Competitive Intelligence

Firstsource: Customer Experience Services Capabilities, 2026

This Firstsource: Customer Experience Services Capabilities, 2026 competitive intelligence profile is for customer experience leaders, CMOs, and sourcing executives evaluating Firstsource’s AI native CX capabilities built on 25 years of operations depth.

A composite graphic combining a placement diagram on the left with a text panel on the right. Left: a three tier beach themed framework diagram grouping customer experience service providers into three horizontal horizon bands. The vertical axis represents innovation scope, moving from functional at the bottom to enterprise in the middle to ecosystem at the top. The horizontal axis represents value aspiration, moving from digital on the left to experience in the middle to growth on the right. Companies are listed alphabetically within each horizon. Horizon 3, ecosystem synergy and new value creation, lists 14 providers: Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, EXL, EY, Firstsource, Genpact, IBM, Infosys, KPMG, Publicis Sapient, Sutherland, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), and Tech Mahindra. Horizon 2, end to end experience transformation, lists 12 providers: Amdocs, ATAIN, Coforge, Concentrix, Deloitte, HCLTech, InTouch CX, LTM, Movate, Transcom, TTEC, and Wipro. Horizon 1, functional transformation, lists 6 providers: HGS, ibex, iQor, Konvecta, Mphasis, and TELUS Digital. Right: a two panel header shows the Firstsource logo on a white background beside a purple panel reading "Horizon 3, ecosystem synergy and new value creation" with the tagline "Drive OneEcosystem synergy and create new sources of CX value." Below the header, a pull quote reads "AI native intelligence rooted in 25 years of CX operations." Below the quote, a paragraph states that HFS Horizons: Customer Experience Services, 2026 assesses vendor capabilities, innovation, and value potential across the HFS customer experience services value chain based on a range of dimensions to understand the why, what, how, and so what of their service offerings across three distinct horizons, and that the report evaluates the capabilities of 33 service providers, including CX specialists, global system integrators, and consultancies. Source: HFS Research, 2026.

Note: All service providers within a Horizon are listed alphabetically
Source: HFS Research, 2026

Key facts about Firstsource’s customer experience services capabilities

A six panel fact table. Key offerings across five categories: CX strategy and ops model, covering governance, vision, and target operating model; journey orchestration, covering omnichannel experience and service design; digital engineering, covering web, mobile, portals, and product build; lifecycle orchestration, covering lead to cash and service to revenue motions; and insights and VOC, covering journey analytics and experience mining. Mergers and acquisitions from 2023 to 2026: TeleMedik in 2026, enhancing healthcare domain expertise and clinical support services; Pastdue Credit Solutions in 2025, expanding capabilities in UK debt recovery and collections; AccuNAI in 2025, a strategic acquisition accelerating the scale of relAI™ platforms; and Ascensos in 2024, strategic growth in the UK retail sector. Key clients: the number of customer experience clients is not disclosed; five client relationships are described without naming the companies, a global education provider, a leading communication and media group in the US, UK, and Europe, a large UK retail and commercial bank, a leading pension and benefits administrator, and a leading UK utility provider. Partnerships: 25 named technology partners, AWS, TCN, NICE, Five9, XSELL Technologies, Kore.ai, Yellow.ai, Uniphore, Cresta, Zappix, Verint, Observe.AI, NiCE Nexidia, AmplifAI, PAL, Zenarate, Centrical, Sprinklr, Upstream Works, Zoho, Lingopal, Parloa, Knowmax, TechSee, and CollaborationRoom.ai. Global operations and resources: customer experience headcount is 24,214; Firstsource operates 53 delivery and innovation centers across 11 countries, with center locations grouped by region, North America with 4 named locations, the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago; EMEA with 4 named locations, the UK, Romania, Turkey, and South Africa; and Asia with 3 named locations, India, the Philippines, and Australia. Flagship internal IP: 4 named assets, Agentic AI Studio, a proprietary framework with prebuilt autonomous agents launched with 50 plus task models and 15 plus workflows; relAI™ Suite for Deep-Tech, a proprietary AI first approach that helps clients move beyond incremental improvements to structural transformation; Student Experience, for automated service request handling and resolution; and AI-Based Tariff Comparison Summarizer, an intelligent pricing advisor for utility customers. Source: HFS Research, 2026.

