Three out of five consumers say customer experience has declined recently. At the same time, contact center employees face growing frustration, inefficiency, and disengagement. The gap between customer expectations and operational reality continues to widen.
So what are contact center leaders doing about it?
They are investing in technology. And they are doing it with more precision, urgency, and accountability than ever before.
The CCW Digital Market Study on Emerging Contact Center Technology, sponsored by DATAMARK, surveyed customer contact leaders across industries to understand where technology budgets are heading, which solutions are gaining traction, and what separates investments that deliver from those that don’t.
Among the findings: 71% of leaders named customer experience as their top technology priority, 67% said security and compliance lead their AI evaluation criteria, and more than 90% expect new solutions to show ROI within the first year. Only 22% of organizations report having a fully integrated AI framework, even as investment accelerates across the board.
Here is a closer look at what the research uncovered.
CX Tops the Priority List, But Cost and Data Are Close Behind
When asked about their top technology investment priorities moving forward, 71% of leaders named customer service and experience outcomes as their number one objective. That is not surprising on its own. What stands out is the emphasis on data and intelligence as the second-highest priority, with 60% of respondents calling it a top focus. Leaders are recognizing that better data leads to better customer understanding, and better customer understanding leads to better outcomes across the board.
Cost and efficiency (a priority for 97% of respondents) and employee experience (96%) round out a picture of leaders who are not investing in technology for the sake of it. They expect clear, measurable returns.
The Clock Is Ticking on ROI
More than 90% of leaders expect new solutions to demonstrate quantifiable impact within the first year. Nearly half expect that within six months. Leaders want results, and they want them fast.
The good news is that most investments are meeting expectations. About 51% of respondents said their recent technology purchases are delivering as promised, while 46% reported mixed results. Only 3% described their investments as a clear miss.
Security and Trust Lead the AI Conversation
With AI at the center of almost every contact center strategy, the study reveals what leaders are prioritizing when they evaluate customer-facing AI solutions. The number one focus is not flashy automation or cutting-edge language models. It is security, privacy, and compliance. A full 67% of leaders named these a top priority.
This makes sense. Only 15% of customers trust AI chatbots to solve their problems, and difficulty reaching a live agent is now the top customer pain point. If organizations want customers to engage with AI-powered self-service, they need to build trust first. Compliance, data protection, and transparent practices are the foundation.
Personalization (58%), seamless handoffs between AI and human agents (51%), and multichannel capabilities (49%) were also high on the list.
Agents Need Help Keeping Up
On the employee side, the study found that only 22% of agents are fully prepared for how AI is reshaping their roles. This gap is driving investment into training and simulation tools (54%), workflow optimization (53%), agent-assist and copilot solutions (51%), and knowledge management (45%).
These investments follow the new reality of AI-forward contact centers. As AI handles more routine inquiries, agents will deal with more complex, unpredictable, and emotionally charged interactions. They need better tools, better training, and better support to meet that demand.
The Partnership Factor
One of the more striking findings in the report concerns the role of technology vendors. Only 26% of leaders said their vendors function as true consultative partners who customize solutions for unique business needs. About 45% said their vendors demonstrate general industry knowledge but fall short on tailored guidance. And nearly 15% said their vendors did nothing beyond selling the technology.
With only 22% of organizations reporting a fully unified AI framework, the need for strategic guidance from partners has never been higher. Leaders need partners who understand their industry, operations, and customers.
What Else Is in the Full Report?
The full CCW Digital Market Study goes deeper into each of these areas, including:
- Which industry trends (personalization, AI-assisted shopping, frictionless CX) are shaping technology strategies
- How many new technologies have organizations added and removed from their stacks recently
- What features and offers (pricing, integration, compliance) most influence purchasing decisions
- How organizations are preparing for the rise of AI-powered “custobots” and memory-based AI engagement
- The voice experience and its role in the modern technology conversation
- DATAMARK’s perspective on designing experiences for customers, anchoring decisions in time-to-value, and building long-term partnerships
Download the Full Report
Want the complete findings, including all survey data, charts, and DATAMARK’s expert commentary on what comes next for CX technology?
Fill out the form below to download the full CCW Digital Market Study on Emerging Contact Center Technology.
The full report is free to download and packed with insights that will help you make smarter technology decisions this year. Get your copy now.
