Is CS quietly disappearing in 2026?

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Hey CS Pro,

 Let me ask you a question that might make you uncomfortable.

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

Because in 2026, that question is no longer theoretical. It is already happening. CS teams are being absorbed into Sales or pushed closer to Support, with the same title but a very different job.

In this episode, I break down why this is happening, the mistakes that quietly got us here, and the ONE decision that determines where Customer Success actually lands next.

Because if you do not define Customer Success for yourself, someone else will.

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Why CS Is Under Pressure Right Now

Customer Success is not being removed.

It is being re evaluated.

Budgets are tighter than they were a few years ago. Teams are leaner. And leadership is asking every department the same question, even if they are not saying it out loud.

How does this role make or save money for the business?

For a long time, CS could answer that question loosely. Good relationships. Happy customers. Strong usage. That was enough.

It is not enough anymore.

When a function cannot clearly explain how its work connects to revenue or risk reduction, leadership starts to simplify it. If your day to day work touches renewals or expansion, it gets labeled Account Management. If your time is spent on issues, adoption, and reactive requests, it gets labeled Support.

Not because CS is not valuable.

Because ambiguity does not survive pressure.

And Customer Success has been ambiguous for a long time.

The Habits That Are Hurting CS

1️⃣ We equated value with activity.

Calls. QBRs. Check ins. Emails. Meetings.

Busy looks productive. But more activity does not automatically mean more impact. And it definitely does not translate to revenue in an exec conversation.

2️⃣ Waiting until renewals to talk about value.

So many CS teams save impact for the big QBR or renewal deck. By then, you are already too late. Customers want value reinforced in small moments, consistently… not one giant presentation at the end.

3️⃣ Avoiding revenue language.

I see this constantly. CSMs saying “I do not want to sound salesy” or “that is not my job.”

Silence does not protect you.

Avoiding commercial conversations does not save your role.

It makes it easier to remove.

4️⃣ Letting other teams tell your story.

Sales will happily take credit for expansion. Finance will reduce you to cost. Support will frame value through tickets.

If you do not articulate your impact, someone else will. And their version will not serve Customer Success.

What Actually Protects the Role

At the end of the day, the future of CS comes down to one thing.

Can you clearly connect customer outcomes to business outcomes?

When you can explain how adoption protects revenue.

How progress creates expansion readiness.

How outcomes align to executive priorities.

That is when CS becomes a growth function, not a cost line.

This starts with defining success in the customer’s language, not your product’s language. Tracking progress visibly, not just internally. And treating revenue conversations as part of success, not something awkward or uncomfortable.

Talking about renewals or upsells is only uncomfortable when value has not been clearly shown. This is not about turning CS into Sales. It is about making the value of your work impossible to ignore.

Weekly Challenge From the Podcast

Here is what I want you to do this week.

For each of your accounts, write one sentence:

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

If that sentence feels hard to write, that is useful information. It means your work may be drifting into activity instead of impact, and that is exactly where your focus needs to shift.

Customer Success is not disappearing in 2026.

But unclear Customer Success is.

Have a listen to the full podcast:

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.

Cheers to your CS success,

Anika