Source: HFS Research, 2026

Firstsource’s performance in the study and HFS’ views of its strengths and development opportunities for customer experience services capabilities

A composite graphic combining a Horizon placement graphic on the left with a text panel on the right. Left: a simplified version of the three tier beach themed Horizons diagram, reused from Exhibit 1 with the company name lists removed. The image keeps the same sky, ocean, and sand bands, sky at top for Horizon 3, ocean in the middle for Horizon 2, and sand at the bottom for Horizon 1. The Horizon 3 label, "Horizon 3, ecosystem synergy and new value creation," is set inside a bordered, colored box at the top of the sky band, with the Firstsource logo placed directly beneath it in that same sky area. The Horizon 2 label, "Horizon 2, end to end experience transformation," and the Horizon 1 label, "Horizon 1, functional transformation," appear in plain gray text with no border, over the ocean and sand bands respectively, showing that Horizon 3 is Firstsource's assessed position while the other two horizons are deemphasized. Right: a Strengths section lists five points. Operations native AI transformation partner: Firstsource's UnBPO™ proposition is built on the claim that CX transformation requires domain depth, in-house AI engineering, and at-scale production operations in one accountable model, bringing transformation, implementation, and operations under a single accountable construct. Kairos and ICF give Firstsource a differentiated foundation for agentic CX: Kairos brings together its vertical operations data, four industry platforms, 900 platform engineers, 100 plus GenAI assets, and Agentic AI Studio's 50 plus task models and 15 plus industry workflows, while ICF converts static SOPs into a live knowledge graph of decisions, exceptions, and precedent, giving agentic CX deployments the context needed to operate safely and effectively. Agentic AI Studio is moving beyond demos into vertical workflow assets: Firstsource's Agentic AI Studio adds specificity to its AI story, with 50 plus task models and 15 plus workflows across healthcare, EdTech, BFSI, telecom, and utilities, extending to use cases such as student service requests, AML screening, collections nudges, complaint handling, work orders, tariff comparison, and pricing advisory. Outcomes: at Aptia, Firstsource combined conversational IVR, AI agent assist, ACW automation, and back office transformation to deliver approximately 60% FTE reduction, more than 75% digital engagement uplift, and approximately 20% lower wait and resolution times; at Sky, it scaled AI led telco operations across 6,500 FTEs, driving more than 40% AHT reduction, 35% agent reduction, NPS improvement, and 15x sales generated per pound spent on service. Client and partner reference kudos: clients value the speed of bringing ideas to fruition and agility with commercial models, while partners credit the clear, differentiated UnBPO™ vision, execution at scale with domain depth, and openness to innovation and co-creation through joint go-to-market. A Development opportunities section lists three points. What we'd like to see more of: Firstsource has strong vertical workflows, but it should package them as repeatable products with standard implementation playbooks and benchmarked outcomes. Next steps: with its AI investments, Firstsource can create a client-facing marketplace where enterprises can access, configure, deploy, and monitor its prebuilt agentic assets across CX workflows. Client and partner reference critiques: clients want stronger AI consulting talent, tighter contractual models, and AI first account management; partners want faster technology adoption at scale, standardized POC to scale execution frameworks, and commercial models aligned more aggressively to outcomes. Source: HFS Research, 2026.

Source: HFS Research, 2026

To read the complete report, click the download button below.

Sign in to view or download this research.

Login

Register

Insight. Inspiration. Impact.

Register now for immediate access of HFS' research, data and forward looking trends.

Get Started

Authors

Related

Download Research

    Sign In

    Sign up for a free
    research account

    With the exception of our Horizons reports, most of our research is available for free on our website. Sign up for a free account and start realizing the power of insights now.

    By registering you agree to our privacy policy.

    I hereby consent that HFS Research can process my personal data.

    Digests/Newsletters: Overviews of the latest news, insight, and research by HFS.

    HFS Events: Exclusive invitations to HFS webinars, roundtables, and summits, bringing together key industry stakeholders focused on major innovations impacting business operations.

    Premium Access

    Our premium subscription gives enterprise clients access to our complete library of proprietary research, direct access to our industry analysts, and other benefits.

    Contact us at [email protected] for more information on premium access.

      Contact Ask HFS AI Support