Is your CX partner proving impact, or just pitching ambition?

HFS studied 33 CX providers on who proves outcomes, not just capability.

• Firstsource owns CX end-to- end, so your outcome has one accountable owner, not a chain of vendors

• Clients already see 75%+ digital engagement uplift and 40%+ AHT reduction in live operations

• Outcome-based pricing backed by owned IP, the bar HFS used to rank CX providers

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What we've been saying, now independently confirmed

For a while, AI capability set CX providers apart: whoever had the most tools, platforms, and pilots running. HFS Research benchmarked 33 providers on who owns outcomes end to end, not who has the newest stack. It found capability alone no longer separates anyone: the real gap is proprietary data, owned IP, and outcome-based commercial models. That is the case we have been making since we built Kairos, our operating system for Intelligence That Operates. HFS Horizon 3 is independent confirmation, not our own claim.
HFS Horizon 3 CX Report, 2026 | Firstsource

What this means for you

Justifying the AI budget to the board

You need outcomes verified by someone other than the vendor who sold them to you. An independent Horizon 3 placement is exactly that kind of proof.

Sitting mid-RFP with identical decks

When every provider claims the same AI capability, an outside benchmark is one of the few ways left to separate real execution from a polished pitch.

Building the case to expand a partnership

"We're happy with them" doesn't move a renewal conversation on its own. An independent analyst confirming the outcomes does.

Melissa Fershtquote image

Firstsource is pairing AI-native intelligence with 25 years of CX operations expertise, delivered through its Kairos operating system that aims to make one partner accountable for transformation, implementation, and operations...earning Firstsource its Horizon 3 placement.

Melissa Fersht
Executive Research Leader, HFS Research
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WHY THIS MATTERS

Intelligence is everywhere; accountability isn’t

One partner, by design

Kairos runs transformation, implementation, and operations under a single accountable owner. Full-stack delivery was always the point, not three vendors handing off between each other.

One layer of intelligence

Kairos, our operating system for AI-native operations, turns 25 years of domain expertise into a live system, converting static SOPs into a knowledge graph of decisions and precedents.

One outcome, compounding

Every engagement feeds the same system, so intelligence compounds with time instead of resetting at each renewal. That's the tenet HFS just validated from the outside.

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Why the market is shifting

AI investment is outpacing separation

74% of enterprises rank agentic AI a top-three investment, but capability alone no longer sets one provider apart from another.

Buyers want to pay differently

76% are open to outcome-based or gainshare pricing, yet only 5% of contracts use it today, a roughly 15x appetite gap.

A growth divide

67% of CX buyers report cost-to-serve gains from their provider. Only 31% report gains in conversion, retention, or churn.

Trust isn't the blocker anymore

79% of enterprise clients and 90% of partners already trust AI to own CX outcomes outright, not just assist with them

PROVEN OUTCOMES

What Firstsource clients are already seeing

~60% FTE

reduction

Achieved for a leading pensions and benefits client through conversational IVR, AI agent assist, and back-office automation combined.

75%+

digital engagement uplift

For the same pensions and benefits client, also alongside roughly 20% lower wait and resolution times overall.

15x

sales per pound spent

For a major communications client, where Firstsource scaled AI-led operations across 6,500 FTEs

40%+

AHT reduction

For that same client, alongside a 35% agent reduction and a measurable improvement in NPS scores.
Talk to an expert

Most CX providers claim it. HFS found Firstsource does it.

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