2025 will be another year of customer experience (CX) mediocrity following a yearslong trend. Some savvy CX leaders will seize the opportunity to differentiate by improving on table stakes CX capabilities and boosting impact through collaboration with other departments. However, most teams will keep a misplaced focus on improving CX metrics to meet misguided incentives and rely on performative and ineffectual “quick fix” accessibility initiatives. Meanwhile, some CX leaders will cut redundant software spend, while contact center outsourcers will leverage generative AI (genAI) to reduce headcount.