Top 16 Customer Experience Conferences To Attend in 2026

Customer experience now influences everything from first impressions to long-term loyalty.

For leaders responsible for CX strategy, staying ahead of shifting expectations, new technologies, and evolving customer behavior requires constant learning.

The customer experience conferences below highlight the most valuable events in 2026 where CX professionals can explore new strategies and see how top organizations are improving the customer journey.

70% of Executives Say Their Teams Can’t Keep Up With Customer Expectations

Delivering great customer experiences has become more complex as expectations, technology, and consumer behavior evolve.

According to PwC’s 2025 Customer Experience Survey:

• 70% of executives say customer expectations are evolving faster than their company can adapt
• 52% of consumers say they stopped buying from a brand after a bad product or service experience
• 29% of consumers say they stopped using a brand specifically because of poor customer experience
• 46% of executives believe their current loyalty programs will become irrelevant within three years

These results show a widening gap between what companies believe they deliver and what customers actually experience.

Customer experience events can help close that gap by bringing together industry leaders and professionals who share practical approaches to designing better journeys, strengthening loyalty, and turning customer insights into measurable improvements.

1. Customer Connect Expo 2026

Best for Exploring CX Technology

• Date: September 9-10, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Key speakers:
  • Tianjiao (Tina) Zhao, Director, Head of Advanced AI Solutions, BlackRock
  • Prashant Yadav, Global Technology Lead, Amazon Web Services (ex-Adobe)
  • Sidney Madison Prescott, Founder & CEO, Mirror (ex-Spotify)
• Price: $99

Customer Connect Expo is where CX leaders, contact center teams, and technology providers gather to see what’s molding the future of customer engagement.

If you’re curious about where CX tech is heading, this event puts the tools, the people building them, and the companies using them all in one place.

You’ll be able to walk through an expo floor packed with CX platforms, automation tools, and AI-powered service technologies. More than 100 seminar sessions will go over everything from customer data and self-service to intelligent automation and digital engagement.

Alongside the conference program, you’ll find live demos, breakout discussions, and networking spaces created to help you compare solutions and exchange ideas with other CX professionals.

2. CX Retail Exchange USA

Best For Retail CX and Digital Transformation

• Date: September 14-15, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Grand Hyatt Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Key speakers:
  • Stijn Bannier, Global Digital Product Director – Ecosystem, Adidas
  • Anu Madhusudan, Vice President of Marketing Transformation, Target
  • Suri Mishra, Group Director of Omnichannel Insights & AI Acceleration, Walmart
• Price: Invite-only

CX Retail Exchange USA 2026 will gather senior leaders in customer experience, customer service, store operations, and digital transformation from across the retail sector for two days of closed-door discussion.

The invitation-only format will create an environment where executives can exchange strategies and practical solutions for challenges specific to retail.

Sessions will cover aligning cross-functional teams around shared ownership of the customer journey, simplifying complex technology stacks, and moving from AI experimentation to measurable performance.

3. Customer Success Summit San Francisco

Best For Scaling Customer Success

• Date: September 22-23, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, California, USA
• Key speakers:
  • Sophia Kim, Director of Customer Success, Salesforce
  • Jen Gussman, Director of Customer Success Account Management, Microsoft
  • Melissa Goldstein, Vice President of Customer Success, Mastercard
• Price: In-person passes start at $1,295. Livestream & OnDemand passes are $299.

Customer Success Summit San Francisco 2026 will bring together leaders exploring how to drive net revenue retention, embed predictive analytics, and automate strategically while maintaining the customer relationships that retain and expand accounts.

The summit will run a two-track format covering churn reduction, expansion strategy, onboarding optimization, and building an AI-native customer success organization.

Sessions will also address translating CS impact into terms executives care about to earn influence, budget, and headcount.

Other Customer Success Collective events in 2026 are listed here.

