Australian consumers are rapidly disengaging from brands that fail to deliver timely, relevant experiences, according to SAP Engagement Cloud’s newly released 2026 Engagement Index, highlighting a growing divide between brands able to act on real-time insight and those still relying on generic, delayed marketing.

The research reveals that 58% of Australians believe most brand emails they receive are irrelevant, while only 16% say they read subject lines at all, underscoring how quickly consumers are switching off communications that fail to reflect their needs or behaviour in the moment.

As brands increase the volume of messages across email, mobile and web, many are inadvertently eroding trust rather than building relationships. Nearly half of consumers (46%) say they care less about the brand itself and more about the overall experience, suggesting that poor engagement now has a direct impact on brand perception and loyalty.

While Australian marketers broadly understand the importance of personalisation, the research shows most organisations struggle to put it into action in real time. Fragmented customer data, disconnected operational systems and siloed teams mean engagement decisions are often made without full context, or too late to matter.

As a result, messages designed to feel personal arrive disconnected from real customer behaviour, service events or intent in the moment. The gap is no longer strategic, but operational: brands that can’t act on live data risk falling behindrising consumer expectations.

At the same time, consumers are clear about what good engagement looks like. The Engagement Index found:

• 60% respond positively to localised content
• 54% appreciate highly personalised engagement
• 56% value personalised product recommendations

Sara Richter, CMO, SAP Engagement Cloud, says the divide we see isn’t creativity or ambition: “When customer, operational and content systems don’t talk to each other, engagement becomes guesswork. That problem only grows as we move towards agent‑driven shopping, where relevance is decided instantly. Real‑time AI gives brands the context they need to show up – or they won’t show up at all.”

This shift towards real‑time engagement comes as SAP expands its partnership with Google Cloud, enabling marketers to move from insight to action faster. Through new integrations between SAP Engagement Cloud, SAP CX and Joule with Gemini Enterprise, joint customers can securely access unified data across both ecosystems and use AI agents to execute marketing goals in the moment, rather than reacting after the fact – ensuring business goals are met.

“For marketers, this isn’t about sending more messages,” Ms Richter added. “It’s about using AI to turn live signals into meaningful experiences at scale. Brands that can do that will stand out; those that can’t will increasingly be ignored.”