I think the biggest factor in 2026 will be how well an AI agent can actually complete tasks, rather than simply how well it can answer questions. Integrations, human handoff, analytics, and the ability to improve the agent over time all seem important. A platform can have impressive AI, but if it can’t connect to the systems a business already uses or resolve issues without constantly involving a human, its practical value may be limited.

Demo performance can look very different from handling thousands of actual customer conversations, especially when it comes to accuracy, escalation rates, customer satisfaction, and cost.

For me, those metrics would be more useful for comparing platforms than features alone.