diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/codegen_internal.h b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/codegen_internal.h
index d33ffacb2f5..f6b9cda940e 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/codegen_internal.h
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/codegen_internal.h
@@ -1307,10 +1307,14 @@ KernelType GenerateTypeAgnosticPrimitive(detail::GetTypeId get_id) {
   }
 }
 
-// similar to GenerateTypeAgnosticPrimitive, but for base variable binary types
-template <template <typename...> class Generator, typename KernelType = ArrayKernelExec,
-          typename... Args>
-KernelType GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase(detail::GetTypeId get_id) {
+// Similar to GenerateTypeAgnosticPrimitive, but for base variable binary types
+//
+// Note that we don't offer to generate separate code for String types, because
+// the utf8-ness of a type can be retrieved and handled efficiently at runtime.
+// This helps cut down on code generation (see GH-50615).
+template <template <typename...> class Generator, typename... Args>
+auto GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase(detail::GetTypeId get_id) {
+  using KernelType = decltype(&Generator<BinaryType, Args...>::Exec);
   switch (get_id.id) {
     case Type::BINARY:
     case Type::STRING:
@@ -1324,24 +1328,6 @@ KernelType GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase(detail::GetTypeId get_id) {
   }
 }
 
-// Generate a kernel given a templated functor for binary and string types
-template <template <typename...> class Generator, typename... Args>
-ArrayKernelExec GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary(detail::GetTypeId get_id) {
-  switch (get_id.id) {
-    case Type::BINARY:
-      return Generator<BinaryType, Args...>::Exec;
-    case Type::STRING:
-      return Generator<StringType, Args...>::Exec;
-    case Type::LARGE_BINARY:
-      return Generator<LargeBinaryType, Args...>::Exec;
-    case Type::LARGE_STRING:
-      return Generator<LargeStringType, Args...>::Exec;
-    default:
-      ARROW_DCHECK(false);
-      return nullptr;
-  }
-}
-
 // Generate a kernel given a templated functor for base binary types. Generates
 // a single kernel for binary/string and large binary/large string. If your kernel
 // implementation needs access to the specific type at compile time, please use
@@ -1363,24 +1349,6 @@ ArrayKernelExec GenerateVarBinaryBase(detail::GetTypeId get_id) {
   }
 }
 
-// See BaseBinary documentation
-template <template <typename...> class Generator, typename Type0, typename... Args>
-ArrayKernelExec GenerateVarBinary(detail::GetTypeId get_id) {
-  switch (get_id.id) {
-    case Type::BINARY:
-      return Generator<Type0, BinaryType, Args...>::Exec;
-    case Type::STRING:
-      return Generator<Type0, StringType, Args...>::Exec;
-    case Type::LARGE_BINARY:
-      return Generator<Type0, LargeBinaryType, Args...>::Exec;
-    case Type::LARGE_STRING:
-      return Generator<Type0, LargeStringType, Args...>::Exec;
-    default:
-      ARROW_DCHECK(false);
-      return nullptr;
-  }
-}
-
 // Generate a kernel given a templated functor for binary-view types. Generates a
 // single kernel for binary/string-view.
 //
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_compare.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_compare.cc
index 3dfd66655e5..0f2c479b082 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_compare.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_compare.cc
@@ -825,8 +825,7 @@ std::shared_ptr<ScalarFunction> MakeScalarMinMax(std::string name, FunctionDoc d
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel(std::move(kernel)));
   }
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-    auto exec =
-        GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<BinaryScalarMinMax, ArrayKernelExec, Op>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<BinaryScalarMinMax, Op>(ty);
     ScalarKernel kernel{KernelSignature::Make({ty}, ty, /*is_varargs=*/true), exec,
                         MinMaxState::Init};
     kernel.null_handling = NullHandling::COMPUTED_NO_PREALLOCATE;
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_if_else.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_if_else.cc
index 0c5cfe1c903..a3c703444ac 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_if_else.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_if_else.cc
@@ -1327,7 +1327,7 @@ void AddBinaryIfElseKernels(const std::shared_ptr<IfElseFunction>& scalar_functi
                             const std::vector<std::shared_ptr<DataType>>& types) {
   for (auto&& type : types) {
     auto exec =
-        internal::GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ResolveIfElseExec, ArrayKernelExec,
+        internal::GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ResolveIfElseExec,
                                                     /*AllocateMem=*/std::true_type>(
             *type);
     // cond array needs to be boolean always
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_ascii.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_ascii.cc
index d4dda5556b3..094f43eed58 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_ascii.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_ascii.cc
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 // under the License.
 
