RIDINGUNLOCKED2025THEAISHOCKWAVEGLOBALATTHELEADINGEDGEOFBRANDCOMMUNICATIONSRESEARCHUNLOCKED2025Theageofexpectations0401-Perspectiveiseverything0902-ThreepillarsofAItrust1503-Fromdeficittodividend2304-Beyondwords2805-Nativeisthenewnormal32Lookingahead37WelcomefromRWS’sCEOAtRWS,AIisnotnewtous,ithasbeenembeddedinourDNAfordecades.WepioneeredAI-poweredtranslationwithLanguageWeaverin2003andhavebeenaleaderinAIdatatrainingservicessince2017andourexpertiseinbothtechnologyandhumaninsightisshapingthenexteraofglobalcontentandcommunication.Theresearchinthisreporthighlightsapowerfultruth:businessesthatintegrateAIresponsiblyandtransparently,combiningautomationwithhumanexpertise,willbetheonestogainlastingtrust.OurworkatRWSreflectsthiscommitment.WeareharnessingLLMstoenhanceourcoreproducts,fromEvolveandTradosCopilotassistingLanguageSpecialistsgloballytoTridion’sGenAIfeaturesboostingcontentauthors’productivity.Atthesametime,wearepioneeringAgenticAItodrivegreaterefficiencywhilemaintainingthequalitythatglobalenterprisesexpect.ButAI’simpactextendsbeyondefficiency,it’sfundamentallychanginghowbrandsconnectwithpeople.Asthisreportshows,globalconsumersnowdemandAIcontentthatislabelled,localizedandculturallyrelevant.Organizationsmustrisetothischallenge,ensuringthattheirAI-poweredinteractionsarenotonlyseamlessbutalsotrusted.We’reproudtobeattheforefrontofthisrevolution,trustedtohelptheglobe’sleadingenterprisesbreakdownbarriers,unlocknewmarketsandbuildtrustatscale.ThisreportofferscrucialinsightsintotheevolvingAIlandscape,thetrustchallengesthatbusinessesmustovercomeandthestrategiesthatwilldefineAI’snextchapter.IinviteyoutoexploreourfindingsandtojoinusinshapingafuturewhereAIandhumanexpertiseworktogethertodriveinnovation,growthandunderstanding.BenFaesCEO,RWSWeareenteringadefiningmoment,onewhereAI’spotentialisnolongertheoreticalbutanessentialdriverofbusinesstransformation.Thehypehasgivenwaytoreal-worldimplementation,andnow,businessesmustnavigatethecomplexitiesoftrust,transparencyandmeasurableROI.TheageofexpectationsAIcompaniesaccountedforonethirdoftotalglobalventurecapitalfundingin20242andalmosthalfofallnewunicornbusinesses(valuedoveronebilliondollars)3.AIistransforminginnovationacrossindustries,makingitincreasinglychallengingtostayaheadofthecurveinthisrapidlychangingtechnologicallandscape.Ournewresearchacross14globalmarketshighlightsremarkableenthusiasmandexperimentationwithgenerativeAI.Italsosetsouttheessentialingredientsforlong-termadoption:transparency,explainabilityandhumaninvolvement.NomorehidingInaworldwhere‘distrustisthenewnorm’4,consumerswantbusinessestobeupfrontabouttheiruseofAI.TheywanttoknowwhentheyareinteractingwithAIcontent,chatbotsandthelike.TheywantAIcontenttobebetterlabelledandexplained–includingtheinvaluablerolethathumansplayindevelopingAItools.Brandsthatgetthisrightwillbenefitfromaconsumertrustdividend.AIiseverywhere…Around70%ofglobalconsumersarealreadyseeinganincreaseinAI-generatedcontentfrombrands,businesses–andbadactors–rangingfromtextandimages,tovideoandvoice.ThistrendwillonlyaccelerateasautonomousAIagents5handlemorecontentmanagementdecisions,adaptingmultilingualcontentinreal-timetousers’needs.TheAIlandscapehasevolvedatbreakneckspeedoverthepast24months.ThenumberofgenerativeAIcompaniesworldwideisforecasttoskyrocketfrom50,000in2023to100,000byyearend20251.81%ofglobalcons...