4. CXS for Financial Services

Best for CX Leaders in Banking and FinTech

• Date: September 23-24, 2026
• Medium: In-person and virtual
• Location: Hyatt Regency, Toronto, Canada
• Key speakers:
  • Annie Leclerc, Senior Director, Transformation Office, Desjardins
  • Amit Mondal, VP & Head of Digital Analytics & Experimentation, American Express
  • Kristina Villarini, VP, Digital Content & Marketing Strategy, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Price: In-person tickets start at $1,395 (early bird)

If you work in banking, payments, or fintech, this summit zeroes in on the CX challenges unique to financial services.

Speakers from organizations such as American Express, JPMorgan Chase, and Desjardins will share how their teams connect data, marketing, and product decisions to build better customer relationships.

The event also leans heavily on interaction. Roundtables, curated breakout discussions, and speed networking will give you space to trade ideas with other financial CX leaders, while hybrid access and AI-powered matchmaking tools help extend those conversations beyond the conference floor.

5. WebexOne

Best For AI-Driven CX and Employee Experience

• Date: October 5-8, 2026
• Medium: In-person and virtual
• Location: Fairmont Austin, Texas, USA
• Key speakers:
  • George Wilson, Director of Enterprise Collaboration, Western Digital
  • Jeetu Patel, President & Chief Product Officer, Cisco
  • And more TBA
• Price: Starts at $699 (early bird)

WebexOne 2026 will bring together business and IT leaders, CX leaders, IT administrators, and Cisco partners to explore how AI is reshaping customer and employee experiences.

The event will feature keynotes, breakout sessions, industry roundtables, and an Innovation & Solutions Showcase, alongside more than 200 hours of technical training classes and hands-on labs across the Webex and Cisco Collaboration portfolio.

Attendees will also hear customer case studies from brands including United Airlines, Ameriprise Financial, and Labcorp, and can connect with Cisco executives, industry experts, and technical specialists.

6. Engage Customer Summit

Best For Enterprise-Scale Customer Engagement Strategy

• Date: October 7-8, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Evolution, Battersea, London, UK
• Key speakers:
  • Julie Su, Global Customer Journey & E-commerce Manager, Nissan Motor Corporation
  • Kathleen MacLean, Global Head of Customer Growth, Dr. Martens
  • Robert From, Chief Growth Officer, Rail Europe
• Price: Free

The Engage Customer Summit 2026 brings together senior CX leaders, marketers, contact center professionals, and technology decision-makers for two days focused on the future of customer engagement.

Celebrating its 15th year, the event will feature more than 250 speakers, 150 exhibitors, and over 3,000 attendees across multiple specialized stages covering CXM, CRM, loyalty, analytics, engagement marketing, and contact center innovation.

Attendees can explore how organizations are using AI, personalization, customer data, and journey orchestration to improve retention, strengthen loyalty, and deliver more connected customer experiences.

7. Customer Contact Week Europe Summit 2026

Best for Contact Center & Customer Service Leaders

• Date: October 5-7, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Passenger Terminal Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Key speakers:
  • Gaelle Devins, Chief Customer Officer / Member of the Executive Board, Breitling
  • Celine Del Genes, Global Chief Customer Officer, Decathlon
  • Christian Patz, Senior Vice President Customer Operations, Sky Deutschland
• Price: €2,299

CCW Europe Summit 2026 will bring together senior customer contact, CX, and digital service leaders from across Europe for three days of insight and peer collaboration as the European flagship of the global CCW series.

The event will welcome more than 850 attendees, including over 250 speakers across 125-plus sessions covering AI and automation, customer journey design, data-driven decision-making, and operational strategy.

Attendees will hear real-world strategies from leaders at brands including Booking.com, Decathlon, ABN AMRO, Philips, and Mercedes-Benz AG, alongside peer-led learning, analyst benchmarking, and industry-focused discussions.

CCW Nashville will be from October 7-9, 2026

8. Gainsight Pulse Europe

Best For Customer Success, Education, and Community

• Date: October 19-20, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: The Brewery, London, UK
• Key speakers: TBA
• Price: Starts at £799 (early bird)

Gainsight Pulse Europe 2026 will bring together Customer Success, Customer Education, and Community professionals for two days of workshops, breakouts, and networking focused on post-sales customer growth.

The program will feature more than 40 sessions and workshops across tracks covering AI, expansion, retention, and customer experience.

