Microfeedback, Automated Conversations and RCS: 2026 Predictions Across the Customer Experience Sphere

1. Actionable CX data: “We’ve collected enough signals. This is the year leaders wire feedback into daily decisions, frontline workflows, and P&L. If experience data doesn’t drive visible change within 30 days, it’s not insight – it’s theatre.”
2. Companies address their CX execution debt: “Most companies don’t lack insight – they lack motion. The gap between knowing and doing has become CX’s biggest liability. In 2026, the leaders will close the loop fast with microfeedback at key moments, automated routing to owners, and simple playbooks that prove lift. Those who don’t will keep measuring what they never fix.”
3. Value clarity will beat discounting and gamification enters the micro-feedback space: “Reduce friction, fix the top three pain points fast, and make those trade-offs transparent to all. Use microfeedback to catch value anxiety in the moment, then adjust your service, offer, or communications before the customer defects. In 2026, it’s about action, not charts – because retention will outweigh expensive acquisition once again. “Zero-party data like feedback grows when customers see immediate utility – faster service, smarter recommendations, tangible perks. In 2026, expect to see gamification enter the microfeedback space, turning participation into small wins and recognition moments. For mobile-native Gen Z, those rewards delivered through the device they live on will drive both engagement and a richer flow of zero-party data.”

Sören Stamer, CEO and Co-Founder of CoreMedia Considers Automated Conversations

2026 will see customer interaction shift into digital, automated conversations. Brands that learn to communicate effectively with both humans and AI agents will gain a decisive competitive edge. Instant checkout in AI-driven environments will become a game-changer; content, context, and trust determine where purchases happen.

Key points for agentic commerce ad AI interfaces :

• New conversational interfaces — AI agents and AI browsers — redefine how people search and buy. Decisions increasingly occur inside chat interfaces rather than traditional webshops
• Digital assistants will act on behalf of consumers, sending targeted, often complex queries and making purchase decisions for their users. Brands must create transparent, machine-readable, trustworthy content to be selected by these agents.
• Autonomous purchasing agents are still early-stage, but will follow the same adoption curve as early e-commerce: initial skepticism, then mass trust.
• Brands must build reputation not only with humans, but with AI agents — through GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), clean data, transparency, and brand authority.
• Visibility in GEO becomes as crucial as SEO: content must be reference-ready, structured, and reliable.

Values-Driven Support & Customer Experience require that AI doesn’t replace humans, but it ensures that human support appears exactly where empathy creates the most value. Loyalty is built through relevance — not through discounts.

• The lines between marketing, sales, and service blur. What matters in 2026 is the seamless experience. Successful brands orchestrate data and AI to create fluid, continuous journeys.
• Values-driven support means using human resources where they matter most: no one needs a consultant to buy a candle — but kitchen buyers do.
• Companies spend billions on advertising while only ~2% of visitors convert. The bigger opportunity lies in activating the “98%”: hesitant users, drop-offs, and undecided buyers.
• Forty-two percent of customers abandon purchases due to too many choices. The “Paradox of Choice” is measurable.
• AI identifies high-value leads and offers them one-click access to human experts. This targeted empathy drives trust and conversion — not blanket automation.

Chris Angus, VP for CPaaS and CX Expansion at 8×8 Thinks RCS Will Take Off Like A Rocket