{"id":31756,"date":"2026-01-28T18:04:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/?p=31756"},"modified":"2026-01-28T19:37:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T19:37:26","slug":"customer-service-transformation-report-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s interesting to see how much AI adoption has accelerated over the last year.<\/p>\n<p>Our latest research shows that 82% of senior leaders invested in AI for customer service in 2025, and 87% plan to in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>But while most teams are using AI, our 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/customer-transformation-report?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=internal&amp;utm_campaign=20260128-report-owned-2026cstransformationreport&amp;utm_content=blogpost\"><em>Customer Service Transformation Report<\/em><\/a> shows that this usage is not equal. A gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote-style-four\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Download the full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/customer-transformation-report?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=internal&amp;utm_campaign=20260128-report-owned-2026cstransformationreport&amp;utm_content=blogpost\"><em>2026 Customer Service Transformation Report<\/em><\/a> \u2192<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>For this year\u2019s report, we surveyed over 2,400 global customer service professionals across a range of industries to see how they\u2019re using AI today, where it\u2019s paying off, and what they\u2019re betting on as they plan for 2026.<\/p>\n<p>We found that for many teams, AI is still doing narrow work like answering simple questions or handling small parts of workflows. These teams are seeing benefits, but only a fraction of what\u2019s possible. Meanwhile, a smaller group is pulling away. They\u2019ve put AI at the core of their service operation, integrating it into critical workflows, giving it more responsibility, and continuously improving it over time.<\/p>\n<p>The difference in results and overall support experience \u2013 for both teams and customers \u2013 is significant. Here\u2019s what the data uncovered.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ai-adoption-is-the-norm-depth-makes-the-difference\">AI adoption is the norm, depth makes the difference<\/h2>\n<p>According to senior leaders, 82% of organizations invested in AI in 2025, with 87% planning to invest in the year ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this widespread investment, only 10% of teams report having reached a mature level of deployment, where AI is fully integrated into operations and working at scale.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-28-at-19.22.30.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Reaching this level of maturity is where AI\u2019s real value lies. We found that 43% of teams with mature deployment report higher quality and consistency across support \u2013 nearly double the rate of those still in the exploration or initial deployment stages.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image1.png\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"roi-becomes-clearer-with-deeper-integration\">ROI becomes clearer with deeper integration<\/h2>\n<p>The economic benefits of AI tend to show up first in speed and throughput, and they show up fast. Across all respondents, 62% say their customer service metrics have improved since implementing AI.<\/p>\n<p>Most often, teams report their initial gains in efficiency and scale. Faster responses, shorter handling times, and the ability to resolve more conversations with the same team all contribute to lower cost per interaction. But the deeper teams go with deployment, the more the results start to show in the metrics.<\/p>\n<p>We found that among teams that describe their AI deployment as mature, the cohort of respondents reporting improved metrics as a result of AI rises from 62% to 87%.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image7.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, teams with more mature deployments are significantly more likely to say they can measure the return on their AI investment.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image8.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So, while early-stage teams may be seeing benefits, the ability to measure ROI that creates across-the-board buy-in is reported more often by teams with deeper AI deployments.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-bar-has-moved-from-does-it-work-to-is-it-actually-good\">The bar has moved from \u2018does it work?\u2019 to \u2018is it actually good?\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>More than ever, teams are focused on improving customer experience and satisfaction, with 58% saying it&#8217;s the top priority for 2026. That number has more than doubled since last year, when just over a quarter (28%) of respondents cited it as a top priority.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image4.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This suggests that as AI takes on more of the manual work, humans are being freed up to move from being reactive to proactive, with more time to focus on actively improving the customer experience. In other words, when the AI is working, the measure of success moves to how well it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"important-support-work-now-extends-beyond-the-inbox\">Important support work now extends beyond the inbox<\/h2>\n<p>AI is reorganizing core customer service operations as it starts to take on a higher volume of work and more complex tasks. Even at the initial deployment stage, 16% of teams report spending less time handling support volume since implementing AI \u2013 and among teams who\u2019ve reached maturity, that figure rises to 28%.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image2.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As the work changes, so does the team structure. Many organizations are reallocating existing staff to AI-focused roles or hiring for new skillsets entirely, and new roles are emerging that didn&#8217;t exist two years ago.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"support-is-creating-the-blueprint-for-ai-deployment-across-the-business\">Support is creating the blueprint for AI deployment across the business<\/h2>\n<p>Support was the proving ground for AI, and our research suggests that businesses are now planning to expand its use to other areas based on the results it\u2019s yielded so far. Fifty-two percent of respondents said that their organizations are actively planning to scale AI to departments like customer success, marketing, and sales in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The two most cited driving forces behind this decision are the success support has seen with AI to date and a desire to create a unified customer experience.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image3.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This presents an incredible opportunity for support teams to shape the future of customer experience as they help facilitate the move towards a level of seamlessness that\u2019s never been possible before.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"seize-the-opportunity-to-close-the-gap\">Seize the opportunity to close the gap<\/h2>\n<p>Having or not having AI isn&#8217;t a question anymore. What you should be asking now is how close you are to mature deployment, where AI is capable of tackling nuanced, high-stakes work.<\/p>\n<p>Those who have reached this stage show that going deep is what unlocks real value. That\u2019s the opportunity. Push AI to do more, bring it to more channels, use it to resolve the most complex queries, and close the gap before it becomes too wide to close.<\/p>\n<p>This might seem daunting. But trying new things always is. What we\u2019re experiencing now is a defining moment for customer service, and the teams that are leaning in are actively building the future. As this report shows, what works in customer service now will become the blueprint for how organizations transform the full customer journey with AI. Let\u2019s make the most of this powerful opportunity.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/customer-transformation-report?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=internal&amp;utm_campaign=20260128-report-owned-2026cstransformationreport&amp;utm_content=blogpost\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-31747 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal.png\" alt=\"Get the 2026 customer service transformation report\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1120\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal.png 2400w, https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal-700x327.png 700w, https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal-768x358.png 768w, https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal-1536x717.