 #include <algorithm>
+#include <array>
 #include <cctype>
 #include <iterator>
 #include <memory>
@@ -71,12 +72,6 @@ RE2::Options MakeRE2Options(bool is_utf8, bool ignore_case = false,
   options.set_literal(literal);
   return options;
 }
-
-// Set RE2 encoding based on input type: Latin-1 for BinaryTypes and UTF-8 for StringTypes
-template <typename T>
-RE2::Options MakeRE2Options(bool ignore_case = false, bool literal = false) {
-  return MakeRE2Options(T::is_utf8, ignore_case, literal);
-}
 #endif
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -948,8 +943,8 @@ void AddAsciiStringReverse(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("binary_reverse", Arity::Unary(),
                                                  binary_reverse_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BinaryTypes()) {
-      DCHECK_OK(
-          func->AddKernel({ty}, ty, GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<BinaryReverse>(ty)));
+      DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, ty,
+                                GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<BinaryReverse>(ty)));
     }
     DCHECK_OK(registry->AddFunction(std::move(func)));
   }
@@ -1376,9 +1371,9 @@ template <typename Type>
 struct MatchSubstring<Type, RegexSubstringMatcher> {
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     // TODO Cache matcher across invocations (for regex compilation)
-    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher,
-                          RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx),
-                                                      /*is_utf8=*/Type::is_utf8));
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher, RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(
+                                            MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx), is_utf8));
     return MatchSubstringImpl<Type, RegexSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out,
                                                                  matcher.get());
   }
@@ -1391,9 +1386,9 @@ struct MatchSubstring<Type, PlainSubstringMatcher> {
     auto options = MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx);
     if (options.ignore_case) {
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
-      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
-          auto matcher, RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(options, /*is_utf8=*/Type::is_utf8,
-                                                    /*literal=*/true));
+      const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher, RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(options, is_utf8,
+                                                                      /*literal=*/true));
       return MatchSubstringImpl<Type, RegexSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out,
                                                                    matcher.get());
 #else
@@ -1414,9 +1409,9 @@ struct MatchSubstring<Type, PlainStartsWithMatcher> {
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
       MatchSubstringOptions converted_options = options;
       converted_options.pattern = "^" + RE2::QuoteMeta(options.pattern);
-      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
-          auto matcher,
-          RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(converted_options, /*is_utf8=*/Type::is_utf8));
+      const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher,
+                            RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(converted_options, is_utf8));
       return MatchSubstringImpl<Type, RegexSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out,
                                                                    matcher.get());
 #else
@@ -1437,9 +1432,9 @@ struct MatchSubstring<Type, PlainEndsWithMatcher> {
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
       MatchSubstringOptions converted_options = options;
       converted_options.pattern = RE2::QuoteMeta(options.pattern) + "$";
-      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
-          auto matcher,
-          RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(converted_options, /*is_utf8=*/Type::is_utf8));
+      const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher,
+                            RegexSubstringMatcher::Make(converted_options, is_utf8));
       return MatchSubstringImpl<Type, RegexSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out,
                                                                    matcher.get());
 #else
@@ -1500,27 +1495,59 @@ std::string MakeLikeRegex(const MatchSubstringOptions& options) {
   return like_pattern;
 }
 
+struct MatchLikeConstants {
+  // NOTE: avoid making those constants global to avoid compiling regexes at startup
+  RE2::Options regex_options;
+  // A LIKE pattern matching this regex can be translated into a substring search.
+  RE2 like_pattern_is_substring_match;
+  // A LIKE pattern matching this regex can be translated into a prefix search.
+  RE2 like_pattern_is_starts_with;
+  // A LIKE pattern matching this regex can be translated into a suffix search.
+  RE2 like_pattern_is_ends_with;
+  Status init_status;
+
+  static Result<const MatchLikeConstants*> Instance(bool is_utf8) {
+    static const auto constants = MakeAll();
+    return constants[is_utf8].Map([](const auto& ptr) { return ptr.get(); });
+  }
+
+ private:
+  static Result<std::unique_ptr<MatchLikeConstants>> Make(bool is_utf8) {
+    auto constants = std::unique_ptr<MatchLikeConstants>(new MatchLikeConstants(is_utf8));
+    if (constants->init_status.ok()) {
+      return constants;
+    } else {
+      return constants->init_status;
+    }
+  }
+
+  static std::array<Result<std::unique_ptr<MatchLikeConstants>>, 2> MakeAll() {
+    return {Make(false), Make(true)};
+  }
+
+  explicit MatchLikeConstants(bool is_utf8)
+      : regex_options(MakeRE2Options(is_utf8)),
+        like_pattern_is_substring_match(R"(%+([^%_]*[^\\%_])?%+)", regex_options),
+        like_pattern_is_starts_with(R"(([^%_]*[^\\%_])?%+)", regex_options),
+        like_pattern_is_ends_with(R"(%+([^%_]*))", regex_options),
+        init_status(RegexStatus(like_pattern_is_substring_match) &
+                    RegexStatus(like_pattern_is_starts_with) &
+                    RegexStatus(like_pattern_is_ends_with)) {}
+};
+
 // Evaluate a SQL-like LIKE pattern by translating it to a regexp or
 // substring search as appropriate. See what Apache Impala does:
 // https://github.com/apache/impala/blob/9c38568657d62b6f6d7b10aa1c721ba843374dd8/be/src/exprs/like-predicate.cc
-template <typename StringType>
+template <typename PhysicalType>
 struct MatchLike {
+  static_assert(!is_string_or_string_view(PhysicalType::type_id),
+                "should only codegen on physical types");
+
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
-    // NOTE: avoid making those constants global to avoid compiling regexes at startup
-    static const RE2::Options kRE2Options = MakeRE2Options<StringType>();
-    // A LIKE pattern matching this regex can be translated into a substring search.
-    static const RE2 kLikePatternIsSubstringMatch(R"(%+([^%_]*[^\\%_])?%+)", kRE2Options);
-    // A LIKE pattern matching this regex can be translated into a prefix search.
-    static const RE2 kLikePatternIsStartsWith(R"(([^%_]*[^\\%_])?%+)", kRE2Options);
-    // A LIKE pattern matching this regex can be translated into a suffix search.
-    static const RE2 kLikePatternIsEndsWith(R"(%+([^%_]*))", kRE2Options);
-    static bool global_checked = false;
-    if (ARROW_PREDICT_FALSE(!global_checked)) {
-      RETURN_NOT_OK(RegexStatus(kLikePatternIsSubstringMatch));
-      RETURN_NOT_OK(RegexStatus(kLikePatternIsStartsWith));
-      RETURN_NOT_OK(RegexStatus(kLikePatternIsEndsWith));
-      global_checked = true;
-    }
+    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
+        const auto like_constants,
+        MatchLikeConstants::Instance(
+            /*is_utf8=*/is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id())));
 
