SAP Engagement Cloud’s latest research reveals a widening gap between the experiences consumers expect and what brands believe they deliver.
New data from the 2026 Engagement Index shows Australian consumer expectations have never been higher. 64% of Australian consumers say their favourite brand delivers seamless, connected experiences across channels, while 80% are put off by disorganised interactionsthat require them to repeat information or be passed between teams.
Yet companies remain confident. Nearly four in five (79%) of Australian businesses believe they offer a seamless omnichannel experience. But only one fifth (21%) of companies recognise their experiences still aren’t fully connected, despite consumers making their expectations clear.
At the same time, 44% of consumers say brands “don’t understand them as people.”
This misalignment, whereby consumers feeling the disconnect while most businesses fail to recognise it, is the Engagement Divide. Closing it is critical to creating repeat customers and brand advocates.
Addressing the divide
AI is seen as part of the answer. Four in five (80%) of businesses say AI is essential for retaining customers in 2026. But just over one in three consumers say their favourite brands use AI in ways that meaningfully improve their interactions.
“Customer expectations are moving at a new speed,” says Sara Richter, CMO, SAP Engagement Cloud.
“With AI at their fingertips, people compare, decide, and switch in an instant. Those micro moments now determine whether a brand wins or loses the relationship.”
However, AI can only perform as well as the data behind it, and most organisations are still struggling. Well over half (61%) of Australian brands cannot use customer data in real time, 63% say their data is too unstructured, and 64% report ‘dark data’ they cannot access or use effectively.
Closing the divide requires a shift: treating engagement not just as a marketing function, but as an enterprise-wide discipline.
“Engagement isn’t something one department can fix,” says Mark Ritson, professor and founder, MiniMBA.
“Every team shapes the brand, and real progress happens when they work from the same understanding of the customer. With that shared view, AI can take on the heavy lifting and help deliver the personalised experiences people expect.”
SAP Engagement Cloud’s Global Engagement Index can be downloaded here, with the local regional report becoming available in the coming weeks.
