Enterprises across Australia are fast-tracking the adoption of AI-driven and hybrid contact center models to enhance efficiency, compliance, and customer experience, according to a new Information Services Group (ISG) report.

The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® Contact Center — Customer Experience Services report reveals that Australian companies are modernizing operations to meet rising expectations for personalized, omnichannel interactions. The shift marks a move away from cost-centric outsourcing toward blended sourcing models that balance efficiency with quality and cultural alignment.

“Australia’s contact center transformations are marked by the convergence of AI adoption, increasing regulation, and continuing need for cost efficiencies,” said Himanshu Chawla, Director at ISG. “Enterprises are embedding intelligence into every layer of CX delivery to enhance productivity while meeting evolving customer expectations.”

Generative AI Moves from Pilot to Production

Australian organizations are integrating Generative AI (GenAI) into customer operations, deploying tools such as chat summarization, real-time coaching, and automated knowledge systems. These innovations are driving measurable gains in response speed and satisfaction while scaling consistent service outcomes. However, ISG notes that enterprises remain cautious about AI hallucinations, transparency, and explainability, particularly in regulated sectors like healthcare and government.

Hybrid Delivery and Cloud Modernization

Enterprises are increasingly turning to hybrid delivery models that balance cost optimization with data sovereignty and security. Many are blending onshore centers with nearshore operations in New Zealand and the Philippines, while emerging markets such as Fiji and Vietnam are becoming strategic for expansion.

At the same time, cloud platform modernization is accelerating, with companies consolidating operations on scalable platforms such as Genesys Cloud, Amazon Connect, and Microsoft Dynamics. This integration of AI, analytics, and workforce optimization enables more personalized customer journeys and improved resolution rates.

“Enterprises in Australia are redefining customer experience by combining digital innovation with empowered human interaction,” said Hemangi Patel, Senior Manager and Principal Analyst at ISG. “The most successful organizations are those that implement automation effectively while preparing human agents for complex, high-value interactions.”

Rising Focus on Employee Experience and Outcomes

The report also highlights growing investments in agent experience and well-being tools, alongside the rise of outcome-based provider pricing models tied to measurable customer metrics.

ISG evaluated 27 providers across Digital Operations and Intelligent Operations quadrants. Acquire Intelligence, Concentrix, Datacom, Foundever, Probe Group, Tech Mahindra, TP, and TSA were named Leaders in both quadrants. Genpact, TTEC, and WNS led in one quadrant each, while Genpact and HCLTech earned Rising Star recognition. Konecta was named the global ISG CX Star Performer for 2025, achieving the highest customer satisfaction scores in ISG’s Voice of the Customer survey.

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Marketers are struggling to trust their own data. According to a new report from TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) and eMarketer, The True Cost of Trust in Marketing Measurement, confidence in marketing metrics has plateaued — even as technology promises greater clarity.

The survey of 196 U.S. marketers revealed that while 62% feel somewhat confident in their performance measurement, over half (54%) said confidence levels haven’t changed from last year. Alarmingly, 14% admitted their trust has declined.

“Marketers have access to more data than ever before, yet effective and trustworthy measurement is getting harder — not easier — to come by,” said Brian Silver, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions at TransUnion.

Internal Doubt Threatens Marketing Budgets

The lack of faith isn’t just a morale issue — it’s costing real money. The study found that 60% of marketers face internal skepticism, with stakeholders frequently questioning the reliability of their metrics. Nearly one-third said that up to 20% of their marketing budgets have been frozen or redirected due to uncertainty around measurement accuracy.

To counter that, 67% of marketers now focus on incremental ROI, followed closely by business-outcome alignment (66%) and cross-channel attribution (55%). The takeaway is clear: performance proof has never been more essential.

Data Fragmentation Fuels Distrust

Marketers identified siloed data (49%), cross-channel duplication (48%), and walled-garden reporting limits (41%) as the biggest barriers to accurate measurement.

“The key to unified measurement is unified data,” said Jeremy Rose, Head of Unified Marketing Measurement at Bayer. “Interoperability is no longer optional — it’s essential to connect systems that were never meant to work together.”