     auto original_options = MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx);
     auto original_state = ctx->state();
@@ -1530,24 +1557,29 @@ struct MatchLike {
     bool matched = false;
     if (!original_options.ignore_case) {
       if ((matched = RE2::FullMatch(original_options.pattern,
-                                    kLikePatternIsSubstringMatch, &pattern))) {
+                                    like_constants->like_pattern_is_substring_match,
+                                    &pattern))) {
         MatchSubstringOptions converted_options{pattern, original_options.ignore_case};
         MatchSubstringState converted_state(converted_options);
         ctx->SetState(&converted_state);
-        status = MatchSubstring<StringType, PlainSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
+        status =
+            MatchSubstring<PhysicalType, PlainSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
       } else if ((matched = RE2::FullMatch(original_options.pattern,
-                                           kLikePatternIsStartsWith, &pattern))) {
+                                           like_constants->like_pattern_is_starts_with,
+                                           &pattern))) {
         MatchSubstringOptions converted_options{pattern, original_options.ignore_case};
         MatchSubstringState converted_state(converted_options);
         ctx->SetState(&converted_state);
         status =
-            MatchSubstring<StringType, PlainStartsWithMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
+            MatchSubstring<PhysicalType, PlainStartsWithMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
       } else if ((matched = RE2::FullMatch(original_options.pattern,
-                                           kLikePatternIsEndsWith, &pattern))) {
+                                           like_constants->like_pattern_is_ends_with,
+                                           &pattern))) {
         MatchSubstringOptions converted_options{pattern, original_options.ignore_case};
         MatchSubstringState converted_state(converted_options);
         ctx->SetState(&converted_state);
-        status = MatchSubstring<StringType, PlainEndsWithMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
+        status =
+            MatchSubstring<PhysicalType, PlainEndsWithMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
       }
     }
 
@@ -1556,7 +1588,7 @@ struct MatchLike {
                                               original_options.ignore_case};
       MatchSubstringState converted_state(converted_options);
       ctx->SetState(&converted_state);
-      status = MatchSubstring<StringType, RegexSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
+      status = MatchSubstring<PhysicalType, RegexSubstringMatcher>::Exec(ctx, batch, out);
     }
     ctx->SetState(original_state);
     return status;
@@ -1616,7 +1648,8 @@ void AddAsciiStringMatchSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("match_substring", Arity::Unary(),
                                                  match_substring_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-      auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<MatchSubstring, PlainSubstringMatcher>(ty);
+      auto exec =
+          GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<MatchSubstring, PlainSubstringMatcher>(ty);
       DCHECK_OK(
           func->AddKernel({ty}, boolean(), std::move(exec), MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
@@ -1627,7 +1660,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringMatchSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
         std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("starts_with", Arity::Unary(), starts_with_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
       auto exec =
-          GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<MatchSubstring, PlainStartsWithMatcher>(ty);
+          GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<MatchSubstring, PlainStartsWithMatcher>(ty);
       DCHECK_OK(
           func->AddKernel({ty}, boolean(), std::move(exec), MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
@@ -1637,7 +1670,8 @@ void AddAsciiStringMatchSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     auto func =
         std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("ends_with", Arity::Unary(), ends_with_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-      auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<MatchSubstring, PlainEndsWithMatcher>(ty);
+      auto exec =
+          GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<MatchSubstring, PlainEndsWithMatcher>(ty);
       DCHECK_OK(
           func->AddKernel({ty}, boolean(), std::move(exec), MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
@@ -1648,7 +1682,8 @@ void AddAsciiStringMatchSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("match_substring_regex", Arity::Unary(),
                                                  match_substring_regex_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-      auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<MatchSubstring, RegexSubstringMatcher>(ty);
+      auto exec =
+          GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<MatchSubstring, RegexSubstringMatcher>(ty);
       DCHECK_OK(
           func->AddKernel({ty}, boolean(), std::move(exec), MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
@@ -1658,7 +1693,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringMatchSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     auto func =
         std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("match_like", Arity::Unary(), match_like_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-      auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<MatchLike>(ty);
+      auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<MatchLike>(ty);
       DCHECK_OK(
           func->AddKernel({ty}, boolean(), std::move(exec), MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
@@ -1714,24 +1749,30 @@ struct FindSubstringRegex {
 };
 #endif
 
-template <typename InputType>
+template <typename InputPhysicalType>
 struct FindSubstringExec {
-  using OffsetType = typename TypeTraits<InputType>::OffsetType;
+  using OffsetType = typename TypeTraits<InputPhysicalType>::OffsetType;
+
+  static_assert(!is_string_or_string_view(InputPhysicalType::type_id),
+                "should only codegen on physical types");
+
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     const MatchSubstringOptions& options = MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx);
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
     if (options.ignore_case) {
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
       ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher,
-                            FindSubstringRegex::Make(options, InputType::is_utf8, true));
-      applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputType, FindSubstringRegex>
+                            FindSubstringRegex::Make(options, is_utf8, true));
+      applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputPhysicalType,
+                                             FindSubstringRegex>
           kernel{std::move(matcher)};
       return kernel.Exec(ctx, batch, out);
 #else
       return Status::NotImplemented("ignore_case requires RE2");
 #endif
     }
-    applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputType, FindSubstring> kernel{
-        FindSubstring(PlainSubstringMatcher(options))};
+    applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputPhysicalType, FindSubstring>
+        kernel{FindSubstring(PlainSubstringMatcher(options))};
     return kernel.Exec(ctx, batch, out);
   }
 };
@@ -1744,13 +1785,19 @@ const FunctionDoc find_substring_doc(
     {"strings"}, "MatchSubstringOptions", /*options_required=*/true);
 
