AI is a key priority for omnichannel investment while only 1 in 25 businesses say they currently use AI proactively across all channels
Omnichannel maturity gap is widening reveals new report from CCW Europe Digital
- 48% of organisations use basic AI like chatbots, while 4% use AI proactively across channels
- 19% say improving AI and automation is a key investment priority
- 21% of organisations operate in silos, while 10% have achieved omnichannel maturity
- 17% of organisations ask customers to start from scratch on different channels, while 4% preserve full customer history
12th March 2026 – A new report out today, highlights the role of AI in omnichannel customer interactions, and showcases a significant gap between organisations with high levels of omnichannel maturity, and those still working in a siloed way.
The Path to Omnichannel Customer Engagement report was published today ahead of the CCW UK Summit in May, the UK’s leading event for the customer experience sector, drawing on insights from over 100 senior customer experience professionals from the CCW Europe community.
Many organisations (46%) are now deploying AI primarily for reactive automation like chatbots and scripted workflows. 14% have implemented predictive capabilities, and just 4% have advanced toward proactive or agentic AI capable of making autonomous, cross-functional decision-making.
While organisations strive to offer omnichannel engagement, nearly half (49%) say they still offer only a basic cross channel experience, and just 10% believe they have achieved omnichannel maturity and are delivering proactive, unified and relevant experiences across their channels.
This is reflected in the experience for customers. One in six (17%) organisations require customers to start over with inputting their data on every channel they use and only 4% can preserve full customer history across interactions.
While there remains a gap in organisational maturity, there are clear areas organisations want to improve.
- 19% say conversational AI and automation are among their top two omnichannel priorities for investment over the next 12 months
- 10% plan to focus on AI-driven routing
- 27% of CX leaders say unified customer data is one of their key focus areas.
Katie Judd, General Manager, CCW Europe, says: “This data shows us that, while omnichannel ambition is pervasive, only a small number of organisations have the capabilities to deliver it. Most are confined to upgrading and modernising isolated touchpoints, but each new channel or attempt to digitise interactions introduces more data – and that complexity can cause overwhelm.
“Accelerating out of the mid-stage stall requires strategic reorchestration to redesign the end-to-end customer journey across the whole organisation. This comes with challenges as changing legacy systems can be disruptive and data ownership often sits in organisational silos. We’re seeing that when organisations focus on unified customer identity, predictive and proactive AI, cross-functional teams and real-time performance measurement, the results can bring huge improvements to the experience for both customers, and the organisation itself.”
The CCW UK Summit will bring together customer experience leaders to explore how to turn omnichannel strategy into action, eliminate silos, unify customer experience and create human-centric experiences. Over 350 attendees will attend this year between 11 – 13 May at Novotel West London to share case studies, insight, and strategic discussion. Speakers include Rory Sutherland, founder of Ogilvy’s Behavioural Science Practice and speakers from organisations including All Saints, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Wayfair, HSBC, Jaguar Land Rover, Vodafone and Depop.
About the study
The study was conducted with over 100 senior from the CCW Europe community, spanning customer care, support services, customer operations, customer insights and product management. Respondents include C-suite and head of job titles, covering major industries including financial services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, hospitality and travel, retail, automotive, telecommunications, energy, and government and NGO.
About CCW UK
CCW UK Summit is the UK’s leading event for senior customer experience, digital and service leaders. Bringing together in-house decision-makers, it explores enterprise-wide CX transformation, practical AI adoption and unified operating models through real-world case studies, peer insight and strategic discussion. It is part of CCW Europe, the continent’s premier analyst-led content platform and event series, connecting an elite community of over 80,000 customer experience (CX), digital experience, and contact centre professionals.