February 20, 2026
As we navigate 2026, the landscape of support operations is being reshaped by AI-driven solutions. With rising call volumes and staffing shortages, support teams are turning to artificial intelligence to maintain service quality. This article explores the trends transforming support operations and why they are becoming imperative.
Key support operations trends in 2026 include agentic AI autonomy, human-AI collaboration, and enhanced governance to deliver end-to-end service, while addressing project risks and adoption gaps.
Agentic AI is revolutionizing service management by shifting from queue-based ticket handling to autonomous workflows. These AI agents detect intent, execute actions, and verify outcomes, minimizing human intervention. According to Gartner, by 2028, agentic AI will drive 15% of daily business decisions and autonomously resolve 80% of common issues (HDI, 2026).
AI is transforming support operations by automating tasks, creating new organizational roles, and managing AI agents, though challenges include service quality dips and call volume surges.
AI enhances operational efficiency by scaling self-service, reducing human agent reliance, and structuring AI management roles. Forrester notes that daily workloads could drop by an hour due to AI automation, although overautomation risks customer frustration (Forrester, 2026).
Support automation matters now due to economic pressures demanding proven outcomes, with AI usage doubling and 75% of employees engaging, according to Microsoft trends.
Automation is crucial as companies face economic pressures to demonstrate outcomes over ticket volumes. Gleap's AI capabilities, such as the AI-powered support copilot Kai, exemplify how automation can resolve 80% of inquiries automatically, allowing teams to focus on complex issues (Gleap AI Copilot).
Challenges for AI-supported operations include governance, defining AI boundaries, and managing AI-driven call volume spikes.
AI deployment complexities can lead to temporary service quality declines. Forrester highlights that consumer-developed AI agents could cause 100x call volume spikes, necessitating bot detection tools (Forrester, 2026).
Support operations trends in 2026 focus on agentic AI autonomy, enhanced human-AI collaboration, and governance frameworks to ensure efficient service delivery.
AI is changing customer service by automating routine tasks, reducing reliance on human agents, and managing AI-driven call volumes, though challenges like service quality dips exist.
Automation is important in 2026 due to economic pressures that demand efficient outcomes and increased AI usage, leading to improved service operations.
Support that grows with you. Gleap's AI assistant Kai handles common questions across chat, email, and Whats App, so your team can focus on the conversations that matter.
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