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
-template <typename InputType>
+template <typename InputPhysicalType>
 struct FindSubstringRegexExec {
-  using OffsetType = typename TypeTraits<InputType>::OffsetType;
+  using OffsetType = typename TypeTraits<InputPhysicalType>::OffsetType;
+
+  static_assert(!is_string_or_string_view(InputPhysicalType::type_id),
+                "should only codegen on physical types");
+
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     const MatchSubstringOptions& options = MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx);
-    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher, FindSubstringRegex::Make(options, false));
-    applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputType, FindSubstringRegex>
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto matcher, FindSubstringRegex::Make(options, is_utf8));
+    applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputPhysicalType,
+                                           FindSubstringRegex>
         kernel{std::move(matcher)};
     return kernel.Exec(ctx, batch, out);
   }
@@ -1771,7 +1818,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringFindSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
       auto offset_type = offset_bit_width(ty->id()) == 64 ? int64() : int32();
       DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, offset_type,
-                                GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<FindSubstringExec>(ty),
+                                GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<FindSubstringExec>(ty),
                                 MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({InputType(Type::FIXED_SIZE_BINARY)}, int32(),
@@ -1785,9 +1832,10 @@ void AddAsciiStringFindSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
                                                  find_substring_regex_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
       auto offset_type = offset_bit_width(ty->id()) == 64 ? int64() : int32();
-      DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, offset_type,
-                                GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<FindSubstringRegexExec>(ty),
-                                MatchSubstringState::Init));
+      DCHECK_OK(
+          func->AddKernel({ty}, offset_type,
+                          GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<FindSubstringRegexExec>(ty),
+                          MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({InputType(Type::FIXED_SIZE_BINARY)}, int32(),
                               FindSubstringRegexExec<FixedSizeBinaryType>::Exec,
@@ -1865,8 +1913,8 @@ struct CountSubstringRegexExec {
   using OffsetType = typename TypeTraits<InputType>::OffsetType;
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     const MatchSubstringOptions& options = MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx);
-    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
-        auto counter, CountSubstringRegex::Make(options, /*is_utf8=*/InputType::is_utf8));
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto counter, CountSubstringRegex::Make(options, is_utf8));
     applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputType, CountSubstringRegex>
         kernel{std::move(counter)};
     return kernel.Exec(ctx, batch, out);
@@ -1881,9 +1929,9 @@ struct CountSubstringExec {
     const MatchSubstringOptions& options = MatchSubstringState::Get(ctx);
     if (options.ignore_case) {
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
-      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
-          auto counter, CountSubstringRegex::Make(options, /*is_utf8=*/InputType::is_utf8,
-                                                  /*literal=*/true));
+      const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+      ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto counter, CountSubstringRegex::Make(options, is_utf8,
+                                                                    /*literal=*/true));
       applicator::ScalarUnaryNotNullStateful<OffsetType, InputType, CountSubstringRegex>
           kernel{std::move(counter)};
       return kernel.Exec(ctx, batch, out);
@@ -1920,7 +1968,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringCountSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
       auto offset_type = offset_bit_width(ty->id()) == 64 ? int64() : int32();
       DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, offset_type,
-                                GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<CountSubstringExec>(ty),
+                                GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<CountSubstringExec>(ty),
                                 MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({InputType(Type::FIXED_SIZE_BINARY)}, int32(),
@@ -1934,9 +1982,10 @@ void AddAsciiStringCountSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
                                                  count_substring_regex_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
       auto offset_type = offset_bit_width(ty->id()) == 64 ? int64() : int32();
-      DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, offset_type,
-                                GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<CountSubstringRegexExec>(ty),
-                                MatchSubstringState::Init));
+      DCHECK_OK(
+          func->AddKernel({ty}, offset_type,
+                          GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<CountSubstringRegexExec>(ty),
+                          MatchSubstringState::Init));
     }
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({InputType(Type::FIXED_SIZE_BINARY)}, int32(),
                               CountSubstringRegexExec<FixedSizeBinaryType>::Exec,
@@ -1960,12 +2009,14 @@ struct ReplaceSubstring {
 
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     // TODO Cache replacer across invocations (for regex compilation)
-    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto replacer, Replacer::Make(ReplaceState::Get(ctx)));
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto replacer, Replacer::Make(ReplaceState::Get(ctx), is_utf8));
     return Replace(ctx, batch, *replacer, out);
   }
 
+  template <typename ConcreteReplacer>
   static Status Replace(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch,
-                        const Replacer& replacer, ExecResult* out) {
+                        const ConcreteReplacer& replacer, ExecResult* out) {
     ValueDataBuilder value_data_builder(ctx->memory_pool());
     OffsetBuilder offset_builder(ctx->memory_pool());
 
@@ -1997,7 +2048,7 @@ struct PlainSubstringReplacer {
   const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options_;
 
   static Result<std::unique_ptr<PlainSubstringReplacer>> Make(
-      const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options) {
+      const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options, bool is_utf8) {
     return std::make_unique<PlainSubstringReplacer>(options);
   }
 
@@ -2039,15 +2090,14 @@ struct PlainSubstringReplacer {
 };
 
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
-template <typename Type>
 struct RegexSubstringReplacer {
   const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options_;
   const RE2 regex_find_;
   const RE2 regex_replacement_;
 
   static Result<std::unique_ptr<RegexSubstringReplacer>> Make(
-      const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options) {
-    auto replacer = std::make_unique<RegexSubstringReplacer>(options);
+      const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options, bool is_utf8) {
+    auto replacer = std::make_unique<RegexSubstringReplacer>(options, is_utf8);
 
     RETURN_NOT_OK(RegexStatus(replacer->regex_find_));
     RETURN_NOT_OK(RegexStatus(replacer->regex_replacement_));
@@ -2064,10 +2114,10 @@ struct RegexSubstringReplacer {
 
   // Using RE2::FindAndConsume we can only find the pattern if it is a group, therefore
   // we have 2 regexes, one with () around it, one without.
-  explicit RegexSubstringReplacer(const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options)
+  explicit RegexSubstringReplacer(const ReplaceSubstringOptions& options, bool is_utf8)
       : options_(options),
-        regex_find_("(" + options_.pattern + ")", MakeRE2Options<Type>()),
-        regex_replacement_(options_.pattern, MakeRE2Options<Type>()) {}
+        regex_find_("(" + options_.pattern + ")", MakeRE2Options(is_utf8)),
+        regex_replacement_(options_.pattern, MakeRE2Options(is_utf8)) {}
 