In a landscape where consumer journeys span dozens of platforms, fragmented insights often lead to conflicting conclusions. Without a consistent data framework, brands risk losing both efficiency and credibility.

Budget Cuts Push AI and Long-Term Strategy

Despite the challenges, the study points to a major shift in how marketers plan to restore trust — through AI and smarter modeling. With almost 30% of respondents facing cuts to analytics budgets, 50% are turning to AI or machine learning to automate reporting, while 40% see data analysis as the leading AI use case.

Still, dissatisfaction with existing tools remains high (26%). As a result, nearly half (47%) plan to increase spending on Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM), and 35% intend to invest more in Multitouch Attribution (MTA) over the next year.

“The days of monolithic measurement are over,” Silver added. “AI-enabled data management will unite methodologies like MMM, MTA, and incrementality testing.”

The Bottom Line

The TransUnion–eMarketer study exposes a paradox at the heart of digital marketing: more data hasn’t meant more confidence. As privacy laws, walled gardens, and cross-channel fragmentation reshape the ecosystem, marketers must evolve from collecting data to connecting it.

AI may not be a cure-all, but for now, it’s the best shot marketers have at turning measurement chaos into measurable clarity.

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Globant is officially uniting its creative and digital marketing forces under one banner — the GUT Network. The move consolidates the company’s marketing and advertising disciplines across AI, digital experience, content, media, MarTech, and analytics, creating one of the most comprehensive creative technology ecosystems in the industry.

Led by GUT co-founders Gastón Bigio and Anselmo Ramos, alongside Globant CMO Wanda Weigert, the GUT Network represents the culmination of nearly two years of integration and collaboration following Globant’s acquisition of GUT in 2023.

Global Expansion With a Strategic Edge

The newly formed GUT Network doubles GUT’s global footprint, adding two new offices in Bogotá, Colombia, and Copenhagen, Denmark.

• GUT Bogotá will serve as a regional hub for media, data analytics, and creativity, staffed with over 200 professionals.

• GUT Copenhagen, home to more than 60 healthcare marketing experts, will act as a center of excellence for pharma marketing, supporting clients such as Biogen and Alfasigma.

These new offices join a global lineup of creative hubs in Miami, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Toronto, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Madrid, New York, and Singapore.

The expanded network will continue to rely on the leadership of Pepe Chamorro, Fernando Martínez-Corbalán, Mads Krogh Petersen, Jorge Camargo, and Marwa Khalife, ensuring strategic continuity across creative and technology services.

A Fusion of Creativity and Technology

Since its founding in 2018, GUT has earned a reputation as a disruptive creative powerhouse, helping brands infiltrate pop culture, build loyalty, and drive measurable growth. Recognized as Fast Company’s #2 Most Innovative Company in Marketing and Advertising (2024), the agency has transformed from startup to global force in just seven years.

Globant’s acquisition has accelerated that momentum. Together, the two companies have built AI-embedded marketing campaigns for global brands such as AB InBev, Mercado Libre, P&G, Kraft Heinz, Verizon, and Havaianas, while also gaining access to Globant’s marquee clients including FIFA, F1, Electronic Arts, and Okta.

“This move shows Globant’s total confidence in the GUT brand and culture,” said co-founders Gaston Bigio and Anselmo Ramos. “Expanding the GUT brand globally is the natural next step for us.”

A Unified Vision for the Future of Marketing

The consolidation marks more than a structural change — it signals Globant’s intent to redefine the intersection of creativity, data, and AI in global marketing.

“By bringing together all our marketing capabilities into one global team, we’re amplifying our ability to spark meaningful transformation,” said Wanda Weigert, Chief Marketing Officer at Globant. “GUT Network is now a fully equipped creative ally, fueled by cutting-edge technologies and exceptional talent.”

As part of the reorganization, Bigio and Ramos will join Globant’s top management team, reporting directly to CEO and Co-founder Martín Migoya, while Andrea Diquez continues as GUT Global CEO.

Both companies are already among the top ten global players in their respective domains — Globant ranked as the 5th strongest IT brand globally (Brand Finance 2024), and GUT as one of the top 10 most awarded networks at Cannes Lions 2025.

