Brands blame rise of dark data for 'engagement divide'

UK brands are banking on AI tools to bridge a widening gap between the experiences consumers expect and what they believe they deliver but it seems that disconected systems – which have sparked the rise of so-called dark data – are still hampering progress.

New data from the 2026 SAP Engagement Index shows UK consumer expectations have never been higher. More than half (56%) of UK consumers say their favourite brand delivers seamless, connected experiences across channels, while 82% are put off by disorganised interactions that require them to repeat information or be passed between teams.

Yet companies remain confident. Four in five (80%) of UK businesses believe they offer a seamless omnichannel experience. But only one fifth (20%) of companies recognise their experiences still aren’t fully connected – despite consumers making their expectations clear.

At the same time, 45% of consumers say brands “don’t understand them as people.”

SAP maintains that this misalignment – 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.

However, some brands are already closing this gap. For example, Gibson Inc uses unified data and real‑time engagement to ensure customers receive consistent, connected experiences – the kind consumers say they want.

Four in five (80%) businesses say AI is essential for retaining customers in 2026, but only a third of consumers say their favourite brands use AI in ways that meaningfully improve their interactions.

SAP Engagement Cloud Sara Richter said: “Customer expectations are moving at a new speed. 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. Almost two thirds (63%) of UK brands cannot use customer data in real-time, 64% say their data is too unstructured, and 71% report ‘dark data’ they cannot access or use effectively.

This creates friction throughout the customer journey and reinforces the Engagement Divide, SAP claims.

Closing it requires a shift Treating engagement not just as a marketing function, but as an enterprise-wide discipline. Every team must operate from a shared, real-time understanding of the customer to avoid the fragmented experiences that alienate them.

At least businesses do recognise this direction. Most (78%) plan to invest in AI-powered engagement platforms in 2026, and almost a third (31%) cite connecting customer and stakeholder data across marketing, sales, service, commerce and ERP systems as their top priority for the year ahead.

Marketing “guru” Mark Ritson said: “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.”

Brands blame rise of dark data for ‘engagement divide’

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