Observed Signal · Apr 2, 2025 · Research Report · Source: CMSWire · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Personalization Rises, But Customer Understanding Still Confounds CX Leaders
CMSWire's State of Digital Customer Experience 2025 report, discussed by Editor-in-Chief Dom Nicastro and VP of Research Sarah Kimmel, shows that for the first time 51% of organizations say their digital CX tools are working well. Personalization adoption jumped to just over two-thirds of organizations, up from roughly half last year. AI and machine learning became the top investment priority for DCX teams, with 45% of leaders using generative AI for at least half of their work. CMS investment is also surging: 82% plan to build, buy, or upgrade a CMS in 2025. However, understanding customer behavior remains difficult, with 31% citing rapidly changing behavior, 29% saying it is too varied to model, and 29% lacking in-house expertise.
This is a benchmark research report showing notable improvements in CX technology satisfaction, personalization adoption, and AI investment across MarTech teams, but it is not a single industry-shifting event. Still, the data signals important spending and adoption trends for the MarTech/CX ecosystem.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- 51% of organizations say their digital customer experience tools are finally working well, up from 9% in 2019.
- More than two-thirds of organizations now have some form of personalization, up from around half last year.
- AI and machine learning are the No. 1 investment priority for DCX teams, with 45% using generative AI for at least half of their work.
- 82% of organizations plan to build, buy, or upgrade their CMS in 2025; 30% plan to build their own.
- Top barriers to understanding customer behavior are rapid change (31%), too much variation to model (29%), and lack of in-house expertise (29%).
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mapped“Dom Nicastro references that a Forrester analyst said years ago that CMS is the backbone of digital experience....”
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