• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, February 26, 2025

Brands use AI to improve connections with consumers, analyze lifetime value and personalize content, but marketers say they still struggle to understand customers and often skip testing strategies to determine what they need.

Some 79% of those in a recent study said they are not fully confident in understanding user preferences and sentiment, while 32% do not test customer engagement because they do not have enough resources.

The findings come from a study released by Braze, a customer engagement platform, in its annual Global Customer Engagement Review (CER) that highlights some major trends shaping customer engagement. It also looks at experimentation, data and personalization, emotions and loyalty.

Wakefield Research fielded the study among 2,300 marketing leaders across 18 countries between November 15 and November 25, 2024, using an email invitation and an online survey.

Brands that participated are part of a group that use AI in more advanced ways. In fact, 30% of respondents to a survey released this week are more likely to use AI to analyze, predict and identify customers who are more likely to stop using their products or services. Then they use AI to find out why.

Some 38% use AI data tools to better understand customer sentiment and preferences, and 15% are more likely to use AI to generate images for messaging campaigns.

A major trend this year looks at merging content and technology to build deeper connections. Some 60% of brands are concerned about emotionally connecting with customers. Through this concept the companies exceeded their revenue goals.

Among these top performing brands, 16% were more likely to use three or more media channels, yet only 50% used a unified platform for cross-channel engagement.

Some 43% of surveyed marketing executives worry about user consent when it comes to sharing data with 29% especially concerned about the legal risks. Nearly all marketers said privacy concerns are holding back personalization efforts.

Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Line surpassed email and SMS as the top messaging channels marketers expressed interest in last year. About 43% are using or plan to use messaging apps in 2025.