IN A TIME MARKED BY INFLATION, ECONOMIC ANXIETY, LAYOFFS, AND COST-OF-LIVING PRESSURES, CUSTOMERS ARE MORE ATTUNED TO HOW BRANDS TREAT THEM.
CUSTOMER TRUST
BY CHRIS KOEHLER, TWILIO
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE STOCK
TRUST ISN’ T BUILT WITH TECHNOLOGY ALONE … TRUST IS BUILT WITH TRANSPARENCY.
Most people don’ t trust the companies they buy from. AI seems to be making customers more wary, instead of building better experiences and trust as promised.
According to the Twilio“ 2025 State of Customer Engagement Report,” only 15 % of global consumers say they fully trust brands with their personal data. And 61 % openly question whether businesses act in their best interests at all.
This erosion in trust isn’ t happening in a vacuum. In a time marked by inflation, economic anxiety, layoffs, and cost-ofliving pressures, customers are more attuned to how brands treat them. They are less tolerant of friction, inconsistency, or unclear data practices. When wallets tighten, expectations rise.
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For an industry obsessed with signals and sentiment scores, those numbers should land hard. Because trust is no longer a marketing message, it’ s a core performance metric. If your customers don’ t trust you, your AI isn’ t helping. It’ s just accelerating confusion, inconsistency, and doubt.
THE CREDIBILITY CRISIS
Over the last decade or so, personalization has become the go-to strategy for brands looking to stand out. But we’ ve hit a ceiling. Most consumers still don’ t feel understood, and the few that do often aren’ t sure if it’ s helpful or creepy.
While 97 % of businesses plan to increase AI investments in the next five years, less than half of consumers believe brands are transparent about how they use them. Only 34 % of consumers say they’ re aware when their data is being used to train AI systems.
IN A TIME MARKED BY INFLATION, ECONOMIC ANXIETY, LAYOFFS, AND COST-OF-LIVING PRESSURES, CUSTOMERS ARE MORE ATTUNED TO HOW BRANDS TREAT THEM.