AI, Integration, and Price: Why Companies Change How They Buy

As CX leaders navigate rapid growth of technology and the need for integration, they’re evaluating where to buy services. When we asked which type of provider delivers the most value, the platform provider came out on top, chosen by 32.4% of companies, and no single channel partner type matched it. But that’s the biggest slice, not a majority. Add up the channel partner types, and partners collectively earn the value vote from 67.6% of companies.. 

Interestingly, the same three factors top the lists both for where companies see value and for why they change how they buy, according to Metrigy’s Buying Strategies for Communications Services 2026-27 study of 202 companies (including a subset of channel partners) headquartered in North America and Europe. Integration capabilities (44.4%), pricing (35.2%), and AI expertise (33.8%) are the top three reasons companies selected the provider type that delivers the most value, and the same three lead the reasons companies switched purchasing methods. 

We also asked the study’s channel partners why they represent the platform providers they do, and where those providers need to improve. On AI, partners want the same thing buyers do.

AI Expertise Is a Two-Way Street

More than half (50.7%) of companies say the rise of AI has changed their vendor-selection requirements. Of the five capabilities we asked about when selecting a communications provider, AI integration ranked highest, with 62.7% calling it vital. And AI expertise is the No. 1 reason companies changed their purchasing method, cited by 65.7% of those that made a change—well ahead of integration capabilities.

Channel partners are holding their platform providers to the same standard. In fact, 60.3% of partners say they represent those vendors because of their AI expertise, second only to technology innovation (63.8%) and nearly double the share citing profit margin. When we asked where their primary contact center provider must improve its relationship with the channel, 47.4% said AI expertise, and none of the other items reached 30%. That should get contact center platform providers’ attention. Nearly half of partners want their primary contact center provider to get better at AI, and I suspect it’s because AI is what their customers are seeking. 

Buyers, meanwhile, put AI specialists at the top of the list of partner types that will become more important to them over the next five years (53.5%), well ahead of any other type, such as managed service provider, value-added reseller, technology services distributor, systems integrator, etc. 

Integration: Everybody’s Priority, Everybody’s Job

As noted above, integration is the No. 1 reason companies value a provider type, and demand is growing. Integrating applications, platforms, and systems is the role companies most often expect to become more important over the next two years, for both platform providers and channel partners.

Who does that work varies widely. Platform providers led 28.9% of companies’ most recent communications integration, and internal IT led 24.6%. Channel partners collectively led 46.5%—though no single partner type topped 11.3%. When we asked companies who they most rely on for application integrations, internal IT and the platform provider are essentially tied. For partners, that’s an opening: They already handle nearly half the integration work, and buyers expect integration to matter more than any other partner role.

AI will only make this harder. Among the outside providers we asked about, AI application providers were most often rated most capable for AI agents, AI receptionists, AI governance, and AI analytics, while UC/CC platform vendors led for agent assist. If buyers combine AI from more than one provider, somebody must connect all of it to the contact center, the UC platform, the CRM, and the data behind each of these.

Don’t Write Off Price

With so much attention on AI, it’s easy to treat price (and pricing models) as a secondary concern. Buyers don’t, as noted above. Pricing is the No. 2 reason companies value a provider type (35.2%) and the No. 3 reason they changed how they buy (45.7%)—and for global voice services, it’s the top selection criterion, cited by 63.4%.

When buyers look ahead, though, integration outranks price negotiation. Among companies that use a channel partner, most say the partner played a major role in negotiating pricing, more than for anything except ongoing support. Looking ahead two years, less than half expect that negotiating role to become more important.

My view: Price will matter in more ways than just the bottom line. Value is key: I’ve talked to CX leaders over and over who have said they don’t care about going with a more costly service if they get more value. And with AI pricing complexity taking center stage, they want predictability so that things like seasonal bumps in AI usage don’t blow the entire budget. These are mandates for both the platform providers and channel partners. The providers that make that cost understandable, predictable, and tied to business results will have the edge.

What Companies Should Do Now

Buyers will go direct when the platform provider covers what they need, and they’ll bring in a partner when that partner adds something the platform can’t. Here’s where I’d focus:

• Platform providers – Highlight AI expertise to end customers, while extending capabilities to the channel. Nearly half (47.4%) of partners say their primary contact center provider needs to improve there, more than in any other area. That means providing AI training, access to solution architects, and hands-on help with use cases.
• Channel partners – Build a real integration practice, and make clear who’s accountable. Buyers expect integration to grow in importance more than any other partner role (62.0%), and channel partners collectively already lead 46.5% of companies’ most recent integrations.
• CX buyers – Assess integration and AI expertise early, then compare total cost with the business results you expect. That cost should include licenses, AI consumption, integration, implementation, professional and managed services, and ongoing support.

Author(s)

Robin Gareiss