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal-2048x956.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_CTA_Horizontal-1320x616.png 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While most customer service teams now use AI, a gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply. Learn how to close the gap before it becomes too wide. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":31734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"category":[3,25421],"tags":[25467],"coauthors":[25010],"class_list":["post-31756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-support","category-guides-reports","tag-2026-customer-service-transformation-report"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind - The Intercom Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While most customer service teams now use AI, a gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply. Learn how to close the gap before it becomes too wide.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While most customer service teams now use AI, a gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply. Learn how to close the gap before it becomes too wide.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Intercom Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intercominc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T18:04:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T19:37:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1195\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Declan Ivory\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@intercom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@intercom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Declan Ivory\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Declan Ivory\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fd6d1cfe687831c054d059254d25da68\"},\"headline\":\"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-28T18:04:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T19:37:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":967,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png\",\"keywords\":[\"2026 customer service transformation report\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Customer Service\",\"Guides &amp; Reports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind - The Intercom Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-28T18:04:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T19:37:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"While most customer service teams now use AI, a gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply. Learn how to close the gap before it becomes too wide.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1195},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Intercom Blog\",\"description\":\"Articles and Podcasts on Customer Service, AI and Automation, Product, and more\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Intercom Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/Intercom-logo-sq-black-trans.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/Intercom-logo-sq-black-trans.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"The Intercom Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/intercominc\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/intercom\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/intercom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/2491343\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ie\\\/intercom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCJG0MvLP03kyzzAkD-w98aQ\",\"https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/Intercom_(company)\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fd6d1cfe687831c054d059254d25da68\",\"name\":\"Declan Ivory\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f6cc6da2aa684fd707c8d443541bc6959a783bdc807957e6f108c6131012d3fb?s=96&d=mm&r=pg61e4e346e426e0357040bfa74d72c263\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f6cc6da2aa684fd707c8d443541bc6959a783bdc807957e6f108c6131012d3fb?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f6cc6da2aa684fd707c8d443541bc6959a783bdc807957e6f108c6131012d3fb?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Declan Ivory\"},\"description\":\"Having led Cloud Technical Support for EMEA at Google, Declan now shares his operational expertise and strong leadership to support and grow Intercom's customer support team.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intercom.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/declanivory\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind - The Intercom Blog","description":"While most customer service teams now use AI, a gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply. Learn how to close the gap before it becomes too wide.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind","og_description":"While most customer service teams now use AI, a gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply. Learn how to close the gap before it becomes too wide.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/","og_site_name":"The Intercom Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intercominc","article_published_time":"2026-01-28T18:04:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-28T19:37:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1195,"url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Declan Ivory","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@intercom","twitter_site":"@intercom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Declan Ivory","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Declan Ivory","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fd6d1cfe687831c054d059254d25da68"},"headline":"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind","datePublished":"2026-01-28T18:04:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T19:37:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/"},"wordCount":967,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png","keywords":["2026 customer service transformation report"],"articleSection":["Customer Service","Guides &amp; Reports"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/","name":"The AI deployment gap is widening, don\u2019t get left behind - The Intercom Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png","datePublished":"2026-01-28T18:04:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T19:37:26+00:00","description":"While most customer service teams now use AI, a gap is opening up between teams that have deployed AI at a surface level and those that have integrated it deeply. Learn how to close the gap before it becomes too wide.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/customer-service-transformation-report-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png","width":2560,"height":1195},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/","name":"The Intercom Blog","description":"Articles and Podcasts on Customer Service, AI and Automation, Product, and more","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"The Intercom Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Intercom-logo-sq-black-trans.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Intercom-logo-sq-black-trans.png","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"The Intercom Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/intercominc","https:\/\/x.com\/intercom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/intercom\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/2491343","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ie\/intercom\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCJG0MvLP03kyzzAkD-w98aQ","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Intercom_(company)"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fd6d1cfe687831c054d059254d25da68","name":"Declan Ivory","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6cc6da2aa684fd707c8d443541bc6959a783bdc807957e6f108c6131012d3fb?s=96&d=mm&r=pg61e4e346e426e0357040bfa74d72c263","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6cc6da2aa684fd707c8d443541bc6959a783bdc807957e6f108c6131012d3fb?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6cc6da2aa684fd707c8d443541bc6959a783bdc807957e6f108c6131012d3fb?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Declan Ivory"},"description":"Having led Cloud Technical Support for EMEA at Google, Declan now shares his operational expertise and strong leadership to support and grow Intercom's customer support team.","url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/author\/declanivory\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CST26_Blog_Hero-scaled.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=31756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31756"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=31756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}