73% of CX leaders prefer hybrid AI-human models, Liveops finds
ARIZONA, UNITED STATES — Enterprise customer experience leaders are decisively rejecting AI-only automation in favor of hybrid models that combine artificial intelligence with human judgment, with 73% of CX decision-makers preferring a hybrid approach and just 6% backing full AI automation, according to new global research released by Liveops.
The 2026 AI Maturity Benchmark for Customer Experience, developed in collaboration with Ryan Strategic Advisory, surveyed 815 enterprise executives with decision-making authority over contact centers — making it one of the most comprehensive industry snapshots of how AI is reshaping global customer service strategy.
The findings carry direct implications for U.S. enterprise buyers, outsourcing providers, and CX vendors recalibrating their offerings as the line between automation and human expertise becomes the defining competitive battleground.
Hybrid wins, but operational maturity lags
The report finds that 61% of organizations are in the “Walk” or “Run” stages of AI maturity, meaning they are actively bringing AI into workflows or automating defined actions with human oversight.
Only 14% have reached the “Fly” stage, where AI continuously adapts and optimizes CX decisions in real time — exposing a wide gap between adoption and operational readiness.
Preference for hybrid CX models was consistent across every market surveyed, with the strongest support coming from the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
“Enterprise leaders are not rejecting AI, but they are rejecting the idea that customer experience should become AI-only,” said Molly Moore, president and COO of Liveops.
“The focus has shifted from adoption to execution, applying AI in ways that improve speed and consistency while keeping human judgment at the center of moments that require context, empathy and trust,” Moore added.
Industry gaps and the biggest roadblocks
AI maturity varies sharply by industry. Gaming leads all sectors with 61% of organizations in the “Run” or “Fly” stages, followed by FinTech, Digital Enterprise, and Media at 58%.
By contrast, the public sector has the highest concentration of organizations stuck in the earliest “Crawl” stage at 47%, with green enterprise (44%), energy and utilities (43%), and pharmaceuticals (39%) lagging close behind.
Change management and workforce readiness ranked as the top constraint to CX transformation, scoring 3.7 out of 5, with data security and compliance concerns close behind at 3.6 — signaling that AI adoption is being shaped by organizational and risk factors as much as by technology readiness.
The report points to a more disciplined phase of AI adoption, where success will depend less on adding tools and more on preparing teams, assigning ownership, strengthening quality controls, and determining where human oversight belongs.
The findings reflect a broader recalibration unfolding across the global outsourcing industry, where BPO providers and CX vendors are repositioning around hybrid delivery models that pair AI agents with skilled human representatives.
As enterprise buyers double down on hybrid CX, providers that can orchestrate AI, human expertise, and workflows into measurable business outcomes are positioned to capture the next wave of contracts — while those still selling pure automation or pure headcount face mounting pressure to evolve toward the integrated model now defining the future of customer experience.
