Is Customer Success at risk in 2026?

Let me ask you something that might make you pause for a second.

If Customer Success disappeared tomorrow, would your company replace it with Account Management or Support?

That question is no longer theoretical. In 2026, it is happening in real time.

Across SaaS and tech, I am seeing CS teams quietly absorbed into sales. Others are being pushed closer to support. The title might still say Customer Success Manager, but the expectations and responsibilities have shifted dramatically.

In this episode of the podcast, I break down why this is happening, what it means for your career, and the one decision that will determine where Customer Success lands next.

Because here is the truth. Customer Success is not being replaced. It is being redefined.

And if you do not define it yourself, someone else will.

Why Customer Success Is Being Squeezed in 2026

Budgets are tighter. Headcount is leaner. Boards and executive teams are asking one simple question of every function:

How do you make or save money for this business?

Fuzzy answers are no longer tolerated. Saying customers are happy is not enough. Having strong relationships is not enough. Healthy usage is not enough.

When leadership cannot clearly see how a function ladders up to revenue outcomes, they simplify it.

If you touch renewals and expansion, you get labeled Account Management.

If you handle issues and adoption challenges, you get labeled Support.

Customer Success ends up stuck in the middle.

This is not because executives dislike CS. It is because ambiguity does not survive a pressure test. And for years, Customer Success has tried to be everything.

Onboarding. Adoption. Escalation management. Executive alignment. Commercial conversations. Technical troubleshooting. Internal coordination.

When you try to be everything, you risk becoming nothing.

Under pressure, executives ask a very simple question. Is this team revenue or cost?

If your work does not clearly tie to revenue protection or growth, you already know how that conversation ends.

The Four Mistakes That Got Us Here

There are four major mistakes I see CS teams making that have put the function in this vulnerable position.

1. Equating Activity with Value

Too many teams measure calls, QBRs delivered, emails sent, and meetings held.

Activity is not impact.

More calls do not automatically mean better outcomes. A packed calendar does not guarantee customer value.

If your metrics focus only on effort, leadership will struggle to connect your work to revenue.

2. Waiting Until Renewal to Prove Impact

Many CSMs collect data for months and then attempt to showcase value in one large QBR or renewal conversation.

By that point, it is often too late.

Customers need small, consistent proof of progress. They need visible milestones and ongoing impact reminders. Not one big reveal at the end of the contract.

Value should be reinforced weekly and monthly, not just quarterly.

3. Avoiding Revenue Language

This is one of the biggest issues I see.

CS professionals often say:

“I do not want to sound salesy.”

“I am not in sales.”

“I do not want to push the customer.”

But silence does not protect you.

If you avoid revenue conversations, you do not safeguard your role. You erase it.

Owning renewals, expansion, and commercial alignment does not make you sales. It makes you strategic.

4. Letting Others Tell Your Story

If you do not articulate your impact in revenue terms, someone else will.

Sales will tell a growth story that centers them.

Finance will frame the conversation around cost.

Support will define you by ticket volume.

If you do not define your value, you lose control of your narrative.

How to Redefine Customer Success as a Growth Function

So what determines whether Customer Success becomes Account Management, Support, or a true strategic growth function?

One thing.

Can you clearly connect customer outcomes to business outcomes?

Not activity. Not effort. Outcomes.

Here is what that looks like in practice.

Anchor Value Early

Define success in the customer’s language, not your product’s language.

Why did they buy?

To make money.

To save time.

To reduce risk.

Your job is to translate product usage into those outcomes. Speak in business impact, not features.

Track Progress Visibly and Consistently

Success plans should not die in slide decks.

Bring them into every conversation. Show progress. Reinforce milestones. Make value visible.

Do not talk about logins and usage. Talk about what changed because of that usage.

Normalize Revenue Conversations

Revenue conversations are not a betrayal of trust.

If you have delivered consistent value, expansion and renewal discussions are natural next steps.

It only feels uncomfortable when value has not been clearly articulated along the way.

This is not about turning CS into sales. It is about making value undeniable.

When customers cannot imagine operating without your product, revenue conversations stop feeling transactional.

Key Takeaways

Let’s recap the core lessons from this episode.

Customer Success is not disappearing in 2026. Vague Customer Success is.

If you cannot demonstrate outcomes, your function will be absorbed into Sales or Support.

Activity does not equal impact.

Waiting until renewal is too late.

Avoiding revenue language weakens your role.

Letting others tell your story puts your team at risk.

The future of Customer Success depends on clarity.

Clarity of value.

Clarity of impact.

Clarity of purpose.

Here is your challenge for this week.

For each account you manage, write one sentence:

Because of our work, this customer is now able to ______.

Use business outcomes only.

If you struggle to fill in that blank, that is your signal. You are operating in activity, not impact.

And that is exactly where your focus needs to shift.

Customer Success is a bridge. If no one can see what is on the other side, the bridge becomes optional.

Your job is to make the destination visible.