   Status ReplaceString(std::string_view s, TypedBufferBuilder<uint8_t>* builder) const {
     re2::StringPiece piece(s.data(), s.length());
@@ -2138,7 +2188,7 @@ const FunctionDoc replace_substring_doc(
 
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
 template <typename Type>
-using ReplaceSubstringRegex = ReplaceSubstring<Type, RegexSubstringReplacer<Type>>;
+using ReplaceSubstringRegex = ReplaceSubstring<Type, RegexSubstringReplacer>;
 
 const FunctionDoc replace_substring_regex_doc(
     "Replace matching non-overlapping substrings with replacement",
@@ -2155,7 +2205,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringReplaceSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("replace_substring", Arity::Unary(),
                                                  replace_substring_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-      auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<ReplaceSubstringPlain>(ty);
+      auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ReplaceSubstringPlain>(ty);
       ScalarKernel kernel{{ty}, ty, std::move(exec), ReplaceState::Init};
       kernel.mem_allocation = MemAllocation::NO_PREALLOCATE;
       DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel(std::move(kernel)));
@@ -2167,7 +2217,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringReplaceSubstring(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
     auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>(
         "replace_substring_regex", Arity::Unary(), replace_substring_regex_doc);
     for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-      auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<ReplaceSubstringRegex>(ty);
+      auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ReplaceSubstringRegex>(ty);
       ScalarKernel kernel{{ty}, ty, std::move(exec), ReplaceState::Init};
       kernel.mem_allocation = MemAllocation::NO_PREALLOCATE;
       DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel(std::move(kernel)));
@@ -2289,7 +2339,8 @@ struct ExtractRegex : public ExtractRegexBase {
 
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     ExtractRegexOptions options = ExtractRegexState::Get(ctx);
-    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto data, ExtractRegexData::Make(options, Type::is_utf8));
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
+    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto data, ExtractRegexData::Make(options, is_utf8));
     return ExtractRegex(data).Extract(ctx, batch, out);
   }
 
@@ -2346,7 +2397,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringExtractRegex(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
     ScalarKernel kernel{{ty},
                         out_ty,
-                        GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<ExtractRegex>(ty),
+                        GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ExtractRegex>(ty),
                         ExtractRegexState::Init};
     // Null values will be computed based on regex match or not
     kernel.null_handling = NullHandling::COMPUTED_NO_PREALLOCATE;
@@ -2394,8 +2445,9 @@ struct ExtractRegexSpan : ExtractRegexBase {
 
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     auto options = OptionsWrapper<ExtractRegexSpanOptions>::Get(ctx);
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
     ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto data,
-                          ExtractRegexSpanData::Make(options.pattern, Type::is_utf8));
+                          ExtractRegexSpanData::Make(options.pattern, is_utf8));
     return ExtractRegexSpan{data}.Extract(ctx, batch, out);
   }
 
@@ -2486,7 +2538,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringExtractRegexSpan(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
   OutputType output_type(ResolveExtractRegexSpanOutputType);
   for (const auto& type : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
     ScalarKernel kernel({type}, output_type,
-                        GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<ExtractRegexSpan>(type),
+                        GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ExtractRegexSpan>(type),
                         OptionsWrapper<ExtractRegexSpanOptions>::Init);
     kernel.null_handling = NullHandling::COMPUTED_NO_PREALLOCATE;
     kernel.mem_allocation = MemAllocation::NO_PREALLOCATE;
@@ -2789,7 +2841,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringSlice(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
   auto func =
       std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("binary_slice", Arity::Unary(), binary_slice_doc);
   for (const auto& ty : BinaryTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<SliceBytes>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<SliceBytes>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(
         func->AddKernel({ty}, ty, std::move(exec), SliceBytesTransform::State::Init));
   }
@@ -2810,7 +2862,7 @@ using SplitPatternState = OptionsWrapper<SplitPatternOptions>;
 struct SplitPatternFinder : public StringSplitFinderBase<SplitPatternOptions> {
   using Options = SplitPatternOptions;
 
-  Status PreExec(const SplitPatternOptions& options) override {
+  Status PreExec(const SplitPatternOptions& options, bool is_utf8) override {
     if (options.pattern.length() == 0) {
       return Status::Invalid("Empty separator");
     }
@@ -2876,7 +2928,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringSplitPattern(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
   auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("split_pattern", Arity::Unary(),
                                                split_pattern_doc);
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<SplitPatternExec, ListType>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<SplitPatternExec, ListType>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(
         func->AddKernel({ty}, {list(ty)}, std::move(exec), SplitPatternState::Init));
   }
@@ -2947,7 +2999,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringSplitWhitespace(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
                                        ascii_split_whitespace_doc, &default_options);
 
   for (const auto& ty : StringTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<SplitWhitespaceAsciiExec, ListType>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<SplitWhitespaceAsciiExec, ListType>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, {list(ty)}, std::move(exec), StringSplitState::Init));
   }
   DCHECK_OK(registry->AddFunction(std::move(func)));
@@ -2957,13 +3009,12 @@ void AddAsciiStringSplitWhitespace(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
 // Split by regex
 
 #ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
-template <typename Type>
 struct SplitRegexFinder : public StringSplitFinderBase<SplitPatternOptions> {
   using Options = SplitPatternOptions;
 
   std::unique_ptr<RE2> regex_split;
 
-  Status PreExec(const SplitPatternOptions& options) override {
+  Status PreExec(const SplitPatternOptions& options, bool is_utf8) override {
     if (options.reverse) {
       return Status::NotImplemented("Cannot split in reverse with regex");
     }
@@ -2973,7 +3024,8 @@ struct SplitRegexFinder : public StringSplitFinderBase<SplitPatternOptions> {
     pattern.reserve(options.pattern.size() + 2);
     pattern += options.pattern;
     pattern += ')';
-    regex_split = std::make_unique<RE2>(pattern, MakeRE2Options<Type>());
+    regex_split = std::make_unique<RE2>(
+        pattern, MakeRE2Options(is_utf8, /*ignore_case=*/false, /*literal=*/false));
     return RegexStatus(*regex_split);
   }
 
