From landlines to smartphones, from PSTN to VoIP – the last two decades have been characterized by non-stop change for telecommunications companies. Now the industry is reaching another pivotal moment as customers’ expectations, service complexity, and AI collide. How brands respond could define their competitive advantage for years to come.
We wanted to discover exactly how telecoms are adopting customer experiences powered and curated by AI – and how their customers feel about it. So for the telecoms edition of our 2026 CX Trends Report, we surveyed 4,000 people in the U.S. and U.K. as well as 100 telecom leaders.
The results reveal a sector working hard to keep pace with a shifting CX landscape. An impressive 64% of telecoms say they are already using AI to steer customer journeys. That’s more than in any other industry we surveyed, including banking, insurance, healthcare, and travel and hospitality.
You can explore our full findings in our 2026 CX Trends Report, or keep reading as we share some of the headlines.
Read the telecoms edition of Acxiom’s 2026 CX Trends Report →
What kind of forces are shaping CX strategy for telecoms?
The answer varies across U.S. and U.K. telecom brands. In the U.S., where the industry serves an estimated 335 million people, brands cite rising churn and price sensitivity in a commoditized market as the biggest external force shaping CX strategy. In the U.K., brands are feeling the pressure to turn 5G, fiber, or smart home investments into profitable customer experiences. And across both regions, telecoms are conscious of digital-native or OTT players that operate using leaner models.
As you’d expect, there’s a clear link between these external forces and the big CX priorities for telecoms in the next 2-3 years. For instance, digitally native and OTT industry players often set a high bar for seamless UX and instant support. This drives brands to prioritize efforts such as designing adaptive, AI-led experiences across devices and contexts (a top-3 concern for 44%) and using conversational AI for query resolution (26%).
It’s also easy to see how rising churn and price sensitivity may be driving telecoms to focus on simplifying journeys across bundled products (41%), improving retention and loyalty (32%), and differentiating CX for premium, business, or high-value customers (31%) – all in an attempt to break parity in commoditized markets.
AI assistants: Do telecom customers want conversational interfaces?
Conversational interfaces are a relatively new entry point to digital CX, and they’re not quite the go-to choice for telecommunications companies just yet. Our report shows that 59% still prefer to speak to a person or visit a website for everyday support, rather than use an AI-powered voice or chat assistant.
It’s important to note that how people prefer to interact differs based on what they’re trying to achieve. For example, 27% would choose to use a voice or chat assistant to check a mobile, broadband, or TV plan, while only 23% would opt to dispute their latest bill this way.
But as chatting with machines becomes a more regular feature of everyday life, telecoms are equipped and ready for more people to switch to conversational interfaces. Nearly two-thirds (64%) are working to develop consistent conversational personas, while 97% expect conversational interfaces to be widely used in the next 2-3 years.
Leading the charge on platform unification
From mobile, broadband, and TV, to smart home and streaming services, people are feeling fragmentation fatigue, particularly when required to jump between platforms to achieve a single task.
Our research shows that people want telecoms to step up and make their lives easier; 75% expect brands to make experiences seamless even when dealing with their partners. Telecoms are feeling this pressure, with 73% agreeing that fragmentation is already affecting their CX strategy, but they’re also taking the initiative to unify experiences.
More than two-thirds (69%) of telecom brands are already using AI to orchestrate customer journeys across touchpoints and partners – again, a larger percentage than in any other industry we surveyed. Take a look at the infographic below to see the other steps telecoms are taking to deliver cross-platform CX.
Telecoms must start with a strong data foundation
While telecommunications companies are leading the way in some respects, there’s a long way to go in unlocking the full potential of AI in CX. To successfully use AI for customer support, guiding decisions, and reducing friction across complex journeys, brands need an in-depth understanding of where and how people are ready for AI-led experiences. That means building a strong foundation of data and identity. And this is where Acxiom can help.
Get the full report
This article only covers a portion of the insights you’ll find in the telecoms edition of our 2026 CX Trends Report. Download the full report to learn more about:
- The conflicting priorities of brands and consumers when it comes to AI guidance
- What causes people to walk away from an interaction – and the risks of using AI to deliver frictionless CX
- How people feel about empathetic AI in different use cases and scenarios
- Details of our research methodology and sample
