Building customer operations that drive growth

As 2026 approaches, many leaders are reassessing the function of customer operations. They are shifting their focus from efficiency to crafting exceptional experiences, by using artificial intelligence to generate tangible, quantifiable effects.

One notable area where this shift happens is with the contact center, which is transcending its role as a mere service conduit, morphing into a vital driver of growth. AI is being integrated into all digital interaction points, enhancing its capabilities and extending its reach. At the same time, human expertise remains indispensable, guiding intricate, nuanced interactions that AI alone cannot manage.

It’s nothing short of a transformation, one that’s shaping the future of customer operations around a fundamental idea: AI integration must be prioritized, while human involvement remains integral and central. This AI-first, human-always approach is redefining the customer engagement landscape, merging technology’s potential with the empathy, creativity and critical thinking inherent in human interaction.

In the past, outsourcing was about cost savings and capacity. Today, leading organizations are shifting from hiring vendors to forming growth partnerships that transform how customer operations create value. A vendor delivers what’s laid out in a contract. Their focus is, for example, on service levels, staffing and transactions, meeting targets such as average handle time or call resolution.

A growth partner, alternatively, co-creates outcomes. They share accountability for business results, working side by side with clients to improve customer satisfaction, reduce costs sustainably and scale innovation.

Think of it this way: a vendor answers the phone faster; a growth partner reimagines why customers are calling in the first place, designing processes and AI-driven workflows that prevent friction entirely. This partnership model is built on shared KPIs tied to measurable business outcomes.

It means scaling AI from pilots to platforms, designing intelligent workflows that move the needle and turning operational budgets into blueprints for growth. Leading organizations are already embracing this mindset to achieve not just operational efficiency but true competitive differentiation.

Traditional outsourcing often begins with technical questions such as, “Can you integrate with our CRM?” The more transformative conversations ask about specific outcomes, such as, “Can we reduce costs by 20%? Improve CSAT by 15%? Automate 40% of interactions?”

When organizations lead with impact, they move from outsourcing capacity to outsourcing value. This outcome-first mindset paves the way for “Invisible service”—where AI works seamlessly in the background to empower employees, anticipate needs and streamline decisions to support clients without compromising the customer experience.

A new service model is taking shape—one where AI and people collaborate by design. AI now handles a significant share of inquiries instantly, driving greater speed, accuracy and customer satisfaction. At the same time, the human role is more important than ever, anchoring every interaction in empathy, trust and sound judgment.

The future of service unfolds across three modes of collaboration:
• Out of the loop—fully automated interactions
• In the loop—human and AI working together
• Over the loop—human oversight and governance

By designing systems where AI manages the heavy lifting and people focus on the moments that truly matter, organizations can scale intelligently—without ever losing the human touch.

A prominent European energy distributor recently joined forces with IBM Consulting® to revolutionize its contact center through the application of generative AI. Collaboratively, they established an AI-centric framework spanning telephone and digital platforms, enabling swift resolution of most queries through tailored AI agents.

The outcomes are undeniable: expedited resolution times, diminished wait periods and AI now managing routine tasks such as bookings and data modifications. This system boasts continuous learning capabilities, customizes interactions and harmoniously integrates with existing systems. This case study exemplifies how thoughtful AI integration can bolster service excellence, amplify operational efficiency and uplift human agents, complementing their roles instead of supplanting them.

Customer service is being rewritten. In 2026, AI-first, human-always isn’t just a mantra—it’s a growth strategy.

IBM Consulting collaborates with clients to reimagine customer operations, combining agentic AI, intelligent workflows and human-centered design to deliver measurable outcomes.

If your goals are to:

• Automate intelligently
• Reduce costs sustainably
• Elevate the agent experience
• Enable always-on engagement

Then, the question isn’t if you need a growth partner—it’s who you trust to deliver results.

Talk to IBM Consulting about building your AI-first, human-always operations.         
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