@@ -3000,7 +3052,7 @@ struct SplitRegexFinder : public StringSplitFinderBase<SplitPatternOptions> {
 };
 
 template <typename Type, typename ListType>
-using SplitRegexExec = StringSplitExec<Type, ListType, SplitRegexFinder<Type>>;
+using SplitRegexExec = StringSplitExec<Type, ListType, SplitRegexFinder>;
 
 const FunctionDoc split_pattern_regex_doc(
     "Split string according to regex pattern",
@@ -3016,7 +3068,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringSplitRegex(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
   auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("split_pattern_regex", Arity::Unary(),
                                                split_pattern_regex_doc);
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<SplitRegexExec, ListType>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<SplitRegexExec, ListType>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(
         func->AddKernel({ty}, {list(ty)}, std::move(exec), SplitPatternState::Init));
   }
@@ -3418,8 +3470,7 @@ const JoinOptions* GetDefaultJoinOptions() {
 template <typename ListType>
 void AddBinaryJoinForListType(ScalarFunction* func) {
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-    auto exec =
-        GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<BinaryJoin, ArrayKernelExec, ListType>(*ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<BinaryJoin, ListType>(*ty);
     auto list_ty = std::make_shared<ListType>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({InputType(list_ty), InputType(ty)}, ty, std::move(exec)));
   }
@@ -3560,9 +3611,12 @@ struct BinaryRepeatTransform : public StringBinaryTransformBase<Type1, Type2> {
   }
 };
 
-template <typename Type1, typename Type2>
+template <typename Type1, typename Type2,
+          typename PhysicalType1 = typename Type1::PhysicalType,
+          typename PhysicalType2 = typename Type2::PhysicalType>
 using BinaryRepeat =
-    StringBinaryTransformExec<Type1, Type2, BinaryRepeatTransform<Type1, Type2>>;
+    StringBinaryTransformExec<PhysicalType1, PhysicalType2,
+                              BinaryRepeatTransform<PhysicalType1, PhysicalType2>>;
 
 const FunctionDoc binary_repeat_doc(
     "Repeat a binary string",
@@ -3573,7 +3627,7 @@ void AddAsciiStringRepeat(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
   auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarCTypeToInt64Function>(
       "binary_repeat", Arity::Binary(), binary_repeat_doc);
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<BinaryRepeat, Int64Type>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<BinaryRepeat, Int64Type>(ty);
     ScalarKernel kernel{{ty, int64()}, ty, exec};
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel(std::move(kernel)));
   }
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_internal.h b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_internal.h
index 664f6b4c0b0..5c621e8d53f 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_internal.h
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_internal.h
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 #include "arrow/compute/api_scalar.h"
 #include "arrow/compute/kernels/common_internal.h"
+#include "arrow/type_traits.h"
 
 namespace arrow {
 namespace compute {
@@ -68,10 +69,13 @@ static int64_t GetVarBinaryValuesLength(const ArraySpan& span) {
 ///
 /// and returns the number of codeunits of the `output` sequence or a negative
 /// value if an invalid input sequence is detected.
-template <typename Type, typename StringTransform>
+template <typename PhysicalType, typename StringTransform>
 struct StringTransformExecBase {
-  using offset_type = typename Type::offset_type;
-  using ArrayType = typename TypeTraits<Type>::ArrayType;
+  using offset_type = typename PhysicalType::offset_type;
+  using ArrayType = typename TypeTraits<PhysicalType>::ArrayType;
+
+  static_assert(!is_string_or_string_view(PhysicalType::type_id),
+                "should only codegen on physical types");
 
   static Status Execute(KernelContext* ctx, StringTransform* transform,
                         const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
@@ -121,9 +125,11 @@ struct StringTransformExecBase {
   }
 };
 
-template <typename Type, typename StringTransform>
-struct StringTransformExec : public StringTransformExecBase<Type, StringTransform> {
-  using StringTransformExecBase<Type, StringTransform>::Execute;
+template <typename Type, typename StringTransform,
+          typename PhysicalType = typename Type::PhysicalType>
+struct StringTransformExec
+    : public StringTransformExecBase<PhysicalType, StringTransform> {
+  using StringTransformExecBase<PhysicalType, StringTransform>::Execute;
 
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     StringTransform transform;
@@ -132,11 +138,12 @@ struct StringTransformExec : public StringTransformExecBase<Type, StringTransfor
   }
 };
 
-template <typename Type, typename StringTransform>
+template <typename Type, typename StringTransform,
+          typename PhysicalType = typename Type::PhysicalType>
 struct StringTransformExecWithState
-    : public StringTransformExecBase<Type, StringTransform> {
+    : public StringTransformExecBase<PhysicalType, StringTransform> {
   using State = typename StringTransform::State;
-  using StringTransformExecBase<Type, StringTransform>::Execute;
+  using StringTransformExecBase<PhysicalType, StringTransform>::Execute;
 