Topics will include how agentic customer success works in practice, real-world playbooks for owning retention, and the shift toward hybrid teams that combine humans, digital resources, and AI agents.

9. CX Solutions Summit

Best For Curated CX Networking & Supplier Discovery

• Date: October 21, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Hilton London Canary Wharf, London, UK
• Key speakers:
  • Ilenia Vidili, Customer Centricity Advisor
  • And more TBA
• Price: Not publicly listed

The CX Solutions Summit 2026 is a networking and business matchmaking event designed to connect customer experience buyers with solution providers through structured one-to-one meetings, educational seminars, and curated networking opportunities.

The event focuses on helping CX leaders discover relevant technologies, services, and partners tailored to their organization’s current challenges and transformation goals.

A major highlight of the summit is its personalized meeting format, which pairs buyers and suppliers based on shared business interests and project needs.

10. E3 CX Saudi 2026

Best For CX Innovation in the GCC

• Date: October 26-27, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Key speakers: TBA
• Price: Starts at $899 + VAT (conference pass)

E3 CX Saudi 2026 will return for its sixth edition in Riyadh, bringing together CX leaders, innovators, and digital transformation experts from across the region as one of the Kingdom's largest customer experience platforms.

The two-day program will cover how organizations are transforming CX across sectors including government services, banking, healthcare, telecom, and retail, with sessions on how AI, data, and emerging technologies are reshaping customer journeys.

The format will combine keynotes, panel discussions, masterclasses, and workshops with a CX Startup Zone showcasing the top 15 CX startups in Saudi Arabia, an exhibition, and a CX Hackathon. Organizers expect more than 2,000 participants from over 35 countries.

11. ICMI Contact Center Expo 2026

Best For Contact Center Operations Leaders

• Date: October 26-29, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
• Key speakers:
  • Brad Cleveland, Founding Partner and Senior Advisor, ICMI
  • Rachel Druckenmiller, Speaker and Engagement Expert
  • Todd Henry, Podcast Host and Best-Selling Author
• Price: Starts at $1,899. Expo is free for qualified registrants.

ICMI Contact Center Expo 2026 will bring together contact center directors, CX managers, and operations leaders for four days at what it bills as the longest-running contact center event, backed by 40 years of industry insights.

The program will feature more than 45 sessions across five educational tracks covering AI in action, customer experience strategy, culture, leadership, and productivity and operations.

Attendees can look forward to peer-led case studies from companies such as Mayo Clinic and WebMD, an expo hall with more than 35 solution providers, and the annual ICMI Global Contact Center Awards.

12. Unleash CX 2026

Best for Cross-Industry CX Strategy & Execution

• Date: November 2-3, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Key speakers:
  • Thomas Staudte, VP Customer Experience, air up
  • Burcu Begic, Director of Customer Services, A1 Slovenia
  • Michiel Jansen, Customer Journey Expert, ING
• Price:
  • Regular Pass: €999
  • Team Pass (2): €1,999
  • Team Pass (3): €2,997
  • One-Day Pass: €599
  • VIP Pass: €1,899

If you want to see how companies run customer experience in 2026, this summit is where you should be. CX, digital, marketing, data, and operations leaders will step on stage to show how they turn customer experience into a growth driver.

You’ll hear how teams move AI from pilot projects into production, redesign customer journeys across B2B and B2C, and connect CX metrics to revenue, retention, and loyalty.

13. Gartner Customer Service & Support Conference

Best For CX Strategy & AI Transformation

• Date: November 5-6, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Denver, Colorado, USA
• Key speakers:
  • Kath Koschel, Founder, Kindness Factory
  • Dr. Paul Redmond, Former Director of Student Experience and Enhancement, University of Liverpool
  • Christopher Sladdin, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
• Price: $3,775 (early bird)

The Gartner Customer Service & Support Conference 2026 brings together customer service leaders, CX executives, and technology decision-makers to explore how AI, data, and service innovation are reshaping customer experience.

The two-day event is built around Gartner’s proprietary research and insights, supported by more than 200,000 annual analyst interactions with the customer service and support community.

