Terry Mefsut
The 2026 Braze Customer Engagement Review is out, and unsurprisingly, AI dominates the conversation. But beneath the headline stats, there's a more nuanced story about data readiness, trust, and what it actually takes to close the gap between brand ambition and customer reality.
New tech, same old data problem
93% of marketing leaders say AI helps them understand customers better. Yet only 53% of consumers say brands are accurately predicting their wants and needs.
That's not a new problem. It's the same expectation gap we've always had, just with fancier tooling.
In an industry that loves a buzzword, "AI-ready data" is the one that actually matters. Unleashing AI on top of a broken data foundation doesn't fix the problem — it amplifies it. The difference between AI that feels helpful and AI that feels like it's guessing comes down to one thing: unifying your data before you scale your AI.
The old adage holds. If your foundation is weak, so are your results.
AI is the new middleman
63% of marketing leaders say AI intermediaries have already weakened their direct customer relationships, and adoption is accelerating fast. 46% of consumers are already using — or plan to use — AI agents to interact with brands before the year is out.
The brands that win here are the ones that still give customers a reason to come direct. There's never been a better time to invest in loyalty programs that reward the behaviours you want to drive, while making sure your brand shows up well in native AI environments.
The Human Touch Isn't Optional
Only 10% of consumers want AI agents operating without human oversight. 35% feel disappointed when brands use AI without a human element, and 27% feel outright frustrated. Meanwhile, 99% of marketers are using AI for customer engagement.
Perhaps that explains the expectations gap.
The brands genuinely pulling ahead aren't just deploying more AI — they're building experiences that feel responsive and human, even when they're automated. Braze's most mature brands (their "Ace" segment) got this right and exceeded revenue goals by 70% in 2025. The prize for getting it right has never been greater.
This isn't a volume problem, it's a quality one. It's not about how many messages you send — it's whether the right message reached the right person at the right moment and actually meant something. Invest in real-time infrastructure, keep humans in the loop, and train your AI on real customer feedback rather than stale behavioural data or outdated purchase history.
Sick of hearing about AI? Let's Talk Trust
Customers still don't trust brands with their data. Remember the privacy and value exchange conversation? It hasn't gone away.
Only 21% of consumers are willing to share browsing data, and 43% say they'd stop engaging with a brand entirely if they found their data was misused.
No amount of AI sophistication fixes a broken trust relationship. In fact, it makes it worse.
Customers will give you access to their world if you give them a reason to. Be explicit in what you collect, give customers control and then use that data to improve their experiences.
The wrap
The brands that win in 2026 won't necessarily be the ones with the most AI. They'll be the ones who used it to close the gap between what they think they know about their customers and what customers actually experience.