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     StringTransform transform(State::Get(ctx));
@@ -151,7 +158,7 @@ void MakeUnaryStringBatchKernel(
     MemAllocation::type mem_allocation = MemAllocation::PREALLOCATE) {
   auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>(name, Arity::Unary(), std::move(doc));
   for (const auto& ty : StringTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<ExecFunctor>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ExecFunctor>(ty);
     ScalarKernel kernel{{ty}, ty, std::move(exec)};
     kernel.mem_allocation = mem_allocation;
     ARROW_DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel(std::move(kernel)));
@@ -216,6 +223,9 @@ static inline FunctionDoc StringClassifyDoc(std::string class_summary,
 
 template <typename Type, typename Predicate>
 struct StringPredicateFunctor {
+  static_assert(!is_string_or_string_view(Type::type_id),
+                "should only codegen on physical types");
+
   static Status Exec(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
     Status st = Status::OK();
     EnsureUtf8LookupTablesFilled();
@@ -237,7 +247,7 @@ void AddUnaryStringPredicate(std::string name, FunctionRegistry* registry,
                              FunctionDoc doc) {
   auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>(name, Arity::Unary(), std::move(doc));
   for (const auto& ty : StringTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<StringPredicateFunctor, Predicate>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<StringPredicateFunctor, Predicate>(ty);
     ARROW_DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, boolean(), std::move(exec)));
   }
   ARROW_DCHECK_OK(registry->AddFunction(std::move(func)));
@@ -281,7 +291,7 @@ struct ReplaceStringSliceTransformBase : public StringTransformBase {
 template <typename Options>
 struct StringSplitFinderBase {
   virtual ~StringSplitFinderBase() = default;
-  virtual Status PreExec(const Options& options) { return Status::OK(); }
+  virtual Status PreExec(const Options& options, bool is_utf8) { return Status::OK(); }
 
   // Derived classes should also define these methods:
   //   static bool Find(const uint8_t* begin, const uint8_t* end,
@@ -319,8 +329,9 @@ struct StringSplitExec {
   }
 
   Status Execute(KernelContext* ctx, const ExecSpan& batch, ExecResult* out) {
+    const bool is_utf8 = is_string_or_string_view(batch[0].type()->id());
     SplitFinder finder;
-    RETURN_NOT_OK(finder.PreExec(options));
+    RETURN_NOT_OK(finder.PreExec(options, is_utf8));
     // TODO(wesm): refactor to not require creating ArrayData
     const ArrayType input(batch[0].array.ToArrayData());
 
@@ -347,9 +358,11 @@ struct StringSplitExec {
       *list_offsets++ = static_cast<list_offset_type>(builder.length());
     }
     // Assign string array to list child data
-    std::shared_ptr<Array> string_array;
-    RETURN_NOT_OK(builder.Finish(&string_array));
-    output_list->child_data.push_back(string_array->data());
+    ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto physical_array, builder.Finish());
+    // We got the physical type (e.g. binary instead of utf8), need to patch it
+    auto child_data = physical_array->data()->Copy();
+    child_data->type = batch[0].type()->GetSharedPtr();
+    output_list->child_data.push_back(std::move(child_data));
     return Status::OK();
   }
 
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_test.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_test.cc
index b279f991f6e..6f4caca1356 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_test.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_test.cc
@@ -336,6 +336,44 @@ TYPED_TEST(TestBinaryKernels, NonUtf8Regex) {
                          {"letter": [1, 1], "digit": [2, 1]}])",
                      &options);
   }
+
+  // On non-UTF8 input types, case insensitive matches should only account for
+  // ASCII letters.
+  // (this stresses that the "is_utf8" option is passed down correctly to RE2)
+  auto letters_array = this->MakeArray({"1ab2AB3", "1àb2ÀB3"});
+  {
+    MatchSubstringOptions options("(?i)(A|À)B");
+    // 5 is the byte index of "ÀB" in "1àb2ÀB3"
+    this->CheckUnary("find_substring_regex", letters_array, this->offset_type(), "[1, 5]",
+                     &options);
+    this->CheckUnary("count_substring_regex", letters_array, this->offset_type(),
+                     "[2, 1]", &options);
+    this->CheckUnary("match_substring_regex", letters_array, boolean(), "[true, true]",
+                     &options);
+  }
+  {
+    SplitPatternOptions options("(?i)(A|À)B");
+    this->CheckUnary("split_pattern_regex", letters_array, list(this->type()),
+                     R"([["1", "2", "3"], ["1àb2", "3"]])", &options);
+  }
+  {
+    ReplaceSubstringOptions options("(?i)(A|À)B", "XY");
+    this->CheckUnary("replace_substring_regex", letters_array,
+                     this->MakeArray({"1XY2XY3", "1àb2XY3"}), &options);
+  }
+  {
+    ExtractRegexOptions options("(?P<letters>(?i:(?:A|À)B))");
+    auto out_type = struct_({{"letters", this->type()}});
+    this->CheckUnary("extract_regex", letters_array, out_type,
+                     R"([{"letters": "ab"}, {"letters": "ÀB"}])", &options);
+  }
+  {
+    ExtractRegexSpanOptions options("(?P<letters>(?i:(?:A|À)B))");
+    auto out_type = struct_({{"letters", fixed_size_list(this->offset_type(), 2)}});
+    // 5 is the byte index of "ÀB" in "1àb2ÀB3", 3 is its byte length
+    this->CheckUnary("extract_regex_span", letters_array, out_type,
+                     R"([{"letters": [1, 2]}, {"letters": [5, 3]}])", &options);
+  }
 }
 
 TYPED_TEST(TestBinaryKernels, NonUtf8WithNullRegex) {
@@ -1041,6 +1079,48 @@ TEST_F(TestFixedSizeBinaryKernels, FindSubstringIgnoreCase) {
 }
 #endif
 