The conference also offers structured opportunities to validate strategies directly with Gartner analysts and industry peers, helping organizations bridge the gap between executive vision and operational execution.

14. Customer Experience Conference Manchester

Best For Cross-Sector CX Strategy in the UK

• Date: November 12, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Manchester Marriot Piccadilly, Manchester, UK
• Key speakers:
  • Su Mawdsley, Group Head of Compliance & Customer Experience, Chapelhouse Motor Group
  • Elaine Taylor, Product Owner – CX Platforms, Tesco Bank
  • And more TBA
• Price: Starts at £399 + VAT (early bird)

Customer Experience Conference Manchester 2026 will bring together more than 20 senior CX leaders for a single-day, cross-sector event focused on AI adoption, journey design, measurement, and the human factors that drive loyalty.

The agenda, built from primary interviews with practitioners, will cover identifying practical AI use cases that deliver ROI, balancing automation with human connection, building voice-of-customer programs, and orchestrating omnichannel journeys.

Sessions will also address behavioral science in journey design, frontline team wellbeing, and connecting CX to retention and revenue.

The format will feature candid case studies covering what went wrong during deployment, three interactive panels, peer-to-peer lunchtime roundtables, and more than two hours of dedicated networking.

15. Reuters Customer Service & Experience East 2026

Best For Executive CX Strategy

• Date: November 17-18, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: New York City, USA
• Key speakers:
  • Michelle Huenink Director, MSS Data & AI Center of Excellence, Microsoft
  • Daniel Blatt, Senior Director CX Research & Behavioural Science, Pfizer
  • Jean-Christophe Jaunin, CEO North America, Nespresso
• Price: Starts at $1,699 (early bird)

Customer Service & Experience East 2026 brings together senior customer service and CX leaders from some of the world’s most customer-obsessed brands to tackle the most pressing challenges shaping the future of customer experience.

With a strictly curated audience of senior decision-makers and limited vendor presence, the event is designed to foster high-value, peer-led discussion rather than traditional conference presentations.

The agenda focuses on practical, real-world case studies and honest dialogue, covering themes such as AI implementation, operational efficiency, customer trust, and the evolving relationship between human and AI-driven service.

Reuters Customer Service & Experience West 2027 will be from May 4-5, 2027.

16. Customer Experience Expo 2026

Best for CX Technology & Engagement Innovation

• Date: November 18-19, 2026
• Medium: In-person
• Location: Excel London, London, UK
• Key speakers: TBA
• Price: Free

Customer Experience Expo 2026 will welcome CX leaders and customer engagement specialists to explore how businesses are redefining client-focused strategies.

You will be able to explore new CX platforms, automation tools, and analytics technologies while connecting with professionals responsible for customer experience programs from multiple industries.

The event will also feature product exhibitions, expert sessions, and networking opportunities focused on strengthening customer engagement and nurturing long-term customer loyalty.

How to Choose the Right CX Conference in 2026

The table below breaks down each conference by focus, format, and cost so you can match the right event to your goals.

To choose the right event, CX leaders should evaluate what they actually need from the experience, not just the speaker lineup or location.

Here are six key questions to guide the decision:

• Are you building CX strategy or improving how you execute it?
• How central is AI to what you’re trying to figure out?
• Does your industry have a dedicated event and is it worth the specialization?
• Do you need vendor access or are you trying to avoid it?
• What format actually works for how you learn and network?
• What’s your budget, and what’s the true cost of the trip?

1. Are You Building CX Strategy or Improving How You Execute It?

Some events are built for executives rethinking how their organization approaches CX at a structural level. Others are for practitioners who need to solve operational problems .

• For long-term strategy and research-backed direction: Gartner Customer Service & Support Conference, Reuters Customer Service & Experience East, CX Retail Exchange USA, and Engage Customer Summit
• For hands-on execution and operational improvement: CCW Europe, ICMI Contact Center Expo, WebexOne, and Customer Connect Expo

2. How Central Is AI to What You're Trying to Figure Out?

Almost every conference on this list mentions AI. The difference is depth and intent.

