There are moments when an industry looks in the mirror – and hardly recognizes itself. The results of the new CommTech Index Report 2025/2026 are just such a moment. Yes, CommTech is changing the industry. Yes, CommTech is changing departments and agencies. But the real revolution is taking place elsewhere: in the minds and everyday working lives of each individual.

Never before has the personal impact been as clearly measurable as this year. 76% of communication professionals say that CommTech will significantly change the way they work – an increase of nine percentage points compared to 2024. This is the strongest increase in the entire survey. And a signal that has a deeper impact than any budget curve or tool list.

While we have been talking about digitalization as an organizational project for years, it is now dawning on us that the change is not taking place in the department – it is taking place in our own workflow.

The industry is feeling the change – but the personal shift is greater

When 83 percent of respondents say that CommTech will massively change the industry, that is impressive. When 71 percent expect their own department to undergo a fundamental change, that is also impressive. But only the personal dimension makes it clear how profound the transformation has become.

CommTech is not a tech topic. It is a work culture issue.

It’s about routines, responsibilities, daily decisions and your own skills profile. Or to put it another way: Digitalization is not coming. It has long been part of the meeting.

The big insight: artificial intelligence shows us our limits

AI was the big game changer in 2023 and 2024. Now, in its third year, it is clear that many communicators have experienced the power of the technologies first-hand – and at the same time their own limitations.

The realization that modern communication is hardly possible without systematic data work is painful. But it is necessary.

As the report documents, the use of AI is often without a real database – a structural shortcoming that is slowing down the industry. Many teams work with generic AI outputs because they lack data, processes and governance. This doesn’t increase effectiveness – it increases frustration. That’s why the shift is so personal:
It’s no longer enough to use tools. You have to understand what is happening underneath.

Why personal change is growing faster than any other category

The large jump of nine percentage points in personal perception is no coincidence. The pressure is intensifying in at least three places:

1. generative AI changes the production logic of communication.

Texts, analyses, research, monitoring – many tasks are done differently today. Not faster, but fundamentally different. This forces everyone to think differently.

2. new technologies shift role profiles.

Prompting, orchestration, data competence, AI governance: skills that hardly anyone had in their profile two years ago now determine relevance and career opportunities.

3. the pressure of expectations from the organizations increases.

Managers want orientation. Business models are changing. Communications departments need to work more productively, efficiently and data-driven.

This leads to a simple conclusion: CommTech is no longer “nice to have”. It is an imposition – and a huge opportunity. While the personal willingness to transform is increasing, there is less clarity about where technologies will actually intervene. The expectation that new tools will massively change content production or social media, for example, is significantly lower than it was in 2024.

It seems paradoxical – but it makes sense. The industry knows: it’s going to be big.
She just doesn’t know: where exactly first.

Conclusion: CommTech gets personal – and that’s exactly what makes it powerful

The most important finding of the CommTech Index Report is:
Digitalization is not a structural project. It is a behavioral project.

Change does not come to the organization through processes, charts or system architectures. It comes through people who work differently, make different decisions and learn differently.

The nine percentage points of growth in personal expectations show:
The industry has understood that transformation does not start on the outside – it starts on the inside.

If you want to drive CommTech, you need tools. If you want to be successful, you need attitude.