Public Study B2B Global 2026

Customer service in the AI age 2026

The hype cycle is over, and reality has arrived. While reported AI adoption in customer success departments has softened since 2025, the organizations deploying it are seeing massive, double-digit returns on efficiency, cost savings, and customer satisfaction. Discover the latest global benchmarks from Roland Berger and Potloc.

How is AI changing customer service in 2026?

Following the largest-of-its-kind study in 2025, Roland Berger and Potloc partnered again to survey B2B decision-makers across 10 countries on AI use within customer service functions.

Simone Schatto

Director, Roland Berger

Antoine Béguerie

Account Executive, Potloc

Sampling details.

  • 10

    countries and five industries targeted.

  • 550

    senior decision-makers surveyed.

  • 210K

    employees represented across businesses.

  • 14

    layers of data quality checks employed.

Key survey support.

  • GlobeStand

    10 global markets reached.

    Potloc’s experts managed fieldwork complexities end-to-end to source and verify niche targets from across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

  • Calculator

    Quantitative rigor.

    Potloc collected 550+ respondents in mere days, using 14 human, AI, and third-party quality controls, with hands-on survey experts ensuring representativeness and YoY comparability across regions, industries, and company sizes.

  • PresentationChart

    Faster, richer takeaways.

    Potloc’s platform allowed the team to monitor fieldwork live. Auto-analysis tools helped them filter, crosstab, and test significance — powering faster conclusions.

Potloc's support in survey design and the high data quality of the survey results enabled reliable, actionable insights and the right conclusions for our clients. Potloc's platform facilitated efficient data processing and structuring of insights, improving both speed and depth of analysis.
Simone Schatto BW
Simone Schatto Director, Roland Berger
RB_Logo_Combination_Black_Digital

Key trends.

1

The transition from hype to reality.

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Following an initial trial phase of rapid adoption and experimentation, reported AI use in customer service operations has fallen from 95% in 2025 to a more realistic level at 54% in 2026.
2

Measurable returns from AI adoption.

rb-ai-customer-service-2026-graph2A
rb-ai-customer-service-2026-graph2B
Among operations that have implemented AI, improvements are visible across key KPIs around customer experience and internal operations.
3

Barriers to scaling AI.

rb-ai-customer-service-2026-graph3A
rb-ai-customer-service-2026-graph3B
The most significant challenge for customer service leaders already using AI is legacy systems and the complexity of integration, cited by 46 % of AI users compared with 39 % overall.

Our team.

Antoine Béguerie
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
antoine.beguerie@potloc.com 

Kickstart your next thought leadership survey.

With unmatched sample quality, time-saving analysis tools, and dedicated research experts at your disposal, Potloc is the go-to survey partner for PE & consulting firms.

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