• If you're still defining your AI strategy: Unleash CX, Gartner Customer Service & Support Conference, and Customer Experience Conference Manchester treat AI as a strategic question rather than a product feature.
• If you're past the strategy phase and need to see AI tools in action: WebexOne, Customer Connect Expo, ICMI Contact Center Expo, and E3 CX Saudi

3. Does Your Industry Have a Dedicated Event and Is It Worth the Specialization?

Cross-industry events give you broad benchmarking. Vertical events give you the room to discuss problems that don't translate cleanly across sectors.

• If you work in financial services: CXS for Financial Services
• If you work in retail: CX Retail Exchange USA
• If you work in customer success specifically: Customer Success Summit San Francisco and Gainsight Pulse Europe
• For cross-industry benchmarking: Engage Customer Summit, Customer Experience Expo, and Customer Experience Conference Manchester

4. Do You Need Vendor Access or Are You Trying to Avoid It?

Vendor-heavy events are valuable when you're actively evaluating technology. They're a distraction when you're not.

• If you're in an active buying or evaluation cycle: Customer Connect Expo, ICMI Contact Center Expo, WebexOne, and Customer Experience Expo
• If you want peer-to-peer discussion without a sales floor: Reuters Customer Service & Experience East keeps vendor presence deliberately limited. CX Solutions Summit and CX Retail Exchange USA use curated matching formats.

5. What Format Actually Works for How You Learn and Network?

Conference format shapes ROI more than most people admit before booking.

• For large-scale exposure keynotes, expo halls, hundreds of sessions: Engage Customer Summit (3,000+ attendees, 250+ speakers, free to attend), CCW Europe, and Customer Connect Expo
• For small-group and roundtable discussion: CX Solutions Summit, CX Retail Exchange USA, and Customer Experience Conference Manchester
• For structured analyst access and strategy validation: Gartner Customer Service & Support Conference

6. What's Your Budget, and What's the True Cost of the Trip?

Ticket price is only part of the number. Add flights, hotels, and time out of the office before you decide.

• Free to attend: Engage Customer Summit and Customer Experience Expo
• Under $1,500: Customer Success Summit San Francisco, CXS for Financial Services, WebexOne, Gainsight Pulse Europe, E3 CX Saudi, and Customer Experience Conference Manchester
• $1,500–$2,500: CCW Europe and Reuters Customer Service & Experience East
• $3,000+: Gartner Customer Service & Support Conference

Early 2027 CX Events Now on the Calendar

CX leaders have five confirmed events to consider when planning the year ahead. Organizers have secured the dates, with full programs, speakers, and ticket details still in development.

1. CX Exchange UK 2027

• Date: January 26-27, 2027
• Location: UK, venue to be confirmed
• Note: CX Network's invitation-style UK exchange, built on the same curated one-to-one meeting format as the CX Retail Exchange listed above. Dates are published; venue and agenda are not yet out.

2. CCW Berlin 2027

• Date: February 22-25, 2027
• Location: ECC Berlin (Estrel Congress Center), Berlin, Germany
• Note: Europe's largest customer service and contact center congress, running under the theme "From Contact to Connection." The 2027 edition introduces four themed Masterdays, Future Readiness, Customer Love, Touchpoint Excellence, and AI Transformation, plus three expo days.

3. Reuters Customer Service & Experience West 2027

• Date: May 4-5 2027, exact dates to be confirmed
• Location: San Diego, California, USA
• Note: The 2027 program centers on embedding AI into service delivery without losing trust, connecting data foundations to action, and breaking down silos across service, digital, and operations.

4. Zendesk Relate 2027

• Date: May 24-26, 2027
• Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
• Note: Zendesk's flagship CX event, built around AI-powered and agentic service. Three days and 70+ sessions mixing mainstage keynotes, hands-on product deep dives, and Expert Bar guidance, with 2,000+ service leaders expected. Registration is open.

5. Customer Contact Week Las Vegas 2027

• Date: June 14-17, 2027
• Location: Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Note: The US flagship of the CCW series listed above and the largest customer contact event globally, drawing thousands of contact center, CX, and service operations leaders each June.

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