SAP finds UK brands overestimate customer experience

SAP Engagement Cloud has published UK research pointing to what it describes as an engagement divide between brands and consumers. The findings show a gap between how businesses rate their customer experience and how consumers describe it.

The survey found that 80% of UK businesses believe they offer a seamless omnichannel experience. Yet 82% of consumers said they are put off by disorganised interactions that force them to repeat information or move between teams. Only 20% of companies said their customer experiences were not yet fully connected.

The figures suggest a mismatch in perception at a time when companies are increasing investment in artificial intelligence and customer engagement tools. According to the research, 78% of businesses plan to invest in AI-powered engagement platforms and tools, while 80% said AI will be essential for retaining customers in 2026.

Consumer responses indicate the problem goes beyond channel management alone. The research found that 45% of consumers said brands do not understand them as people, pointing to frustration with personalisation efforts as well as service handovers.

AI limits

Businesses are also dealing with data problems that may limit how far AI can improve customer interactions. Almost two thirds, or 63%, said they could not use customer data in real time. Another 64% said their data was too unstructured, and 71% reported holding dark data that they could not access or use effectively.

That gap matters because consumers appear willing to reward brands that get the basics right. More than half of UK consumers, 56%, said their favourite brand delivers seamless, connected experiences across channels, suggesting some companies are meeting expectations even as many others fall short.

There is also a clear difference between corporate enthusiasm for AI and consumer recognition of its impact. While four in five businesses said AI is essential for customer retention, only a third of consumers said their favourite brands use AI in ways that meaningfully improve interactions.

"Customer expectations are moving at a new speed," said Sara Richter, CMO at 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."

Shared data

The study suggests companies see better data integration as part of the answer. Nearly a third, 31%, said connecting customer and stakeholder data across marketing, sales, service, commerce and ERP systems was their top priority for the year ahead.

That points to a wider operational issue inside large organisations, where customer records, service histories and transaction data are often held in separate systems. When information is not shared across teams, consumers can face repeated identity checks, inconsistent responses and a lack of continuity between digital and human interactions.

SAP Engagement Cloud highlighted Gibson as an example of a company using unified data and real-time engagement to deliver more consistent customer experiences. The broader argument is that customer engagement should not sit only with marketing teams, but should involve sales, service and operational functions working from the same customer view.

Mark Ritson, Professor and Founder of MiniMBA, framed the issue as one of organisational alignment rather than technology alone.

"Engagement isn't something one department can fix. 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."

The methodology supplied with the findings stated that Opinium conducted the research among 1,500 senior decision-makers and 3,000 consumers in the US. Despite that note, the published results focus on UK consumer and business sentiment, with the headline figures centred on British brands and customers.

The numbers add to growing evidence that many companies still overestimate the quality of their customer experience. Even as firms increase spending on AI tools, the research suggests fragmented systems and weak access to live customer data remain barriers to more coherent service.

For businesses, the survey's message is less about adopting another tool than about fixing the disconnect between internal systems and the external experience. For consumers, the practical effect remains simple: repeated questions, inconsistent service and the sense that brands still do not understand them as people.