Voice remains 40% of contact center volume, while 75% of leaders say legacy tools block omnichannel service

In its first year, Zendesk’s AI-native voice solution surpassed 100 opportunities, achieved competitive wins against legacy providers, and landed a 4,000-seat deployment

As AI agents take on more of the customer journey, voice remains a critical channel for customer service. Zendesk research shows voice still represents 40% of contact center volume and is growing, while 75% of contact center leaders say legacy technology prevents them from delivering a true omnichannel experience. In the agentic era, the phone line isn't going away — businesses increasingly need AI to handle it natively.

That gap between rising voice demand and aging infrastructure is pushing contact centers to rethink how they operate. Businesses are looking for more integrated, AI-first service models that connect voice with the same context and customer history as digital channels. Demand for AI-native voice is growing. One year after Zendesk acquired Local Measure and launched a native voice solution within the Zendesk Resolution Platform, Zendesk Contact Center has seen strong market response, particularly among customers in the 250 - 750 agent segment. In the past 12 months, it has:

• Secured over 100 contact center opportunities with businesses in every region.
• Achieved a string of competitive displacements against established legacy market leaders.
• Scaled across the enterprise, including wins in the strategic 600 - 1,000 agent tier and a landmark 4,000-seat deployment.
• Closed individual seven-figure annual recurring revenue (ARR) agreements.
• Earned official support for HIPAA-enabled accounts.

The shift reflects a broader move toward integrated customer service, where voice shares the same context and customer history as digital channels. By reducing friction across channels, businesses can improve service in real time and turn traditional cost centers into engines for brand loyalty.

At Zendesk Relate, customers highlighted the value of a unified experience as they scale. “The value of a single interface has been huge for us, especially as we scale,” said Bridget O’Sullivan, HR Manager at Five Iron Golf.

"Voice can no longer live in an isolated operational silo," said Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk. "Our incredible contact center momentum over the past year proves that businesses want voice natively woven into a single, AI-first resolution platform. By eliminating the friction of disconnected tools, we are giving organizations the exact foundation they need to run a modern, autonomous contact center workforce."

Zendesk Contact Center combines global telephony infrastructure from Amazon Connect with Zendesk’s AI capabilities to provide a unified desktop for omnichannel service. To simplify procurement, Zendesk also offers a bundled commercial solution with AWS, bringing enterprise telephony, platform minutes, and AI features into a single arrangement billed by Zendesk.

"The future of service belongs to the unencumbered," said Jonathan Barouch, GM of Zendesk Contact Center. "By harmonizing deployment, support, and cutting-edge AI under one roof, we've removed the invisible boundaries that have held contact centers back for decades. This isn't just a milestone year for Zendesk — it's a defining moment for where the industry goes next."

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260624047404/en/

In its first year, Zendesk’s AI-native voice solution surpassed 100 opportunities, achieved competitive wins against legacy providers, and landed a 4,000-seat deployment.