it is new and novel, we believe it will make every interaction more relevant and more likely to end in resolution—completely transforming how brands and customers interact.

How do we know? Our 8th annual CX Trends Report draws on insights from over 11,000 leaders and consumers worldwide. And the findings are clear: organizations that move beyond basic AI applications and embrace contextual intelligence will create customer experiences that are faster, more personal, and deeply aware.

Why context matters now more than ever

Our research has also revealed a widening consumer trust gap.

For years, AI has promised to make customer experience faster, more personal, and smarter. Yet, customers remain underwhelmed: 83% still believe CX should be far better than it is today.

Meanwhile, rising consumer expectations, economic headwinds, and the rapid advancement of AI are making it difficult for many organizations to keep up.

That’s where contextual intelligence comes in: bringing together cross-functional data, real-time insights, and company policies into a unified model. It doesn’t just automate tasks; it reads the room to deliver responses that are accurate, compliant, and emotionally intelligent.

Setting the new standard for customer experience

With AI setting a new bar for speed and personalization, people expect experiences to have intelligence built in. Contextual intelligence not only meets those expectations, it anticipates and exceeds them.

Organizations powered by contextual intelligence can:

• Deliver continuously personalized experiences by leveraging memory-rich AI.
• Resolve issues in real time with faster, more accurate decision-making.
• Offer multimodal support across text, voice, video, and images in a single flow.
• Equip teams with promptable analytics that give instant insight and performance metrics.
• Build trust through transparency, showing customers how AI decisions are made.

This creates a powerful human-AI partnership behind the scenes. AI agents handle routine inquiries with speed and consistency, while human agents focus on higher-value problem solving and empathy-driven service.

In turn, CX teams can deliver high-impact, loyalty-driving experiences—garnering a competitive edge that attracts and retains customers and boosts your bottom line.

Elevate your CX with contextual intelligence

Rising inquiry volumes, tighter budgets, and higher customer expectations have converged to make contextual intelligence not just innovative but necessary. With timely, connected insights across the business, organizations can better navigate rising customer inquiries, higher operational costs, reduced staffing, and the need for greater cost-efficiency.

CX leaders can’t afford to wait. Those who act now to operationalize these capabilities will be the ones who meet expectations, drive loyalty, and stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

Ready to power your CX with contextual intelligence? Download our full CX Trends 2026 report.

You can also register for a CX Trends 2026 digital event in your region to hear directly from Zendesk experts and global AI leaders on how to implement contextual intelligence within your organization.