Navigating the Data Deluge: A Compass for Customer Context
Businesses are lost in a sea of endless data
Brands have never had more data at their disposal. Every click, scroll, purchase, app session, and phone call creates a vast sea of customer information. In theory, this ocean of data should chart a perfect course toward flawless personalization.
But in reality, it leaves many businesses aimlessly adrift.
According to new Twilio research, 99% of companies admit that major challenges prevent them from understanding their customers. The ultimate anchor dragging them down? Connecting customer data across channels like voice, email, and messaging (48%).
While most businesses have no problem collecting data, it's the critical step of connecting that data — and fishing out the key, actionable insights — that completely escapes them. They’re surrounded by an ocean of information, yet left without a drop of direction.
But the tides are turning. Connecting customer data has officially surged to the number-one priority for organizations this year, climbing rapidly from its third-place spot last year. To survive, businesses must pivot from hoarding data to harmonizing it. The goal is no longer to just collect the data, but to connect it.
99% of companies admit that major challenges prevent them from understanding their customers.
How broken context capsizes customer relationships
AI is only as good as the data feeding it. Without the right information and context, AI agents are essentially operating in the dark — and your customers are the ones who suffer for it.
In fact, 91% of brands have experienced a drop in customer satisfaction due to AI missteps — most notably when an AI loses conversational context between channels or interactions (40%).
This data disconnect frustrates customers. Seventy-four percent of consumers report having to repeat themselves when interacting with an AI assistant. And if they’re handed off to a human agent, 76% of consumers say the agent has no or very little context about their issue, so they end up repeating themselves again.
And if you’re banking on customer patience, that ship has sailed. Today, 71% of consumers are perfectly willing to abandon a conversation early if an AI agent fails to recognize who they are.
Now, this doesn't mean businesses need to throw their AI agents overboard; it just means they need to adjust their course.
Fortunately, most are already heading in the right direction:
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84% of brands say their AI agents currently recognize returning customers and access their brand history effectively.
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40% of businesses are prioritizing personalization based on customer history when designing their AI agents.
Recognizing a customer is only the first wave; the real value lies in data utilization. That gap between the number of brands who can see a customer's history and those who are actually using it to design personalized AI experiences represents a major missed opportunity.
To craft better customer experiences, businesses must move beyond just acknowledging returning users and start using that historical cross-channel data to power smarter, more intuitive AI conversations in real time.
Only 32% of businesses say they actively prioritize AI transparency when designing agents.
The new systems lighting the way
Many businesses feel lost at sea thanks to their legacy systems no longer serving their modern needs. In fact, 30% of businesses say their tech stacks are failing to keep pace with modern customer demands. This is pushing many companies to invest in new solutions to help them sail towards better customer data management.
The systems they’ve set their sights on? The top picks are:
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Customer Data Platform (CDP) (67%)
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CRM (66%)
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CPaaS (64%)
If you want to deploy cutting-edge AI, you have to stop patching up a sinking ship. Investing in a CDP, CRM, or CPaaS isn't just a routine IT upgrade, it’s a mandatory rescue mission for your customer data.
An AI chatbot or voice agent can only be effective if it has access to a reliable, unified data stream. By upgrading these foundational systems today, brands aren't just replacing old tech; they are building the stable, data-rich databases required to make AI genuinely smart, reliable, and worthy of customer trust.
38% of businesses list focusing on rapidly changing customer needs as a top priority for 2026.
A safe harbor for every conversation
Twilio Conversations is the wind that powers the sails of your channels, agents, and data. It turns raw data into usable context across any channel, so every customer experience builds smoothly on the last. It doesn’t matter where a customer reaches out — Twilio treats every interaction as a single lifecycle, ensuring that both human and AI agents instantly have the knowledge they need to deliver exceptional service.
No data gaps, and no forced repetitions.
Connecting your data infrastructure isn't just a technical upgrade, it’s a business imperative. When brands bridge the gap between collection and connection, the entire customer journey shifts.
Instead of forcing users to navigate clunky, repetitive loops that destroy confidence, businesses can deliver the seamless, intuitive experiences today's consumers demand. By anchoring your AI and human support in real-time context, you don't just solve problems faster; you build lasting trust.
Smooth sailing towards customer context
Most businesses have spent the last decade building out the heavy infrastructure needed to capture billions of customer data points. But few organizations actually know how to find the insights that matter — let alone take action on them.
It’s never been about hoarding an entire ocean of data; it's about isolating the specific currents that actually move the needle. The real challenge lies in identifying and putting that context to work.
Right now, the biggest friction point for consumers is navigating a fractured journey across disconnected channels.
To fix this, brands must build a unified, accessible source of truth so both their AI agents and human crews can access the real-time context required to deliver seamless, personalized experiences.
The result? Clear skies and smooth sailing ahead for both you and your customers.
Chart a better course with Twilio Conversations
Turn choppy cross-channel interactions into one continuous conversation with persistent memory, intelligent orchestration, and real-time context.
Report methodology
To map the current landscape of AI and customer engagement, Twilio surveyed 7,652 consumers and 660 business leaders across the globe. Responses were gathered between April 9 and May 1, 2026, spanning 18 global markets: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
We surveyed 7,652 global consumers who all made an online purchase in the past six months. In each country, the sample was balanced by gender and age, as well as racial diversity in the U.S. and U.K. Age groups were defined as follows: Gen Z (18–29), millennials (30–45), Gen X (46–61), and baby boomers (62–80).
The 660 business leaders surveyed hold senior leadership positions at the Director level or above, work full-time at companies with 500 or more employees, and are familiar with their company’s customer experience, customer engagement, or customer data strategies. The sample included minimum requirements for C-suite executives and a spread of company sizes above and below 5,000 employees.