+#ifdef ARROW_WITH_RE2
+TYPED_TEST(TestStringKernels, Utf8Regex) {
+  // On UTF8 input types, case insensitive matches should account for all letters.
+  // (this stresses that the "is_utf8" option is passed down correctly to RE2)
+  auto letters_array = this->MakeArray({"🙂ab2AB3", "🙂àb2ÀB3"});
+  {
+    MatchSubstringOptions options("(?i)(A|À)B");
+    // 4 is the byte index of "ab" in "🙂ab2AB3"
+    this->CheckUnary("find_substring_regex", letters_array, this->offset_type(), "[4, 4]",
+                     &options);
+    this->CheckUnary("count_substring_regex", letters_array, this->offset_type(),
+                     "[2, 2]", &options);
+    this->CheckUnary("match_substring_regex", letters_array, boolean(), "[true, true]",
+                     &options);
+  }
+  {
+    SplitPatternOptions options("(?i)(A|À)B");
+    this->CheckUnary("split_pattern_regex", letters_array, list(this->type()),
+                     R"([["🙂", "2", "3"], ["🙂", "2", "3"]])", &options);
+  }
+  {
+    ReplaceSubstringOptions options("(?i)(A|À)B", "XY");
+    this->CheckUnary("replace_substring_regex", letters_array,
+                     this->MakeArray({"🙂XY2XY3", "🙂XY2XY3"}), &options);
+  }
+  {
+    ExtractRegexOptions options("(?P<letters>(?i:(?:A|À)B))");
+    auto out_type = struct_({{"letters", this->type()}});
+    this->CheckUnary("extract_regex", letters_array, out_type,
+                     R"([{"letters": "ab"}, {"letters": "àb"}])", &options);
+  }
+  {
+    ExtractRegexSpanOptions options("(?P<letters>(?i:(?:A|À)B))");
+    auto out_type = struct_({{"letters", fixed_size_list(this->offset_type(), 2)}});
+    // 4 is the byte index of "ab" in "🙂ab2AB3"
+    // 3 is the byte length of "àb"
+    this->CheckUnary("extract_regex_span", letters_array, out_type,
+                     R"([{"letters": [4, 2]}, {"letters": [4, 3]}])", &options);
+  }
+}
+#endif
+
 TYPED_TEST(TestStringKernels, AsciiUpper) {
   this->CheckUnary("ascii_upper", "[]", this->type(), "[]");
   this->CheckUnary("ascii_upper", "[\"aAazZæÆ&\", null, \"\", \"bbb\"]", this->type(),
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_utf8.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_utf8.cc
index fd340bba624..582d559dde2 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_utf8.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_string_utf8.cc
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ void MakeUnaryStringUTF8TransformKernel(std::string name, FunctionRegistry* regi
                                         FunctionDoc doc) {
   auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>(name, Arity::Unary(), std::move(doc));
   for (const auto& ty : StringTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<Transformer>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<Transformer>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, ty, std::move(exec)));
   }
   DCHECK_OK(registry->AddFunction(std::move(func)));
@@ -1144,7 +1144,7 @@ void AddUtf8StringReplaceSlice(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
                                                utf8_replace_slice_doc);
 
   for (const auto& ty : StringTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<Utf8ReplaceSlice>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<Utf8ReplaceSlice>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, ty, std::move(exec),
                               ReplaceStringSliceTransformBase::State::Init));
   }
@@ -1340,7 +1340,7 @@ void AddUtf8StringSlice(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
   auto func = std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("utf8_slice_codeunits", Arity::Unary(),
                                                utf8_slice_codeunits_doc);
   for (const auto& ty : StringTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<SliceCodeunits>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<SliceCodeunits>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(
         func->AddKernel({ty}, ty, std::move(exec), SliceCodeunitsTransform::State::Init));
   }
@@ -1355,7 +1355,8 @@ void AddUtf8StringSlice(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
 struct SplitWhitespaceUtf8Finder : public StringSplitFinderBase<SplitOptions> {
   using Options = SplitOptions;
 
-  Status PreExec(const SplitOptions& options) override {
+  Status PreExec(const SplitOptions& options, bool is_utf8) override {
+    DCHECK(is_utf8);
     EnsureUtf8LookupTablesFilled();
     return Status::OK();
   }
@@ -1426,7 +1427,7 @@ void AddUtf8StringSplitWhitespace(FunctionRegistry* registry) {
       std::make_shared<ScalarFunction>("utf8_split_whitespace", Arity::Unary(),
                                        utf8_split_whitespace_doc, &default_options);
   for (const auto& ty : StringTypes()) {
-    auto exec = GenerateVarBinaryToVarBinary<SplitWhitespaceUtf8Exec, ListType>(ty);
+    auto exec = GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<SplitWhitespaceUtf8Exec, ListType>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel({ty}, {list(ty)}, std::move(exec), StringSplitState::Init));
   }
   DCHECK_OK(registry->AddFunction(std::move(func)));
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_array_sort.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_array_sort.cc
index ad9444037c0..1cfb11286e4 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_array_sort.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_array_sort.cc
@@ -586,9 +586,8 @@ void AddArraySortingKernels(VectorKernel base, VectorFunction* func) {
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel(base));
   }
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-    auto physical_type = GetPhysicalType(ty);
     base.signature = KernelSignature::Make({ty}, uint64());
-    base.exec = GenerateVarBinaryBase<ExecTemplate, UInt64Type>(*physical_type);
+    base.exec = GenerateVarBinaryBase<ExecTemplate, UInt64Type>(ty);
     DCHECK_OK(func->AddKernel(base));
   }
   base.signature = KernelSignature::Make({Type::FIXED_SIZE_BINARY}, uint64());
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_replace.cc b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_replace.cc
index ae39977aaea..6a9abfc0396 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_replace.cc
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/vector_replace.cc
@@ -857,11 +857,10 @@ void RegisterVectorFunction(FunctionRegistry* registry,
             Functor<FixedSizeBinaryType>::Exec, ChunkedFunctor<FixedSizeBinaryType>::Exec,
             registry, func.get());
   for (const auto& ty : BaseBinaryTypes()) {
-    AddKernel(
-        ty->id(), Functor<FixedSizeBinaryType>::GetSignature(ty->id()),
-        GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<Functor, ArrayKernelExec>(*ty),
-        GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ChunkedFunctor, VectorKernel::ChunkedExec>(*ty),
-        registry, func.get());
+    AddKernel(ty->id(), Functor<FixedSizeBinaryType>::GetSignature(ty->id()),
+              GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<Functor>(*ty),
+              GenerateTypeAgnosticVarBinaryBase<ChunkedFunctor>(*ty), registry,
+              func.get());
   }
   // TODO: list types
   DCHECK_OK(registry->AddFunction(std::move(func)));