Twilio the customer engagement platform that drives real-time, personalised experiences for leading brands, has released its sixth annual State of Customer Engagement Report. Based on a global survey of more than 7,600 consumers and 600+ business leaders across 18 countries, including Australia, the report reveals that while AI drives clear ROI for Australian businesses, consumer trust and buy-in remain uncertain. To unlock the full value from AI, local brands must enhance transparency and autonomy for consumers, while offering human-like and personalised customer experiences.
AI-powered personalisation is driving ROI—but risk of consumers becoming fatigued
Australian businesses are continuing to invest in AI to enhance the way they engage with consumers. Almost all (97 per cent) of Australian companies surveyed say AI is improving customer-facing operations such as support, marketing, and personalisation. Businesses are also already reporting positive outcomes from using AI to personalise customer experiences, including higher customer spending (34 per cent), and greater customer retention and repeat spending (34 per cent).
However, the research showed that brands need to ensure consumers feel the benefits of AI to avoid fatigue. While two-thirds (66 per cent) of local consumers say they are exhausted with AI, many did express desire for the technology especially when it enhances their experience with brands, for example by helping them find products (46 per cent), resolving customer service issues more quickly (43 per cent), and providing round-the-clock customer support (35 per cent).
Trust and autonomy crucial for consumers
To reap the full benefits from AI and secure customer loyalty, the research shows brands have work to do to build trust. Many Australian consumers feel left in the dark about how brands use AI, with just 19 per cent saying a brand notified them when their data was being used within an AI system. A majority of Australians (62 per cent) want to be informed when they are interacting with AI, underscoring the need for brands to prioritise transparency and empower consumers with visibility and control over their experiences.
Consumers also want to retain control and autonomy over their brand interactions. The majority (85 per cent) of local consumers want to choose how brands communicate with them, rather than having AI agents automatically assume their preferences. Most (61 per cent) Australian consumers surveyed also find it important for AI-powered interactions to feel as human as possible, and 46 per cent want the ability to escalate to a human agent when needed.
For Australian online car loan marketplace, Driva, using AI to automate parts of the customer experience has proven a successful strategy.
“Our goal is to make car buying and life financing easier, and with AI and automation, we’re truly delivering on that promise. By partnering with Twilio, we built an intelligent AI chatbot in under two weeks, enabling us to offer faster, more personalised services for our customers. It was important to us that, while AI could automate some interactions, we gave consumers the autonomy to talk with a human agent at any stage of the loan application process. This has paid in dividends – with Twilio’s Flex solution we’ve scaled support to meet growing demand, boosted agent efficiency, and increased loan applicant conversion rates. The ability to automate call summaries also helped to support our staff coaching and compliance measures, making our operations even stronger,” said Will Brown, co-founder, Driva.
“Australian businesses are already seeing clear operational returns from their investment with AI for customer engagement. The next step is ensuring consumers feel the benefits too,” said Christopher Connolly, director of solution engineering APJ, Twilio. “Trust, transparency, and giving consumers control over how they engage are pivotal for brands looking to bring customers along on the AI journey. By using AI to deliver real-time personalisation and create tailored experiences that feel human – and are human, where they need to be – brands can cultivate deeper, more meaningful relationships with their customers.”
The 2025 State of Customer Engagement Report makes it clear: brands that build transparent, real-time relationships will be best positioned to drive growth, deepen loyalty, and stand out in an increasingly competitive, AI-driven marketplace.
