CommTech Index Report

Where does communication stand in terms of digitalization?

Digitalization is fundamentally changing communication work in companies and agencies – in terms of technology, structure and content. The CommTech Index Report creates a sound database to make this change measurable. It shows how far the profession has progressed in the digital transformation, where there is a need for action and what developments are emerging.

Since 2023, the report has provided an annual overview of the status of digitalization in the communications departments of companies and PR agencies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The basis is the CommTech Index, a score between 0 and 100, which describes the degree of maturity of the implementation of CommTech in communication work. The index is made up of four components, for each of which 25 index points can be achieved:

Use of the budget for technologies
Perceived future changes through CommTech
Technologies used and expected potential of new technologies
Use of data in communication

The index is compiled on the basis of a standardized online survey. The report documents results by organization type, location and department size and provides insights into progress, challenges and investment plans in the area of digitalization.

Report 2024/2025: Digitalization remains a challenge

AG CommTech, the DPRG, the PRVA and ComImpact conducted the CommTech Index Survey in summer 2024. 352 employees from communications departments and agencies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland took part. As in the previous year, the current index stands at 45 points.

Key findings of the current report:

Large PR agencies have increased their index score to 48 points, overtaking all companies for the first time. The use of generative AI and investment in training and technologies has made particularly strong progress there.
Current developments such as AI are making it increasingly difficult for large companies to stay up to date in terms of digitalization. In many places, technological progress is exceeding the actual speed of implementation, especially in the field of AI. Self-assessment as digital “innovators” is clearly on the decline.
Small organizations are showing progress: The proportion of latecomers has fallen significantly, while 39% now state that they are carrying out pilot projects (previous year: 16%). The number of those who classify themselves as “early majority” has also increased.
In practice, generative AI is mainly used for text production (90 %) and topic searches (70 %). Strategic applications such as stakeholder analyses, personas or reputation assessment are rare. Despite high approval of the potential of AI, its use remains very limited.
The willingness to invest is increasing, especially in AI tools and training. At the same time, other areas such as process automation, CRM and media analysis have seen significant declines in some cases. Last year’s AI hype has not been reflected in a general increase in budgets.
The biggest barriers to digitalization are a lack of skills in the team and the integration of different systems. Larger organizations are particularly affected by this, as the technological infrastructure is heterogeneous and there is often insufficient expertise to implement new tools in a meaningful way.

The report makes it clear that digitalization in communication is not a sprint, but a marathon. Progress is visible, but structural challenges remain, particularly in terms of data competence, impact measurement and technology integration.