The AI-Powered CX Opportunity: Where Clients Are Investing and Why It Matters

AI has become a major investment in customer experience, and many organizations want to bring it into their Contact Center. This has created an opportunity for Partners to help connect that interest to clear business objectives, whether that’s improving the customer experience, supporting agents, or growing revenue. At the 2026 Sandler Partners National Summit, Ben Edwards, Director of CX & AI, dove into how Partners can do so during The AI-Powered CX Opportunity: Where Clients Are Investing and Why It Matters, joined by Michael Spartz, RVP, Partner Sales, Dialpad; Kayla Dozier, Senior Enterprise Solution Consultant, Five9; and Ariel Jalali, CEO, Paragon, onstage.

A few highlights from the discussion included:

  • Start Where the Customer Is: Many customers begin with features like meeting transcription before moving into Contact Center and agentic AI.
  • AI Works Alongside People: AI agents can handle routine steps, such as gathering loan details, and hand off to a person when a decision needs to be made.
  • Pricing Is Shifting: Contact Center pricing is moving from seat counts toward consumption and outcome-based models.
  • Ask the Genie Question: Ask each stakeholder which three things they would fix in the Contact Center. Where their answers overlap, there’s the first project.

The takeaway: AI projects succeed when they solve a clearly defined problem. Partners who find that problem early and agree with the customer on how success will be measured help them see a return on their investment.

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The Sandler Partners National Summit

The annual Sandler Partners National Summit is the largest independent technology community channel event held each year. It brings together Partners from across the US and Canada – influential leaders, and Providers  – sharing information on solutions, selling approaches, and personal development. The atmosphere is always energetic, reinforcing the family “safe home” reputation Sandler Partners has developed over two decades. While other TSDs may focus on private equity plays, Sandler Partners continues to help solve problems that encourage trust, deeper long-term customer relationships, and ultimately success.