How Gartner’s 2026 Tech Trends May Impact Customer Experience

The technology landscape is rapidly changing due to AI advancements and increased global connectivity. Gartner’s 2026 Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends highlight how organizations are addressing these shifts. At the core of these trends is AI’s accelerated maturity, moving from experimental to foundational business capability, significantly impacting customer interactions. For customer experience (CX) professionals, some of these advancements mean more learning, and some bring better efficiencies. All bring a degree of change in practice and thought.  

The AI engine driving CX innovation 

CX must adapt to new ways of working with customers as the next wave of AI will impact many standard practices. Static playbooks will evolve into fluid workflows, boosting efficiency and insight into customer needs while also changing how people work. At a recent conference, I heard talk of new CX roles emerging to build with AI for customers. 

What are the latest CX trends

The Gartner trends specifically affect CX in different ways, and understanding these differences is key. 

1. AI-Native Development Platforms and AI Supercomputing Platforms provide the infrastructure for rapid deployment of sophisticated AI models. This enables real-time analysis of customer data, leading to hyper-personalized service and automatically scalable playbooks. Some legacy companies are even rebuilding on AI-native platforms to achieve all of the scale possible. 
2. Multiagent Systems will transform customer service. Instead of a single AI, interactions will be managed by specialized AIs for sentiment, knowledge, and negotiation. I saw these agents developed by industry leaders like Gainsight and ChurnZero at recent conferences. 
3. Domain-Specific Language Models allow AI to be trained on industry-specific jargon, resulting in more accurate and nuanced conversational AI. Imagine if your AI agent knows not only your help center data but your company and customer lingo too. 
4. Confidential Computing secures sensitive customer data in encrypted environments, even in the cloud, building trust. AI Security Platforms also protect AI models from compromise. While these are not the most forward-facing, they offer high rewards. 
5. Digital Provenance verifies the authenticity of AI-generated content, reassuring customers about information accuracy and allowing for more confidence in tools. AI is still mistrusted by many, which is something this trend aims to change. 
6. AI Security Platforms will help keep products stable, driving better customer value through less disruptions. In the world of CX, battling malfunctions can be more challenging than customers.  

The physical and global impact 

Two trends bridge the digital and physical world of products—and global and local as well:  

• Physical AI integrates AI into the real world via robotics and connected devices, impacting CX through autonomous delivery, smart retail, and AI-powered maintenance bots. Many CX professionals have seen how physical tools can touch on customers’ needs. 
• Geopatriation addresses data localization, geopolitical risk, and supply chain complexities. For CX, this means leaning into flexible experiences that comply with diverse regulations while maintaining a consistent global brand. 

The 2026 Gartner Trends paint a picture of a super intelligent, yet more secure and deeply integrated, technology ecosystem—perhaps a bit of a dream state. However, for CX leaders, this is the time to pivot strategy. They must focus not just on what the customer sees but on the whole ecosystem of how the customer engages. From onboarding to renewal, from first touch to satisfaction survey, and from support to product, there are many ways the new trends will change how CX works.