The Bottom Line

By merging technology and creativity under one roof, Globant’s GUT Network is positioning itself as a global marketing powerhouse capable of blending data-driven precision with emotional storytelling. In a market increasingly defined by AI and cultural agility, this new structure could set the tone for how global agencies evolve in the next decade.

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PromoRepublic has unveiled the industry’s first mobile AI Assistant designed specifically for local marketing. The new feature, embedded in both its web and mobile platforms, offers a conversational, brand-safe experience for multi-location and franchise businesses struggling to balance speed, compliance, and authenticity.

The AI Assistant leverages brand data, performance insights, and proven best practices to guide users through every stage of local marketing. From crafting social posts to responding to reviews and analyzing results, the assistant helps franchisees and marketers act faster and stay consistently on-brand.

Redefining Local Marketing for Franchises

For years, franchise and multi-location brands have faced a common dilemma: maintaining brand consistency while delivering authentic, localized marketing. Most AI tools have catered to corporate teams—heavy on analytics but lacking the real-time, contextual intelligence that local operators need.

PromoRepublic’s new AI Assistant changes that. It acts as a smart, always-available marketing coach built directly into everyday workflows. Using context-aware intelligence, it adapts to the user’s role, permissions, and geographic region, ensuring every action aligns with brand standards while addressing local audience needs.

“Our AI Assistant brings marketing guidance right to the fingertips of local teams,” said a PromoRepublic spokesperson. “It empowers franchisees to execute confidently while giving headquarters complete visibility and control.”

Mobile-First, Conversational, and Brand-Safe

Unlike many automation tools focused on centralized reporting, the PromoRepublic AI Assistant embraces a mobile-first design. Its conversational interface lets franchisees plan and publish campaigns, track engagement, and receive tailored recommendations — all from their phone.

The assistant integrates brand guardrails and local insights, ensuring every campaign is both creative and compliant. It also uses real-time performance feedback to refine suggestions and automate repetitive tasks, freeing marketers to focus on strategy and customer engagement.

Measurable Results Across Networks

Early results from pilot programs suggest the technology is already transforming operations. PromoRepublic reports up to 80% franchisee activation and 30–50% automation of repetitive marketing work, such as social posting and review management.

For headquarters, the benefits go beyond efficiency. The AI Assistant delivers greater visibility and consistency, reducing off-brand content and ensuring every location remains visible and responsive across networks.

By embedding AI into the daily workflow of local teams, PromoRepublic is positioning itself at the intersection of AI innovation and localized brand management — a critical frontier for franchise growth in the digital age.

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Marketeam.ai has been named a finalist for “Most Innovative Use of AI by a Brand” at the 2025 Digiday AI Awards, earning its second recognition from Digiday this year. The honor spotlights a groundbreaking milestone — a marketing campaign conceived, developed, and executed entirely by AI, marking an industry first.

The Digiday AI Awards celebrate organizations redefining creativity and responsibility in the use of artificial intelligence across media, marketing, and advertising. Marketeam.ai joins a high-profile list of contenders including AT&T, Wistia, and Thai Life Insurance in the same category. Other finalists across categories include McDonald’s, General Motors, Canva, Bloomberg Media, and DDB, highlighting the fierce competition among global industry leaders.

AI Takes the Creative Lead

What makes Marketeam.ai’s nomination stand out is the campaign’s autonomous origin. While most brands use AI to assist human creatives, Marketeam.ai’s agents took the leap from collaboration to independent creation. The AI team generated the concept, strategy, and execution without human input — and the result went viral.

“This nomination proves that we’re not just iterating on AI — we’re inventing new paradigms of creative intelligence,” said Naama Manova-Twito, Co-Founder and CEO of Marketeam.ai. “Our autonomous agents showed genuine creative invention, from concept to viral success. While the industry debates if AI can be creative, we’re already demonstrating it.”

This approach, dubbed “autonomous creative intelligence,” represents a step beyond generative AI — toward a model where AI systems can ideate, strategize, and execute campaigns that rival human-led initiatives in originality and performance.

