The CX Software Features Your Team Needs in 2026
January 9, 2026
Customer Experience
Use this checklist to select the best CX software for your brand in 2026.
It’s the start of a new year, and you know what that means: in with the new and out with the old.
With any luck, you’ve Marie Kondo’d your closets and your kids’ piles, and if you’ve been really ambitious, you’ve even freed up some space in your basement or garage. What’s next? While you’re riding high on all those feel-good decluttering endorphins, let’s talk about one more thing that may be in need of a refresh—your customer experience (CX) tech stack.
Whether you’re evaluating new customer experience software for 2026, or quietly wondering if your current tools are still pulling their weight, these four questions will help you get clear, fast.
| CX Software Evaluation Checklist Be honest. This is about whether your platform still works for you. | |
| Ask yourself: | |
| Does your CX platform help you see the full customer story, or are you still piecing it together? Can you bring surveys, unstructured feedback, digital behavior, operational data, and employee signals into one place, so you can move from insight to action without workarounds? | Yes | No |
| Does AI actually help your teams do their jobs better? Does it give frontline teams and leaders clear priorities, risk signals, and guidance they can use to make better decisions today? | Yes | No |
| Can your platform keep up with change, or does it slow you down? As your org shifts, teams evolve, and priorities change, is your CX software truly built for enterprise scale, with the governance, security, and compliance needed to move forward with confidence? | Yes | No |
| Do you have a partner, or just a product? When you’re trying to prove value, build momentum, or push change through the organization, do you have real support, expertise, and a clear path forward, or are you largely on your own? | Yes | No |
If you hesitated—or answered “no”—to any of these, that’s your sign. It doesn’t mean you made the wrong choice before. It means you’re trying to do more now. | |
OK, you’ve completed the checklist. Now what? Let’s review why each of these components is so important.
4 Critical CX Software Features Your Team Needs in 2026
1. Unified omnichannel data
Today’s best CX software companies provide omnichannel customer experience tools that bring together every customer experience signal into one system, using AI-powered Text Analytics and Conversation Intelligence to eliminate manual analysis and deliver faster, more accurate, and immediately actionable insights for your team in the moment.
Why it matters: If your platform is still built around surveys alone, you’re missing out on most of what’s happening for your customers. Leaving you (and your leadership) with more questions, wasted opportunities and resources, and less timely, impactful action.
2. AI designed for frontline employees
Not all AI for CX is created equally. You need AI that’s tailor-made for roles across the enterprise—from the frontlines to the C-suite. It should come out of the box, and provide ready-to-use impact scores, risk flagging, and AI-powered coaching features that drive immediate, crucial business decisions.
Why it matters: AI designed for frontline teams guides the people who have the greatest impact on CX—store associates, brand staff, support reps—on how to serve customers better.
3. Enterprise-proof architecture
You’ve got millions of pieces of customer experience data, operational data, employee insights, and financial data that can take your CX program to new heights, but only if your customer experience platform can keep up. Best-in-class systems offer a proven track record of enterprise deployments, ensure reliable performance, and provide key governance, security, and compliance features.
Why it matters: That one-size-fits-all CX platform? It’s not actually made for your size. It will leave you chasing answers rather than getting them. It won’t be up to the task of analyzing the massive amounts of customer data you have (that wealth of insights at your fingertips). And, at the end of the day, it won’t give you the comprehensive, enterprise-wide view of the customer experience that you need to keep delivering meaningful business results.
4. Dedicated support and innovation
You want to invest in a platform and technology partner that’s invested in you. You’ll know that’s the case if they offer strategic advisory support and industry expertise, are able to fulfill product feature requests, and have a clear, long-term innovation strategy.
Why it matters: Unreliable, dated CX companies that are still cranking out last year’s (or last decade’s) CX tools will create risk for your business, slow your progress, and drive up costs for your team—instead of empowering you to serve up the results you’ve promised your C-suite.
If you’re not 100% confident in your CX software, what are you waiting for?
Even if you think you made the best choice at the time, the tools in your tech stack or on your wish list may no longer be the best platforms available right now. Check out The Official Guide to Choosing a CX Partner to get clear on what “best in class” actually looks like so you can make the right investment for your team.
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