iOS 26 and the future of SMS surveys: What CX leaders need to know now

When Apple releases a new iOS update, most organizations think about user experience, app compatibility, or security. But iOS 26 introduced a quieter shift; one that’s already impacting how brands collect feedback at scale. 

As this rollout includes features like “Screen Unknown Senders,” short message service (SMS)-based outreach, which has long considered one of the most effective channels for customer feedback, new sources of friction will inherently be introduced. And while the immediate impact may appear modest, the implications are much bigger. 

This update may seem small in nature, but it’s a clear signal of where customer experience (CX) is heading next. In this post, we will share what the future of SMS surveys may look like given the new iOS 26 update and how CX leaders can revolutionize their digital feedback strategy to align with shifts in the market. 

What SMS responses look like post iOS update 

When analyzing how the iOS 26 update is impacting survey response rate, early analysis shows a slight but measurable decline in SMS response rates. This doesn’t come as a surprise given the new hurdle customers have to face to receive notifications from a business. 

Filtering unknown senders introduces an additional barrier between brands and customers. This is especially when messages come from numbers that aren’t saved in a user’s contacts, which is often the case. 

This isn’t alarming, given that response rates across digital channels have been declining for years. 

What this represents an acceleration of an existing trend. 

Customers are becoming more selective. More protective of their attention and what they consume. They’re also becoming less tolerant of outreach that feels impersonal or interruptive. It may appear as though Apple is contributing to this imposition, but in reality, customer expectations are shifting simultaneously.   

In other words, this isn’t about Apple. It’s about expectations. 

Why this matters beyond SMS 

It would be easy to frame this as a tactical issue: adjust your outreach mix, optimize your SMS strategy, and move on. But that misses the bigger shift. What’s happening with SMS is part of a broader reality: No single channel is guaranteed anymore. 

What we are seeing is: 

• SMS can be filtered  

• Email can be ignored and unsubscribed 

• Push notifications can be turned off 

• Apps can be muted  

• Surveys can be abandoned  

The reliability of any of the traditional outreach channels is decreasing. That means CX programs built around channel optimization alone are becoming more fragile. The organizations that adapt fastest will be tasked with rethinking how they listen. 

From channel strategy to connected listening 

The real takeaway isn’t SMS weakening. It’s that fragmented listening strategies are no longer sustainable. 

When feedback lives in silos, small disruptions create outsized impact. A dip in one channel suddenly looks like a data problem. But it’s actually a much larger visibility problem. 

Leading organizations and CX leaders are responding by moving toward connected listening, a strategy and practice that brings together: 

• Customer feedback across channels  

• Behavioral and transactional data  

• Operational signals  

• Employee insights  

• Unstructured feedback such as reviews, transcripts, and comments 

The goal is to reduce dependency on any single source of truth. Churn risk, dissatisfaction, and loyalty shifts show up in different channels which means you must listen to each to get the full picture of your CX efforts. 

What high-performing CX teams are doing differently 

Mature CX businesses are leading the charge by focusing on building a resilient strategy. To do so, they’re actively taking the following steps.  

1. Diversifying outreach without breaking measurement 

Email is proving to be a stable complement to SMS, especially as filtering increases. Additionally, email tends to be a reliable channel in terms of open rates, with the average open rate sitting at 35.63%. But switching channels only works if you can maintain consistent measurement. This is where many CX programs struggle. 

Without consistent measurement across channels, changes in outreach strategy can distort trendlines and erode confidence in insights. It’s imperative that you have a connected listening system in place to ensure you’re able to both diversify and compare. 

2. Reducing friction at the source 

Reducing friction at the customer-level is one of the most effective solutions and also one of the simplest to implement such as: 

• Encouraging customers to save contact numbers  

• Using QR codes or in-moment prompts to build recognition  

• Embedding feedback opportunities within existing journeys 

• Continue to build trust with your audience with credible first- and third-party reviews  

• Timing outreach to moments of highest relevance 

• Leveraging omnichannel reinforcement 

Trusted senders get seen. Unknown senders get filtered. Experience and trust now influence deliverability. 

3. Moving from feedback collection to signal intelligence 

Even with optimized outreach, response-based feedback will always be partial. 

The highest-performing organizations are expanding beyond surveys to include: 

• Digital behavior  

• Service interactions  

• Operational data  

• Unstructured feedback (reviews, transcripts, comments)  

This creates a more complete picture, especially for the silent majority who often don’t respond to surveys. 

4. Prioritizing action over volume 

More responses don’t automatically lead to better outcomes. In fact, many CX programs already have more data than they can act on. 

The differentiator isn’t how much feedback you collect but rather how quickly and effectively you act on it. 

That’s where artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly playing a role by: 

• Identifying emerging risks earlier  

• Prioritizing issues by business impact  

• Triggering workflows that drive response  

• Triggering workflows that drive response 

• Surfacing root causes across fragmented data sources 

• Enabling real-time, closed-loop feedback across the organization 

In this model, CX shifts from listening at scale to acting with the precision and swiftness consumers have come to expect. 

The bigger shift: CX in a post-channel world 

iOS 26 is a great reminder that customer access is no longer guaranteed. Brands don’t control the inbox, nor do they control the device. Increasingly, they don’t control whether a message is even seen. 

What they can control is how well they understand and respond to experience signals. That’s why the future of CX isn’t tied to any one channel. 

It’s defined by connected listening systems and coordinated action.  

Where Forsta fits in 

At Forsta, we see this shift clearly. We understand that organizations need a better way to connect data everywhere it lives. 

By unifying customer, employee, and operational data into a single experience intelligence layer, Forsta helps organizations: 

• Maintain visibility as channels evolve  

• Link experience to revenue, cost, and risk  

• Identify emerging issues before they escalate  

• Turn insight into coordinated, enterprise-wide action  

Forsta’s HX Platform allows you to connect these insights into one comprehensive view so you can act decisively and quickly. This allows you to, in turn, build a CX strategy that holds up no matter how the channels change. 

The future of SMS surveys 

SMS isn’t going away. Email isn’t replacing it. And iOS 26 isn’t the last change we’ll see. 

The path forward is clear. 

Customers are setting the expectations, and technology is reinforcing them. CX programs need to evolve accordingly to keep up with customer demands. iOS 26 tells us CX practitioners that this isn’t a temporary channel issue that we need to temporarily adjust our tactics for. It requires a structural shift that builds a stronger CX strategy, one in which connect, resilient, AI-powered listening and action takes place at scale. 

Forsta can help you get there.