Establishing Leadership in Autonomous Marketing

The recognition cements Marketeam.ai’s position as a leader in AI-driven marketing innovation. Earlier this year, the company was also named a finalist for Best AI Platform at the 2025 Digiday Technology Awards and took home the “Proactive AI Assistance Solution of the Year” title at the 2025 AI Breakthrough Awards.

Together, these achievements underscore Marketeam.ai’s push to redefine how brands leverage automation and intelligence to drive creativity and business growth.

“The future of marketing isn’t about replacing humans,” Manova-Twito added. “It’s about amplifying human ingenuity with autonomous intelligence that can think, create, and perform at the highest level.”

Looking Ahead

Winners of the 2025 Digiday AI Awards will be announced in the coming weeks, spotlighting companies that are pushing the boundaries of AI in marketing, media, and customer experience.

For Marketeam.ai, the nomination itself represents a validation of its bold mission — proving that AI can be more than an assistant. It can be a creator, strategist, and storyteller in its own right.

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Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) has released its 2025 B2B marketing, sales, and product predictions, warning that the unchecked adoption of generative AI (genAI) could lead to over $10 billion in lost enterprise value due to stock declines, legal settlements, and regulatory fines.

As more B2B buyers rely on conversational AI tools for faster insights, Forrester notes that 19% of these buyers report lower confidence in their purchasing decisions due to inaccurate or unreliable AI-generated information. The firm cautions that traditional governance frameworks — designed for internally developed software — fall short when applied to third-party genAI applications embedded across go-to-market systems.

To mitigate risk, Forrester recommends that organizations raise their employees’ “AI intelligence quotient” and democratize governance practices to ensure responsible AI adoption across marketing, sales, and product teams.

Key Predictions for 2025

• Human validation will regain prominence:
  In 2025, 30% of buyers will view genAI as a meaningful interaction during the final purchasing stage, but expert interactions will rise as buyers seek validation and deeper insight. Human expertise will remain a crucial trust factor.

• Influencer relations become a strategic lever:
  75% of enterprise B2B firms will expand budgets for influencer relations. As decision-makers increasingly consult external experts and analysts for guidance, marketing leaders will position influencer engagement as a growth driver.

• Agent-led negotiations take hold:
  By 2026, 20% of B2B sellers will engage in AI-to-AI quote negotiations, responding to buyer-side AI agents with automated counteroffers through their own intelligent systems.

Balancing Trust and Technology

“For B2B leaders, success in the AI era hinges on disciplined, evidence-based adoption,” said Sharyn Leaver, Chief Research Officer at Forrester. “Organizations must invest in governance, balance AI with human expertise, and deliver validated outcomes that build trust. In a volatile market, accountability and clarity will define competitive advantage.”

Forrester’s prediction reports span B2B marketing, sales, product, digital commerce, and payments — offering leaders a forward-looking lens into the trends shaping 2025’s go-to-market landscape.

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StackAdapt has launched a major upgrade to its digital out-of-home (DOOH) solution, introducing a map-first interface and unified workflow that simplify campaign planning, activation, and measurement. The update aims to solve one of digital advertising’s biggest pain points—fragmentation—by giving marketers end-to-end visibility and control within a single platform.

Transforming DOOH with Connected Intelligence

DOOH has long been plagued by manual processes and disjointed systems. StackAdapt’s latest release eliminates these barriers. The new map-first UI allows advertisers to visually explore available inventory, filter by location, media owner, and venue type, and activate campaigns directly from the discovery view.

This shift replaces static spreadsheets with dynamic, real-world context—an approach that promises to make campaign planning both intuitive and data-driven.

“Our DOOH platform reflects our commitment to making the channel more efficient, measurable, and scalable,” said Greg Joseph, VP of Inventory at StackAdapt. “By pairing a map-first experience with creative transparency, we give advertisers the clarity and agility they need to align campaigns with key cultural moments.”

Solving DOOH’s Long-Standing Frictions

StackAdapt’s new DOOH capabilities address common industry challenges that have hindered performance and efficiency:

• Planning blind spots: Advertisers can now view every screen and venue on a live map, offering instant insight into inventory availability and pricing.

• Limited supply visibility: Full transparency into media owners, screen specs, and activation details reduces the guesswork and delays of manual deal management.

• Creative bottlenecks: Real-time visibility into creative approval statuses from each media owner helps teams launch faster without redundant communication.

• Targeting complexity: Simplified screen- and venue-level targeting replaces the need for cumbersome deal IDs.

• Disconnected measurement: New reporting features, including heatmaps and screen-level analytics, enable advertisers to quantify impact and ROI confidently.

According to Leo Gonzalez, Senior Director of Programmatic/Direct IO at Wpromote, “StackAdapt’s DOOH platform provides both the visibility and efficiency we need to integrate DOOH into a broader media mix with measurable results.”

Programmatic Guaranteed: A New Standard for DOOH Confidence

Historically, programmatic buyers have struggled to secure premium DOOH inventory during peak demand. StackAdapt’s Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) certification with Broadsign and Vistar Media changes that dynamic. Advertisers can now reserve high-value placements ahead of global events, holidays, or seasonal surges—maintaining the agility of programmatic while gaining guaranteed exposure.

This capability has rapidly gained traction, with the share of programmatic DOOH spend through PG more than doubling in the past year.

Bridging Technology, Education, and Market Growth

To help advertisers capitalize on these advancements, StackAdapt has refreshed its DOOH education program, offering hands-on guidance for planning, launching, and measuring campaigns in the upgraded environment.

The move comes as DOOH cements its position as a vital component of programmatic strategies. In the U.S., DOOH represented 36% of total OOH ad spend in Q2 2025, growing 9.2% year over year.

By simplifying access and enhancing measurability, StackAdapt is positioning DOOH not just as a brand visibility channel but as a performance-driven, data-rich medium for omnichannel marketers.

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Ocrolus, the AI-powered automation and analytics leader in financial decision-making, has unveiled Encore, a double opt-in borrower intelligence platform designed to modernize how small business funding data is shared. Built to eliminate friction between brokers and lenders, Encore establishes a trusted, standardized data-sharing ecosystem that accelerates funding and expands capital access for small businesses.

A New Era of Borrower Intelligence

Since 2016, Ocrolus has provided the cash flow analytics infrastructure underpinning credit scoring for more than 175 lenders, including industry leaders such as Square, PayPal, Enova, Rapid Finance, Bluevine, and Kapitus. Trained on over 15 million funding applications, the company’s analytics have effectively become the universal language for SMB funders interpreting bank data.

With Encore, Ocrolus extends its mission beyond data standardization to intelligent collaboration. The platform enables funders and brokers to share deals instantly using standardized cash flow metrics, replacing error-prone, manual processes with a seamless, secure exchange of verified borrower information.

Solving Long-Standing Funding Frictions

Small business funding has long suffered from inefficient, outdated workflows. Brokers often review PDFs or emailed statements to pre-qualify borrowers, while funders reanalyze the same data from scratch—slowing decision times and creating inconsistencies. In some cases, even digitally collected data from providers like Plaid or Finicity is manually converted to PDFs for email transfer, reintroducing risk and delay.

Encore replaces this patchwork with a real-time, double opt-in system that securely connects trusted parties, eliminating redundant steps while maintaining compliance and data integrity.

“Lenders have long relied independently on Lendio for SMB flow and Ocrolus for cash flow analytics,” said Trent Miskin, Co-founder and CPO at Lendio. “Encore unifies those strengths, removing data duplication and speeding up funding decisions—precisely what SMBs expect in today’s embedded finance landscape.”

Empowering Lenders to Say Yes Faster

According to David Snitkof, General Manager of SMB at Ocrolus, Encore directly supports funders’ top priority—growing origination volume. By creating a shared data environment, the platform enables lenders to convert more leads, approve larger deals, and serve new industries more efficiently.

“With Encore, we’re helping brokers and funders say yes more often,” Snitkof explained. “It’s about turning data transparency into deal velocity.”

Early Adoption and Industry Impact

Encore is currently live with early adopter partners through the end of 2025. Ocrolus plans a wider rollout in January 2026, signaling a major shift toward open, standardized collaboration in SMB lending.

As AI and automation continue to reshape financial workflows, platforms like Encore could mark a turning point in small business financing—bridging trust gaps and redefining what “fast, fair funding” means in an increasingly data-driven market.

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