Infobip highlights demand for integrated customer engagement platforms in South Africa

Executives discuss the role of messaging channels, automation and unified data systems in improving customer interactions across South African businesses.

Lauren Potgieter, country manager for South Africa.

Infobip executives used the company’s Leadership Soirée 2026 event in South Africa to discuss the operational challenges companies face as customer interactions become increasingly distributed across digital channels.

During the event, company representatives said many organisations continue to rely on disconnected customer engagement systems, creating inconsistent experiences across departments and communication platforms. According to the company, businesses that fail to modernise these environments risk losing customers as expectations shift toward faster and more personalised service.

Lauren Potgieter, country manager at Infobip South Africa, said companies are struggling to connect interactions taking place across channels such as WhatsApp, voice, SMS and email. He noted that customer information is often spread across separate systems, forcing users to repeat requests while moving between divisions or support centres.

“Everybody’s talking omnichannel and connected experiences, but the data points of all those customer engagements are so fragmented,” he said.

Potgieter said businesses are increasingly looking for orchestration platforms capable of consolidating interactions into a unified customer view, allowing service teams to track communication history across channels and improve response times.

He also argued that automation technologies should be used to support customer service teams rather than replace them entirely. “AI should take care of the mundane tasks and high-volume work that doesn’t require empathy. But you should never get rid of the human.”

Infobip, which develops cloud communications and conversational engagement technologies for enterprises, pointed to South Africa’s mobile-first digital habits as a key factor shaping customer experience strategies in the region.

Julian Dawkins, principal product marketing manager at Infobip, described South Africa as a significant market for conversational commerce due to high smartphone adoption and widespread use of messaging applications.

“You guys love WhatsApp,” he told delegates. “South Africa is actually the second-highest WhatsApp user market in the world after Brazil.”

According to Dawkins, many businesses still depend on rigid chatbot systems that struggle to deliver contextual and personalised interactions. He said organisations developing AI-driven customer engagement strategies must also account for South Africa’s linguistic diversity and informal economy.

“You can’t just roll it out in English,” he said.

The company also highlighted growing demand for integrated payment experiences and mobile-based customer journeys, as consumers increasingly expect to complete purchases and support requests within messaging environments instead of moving between platforms.

Potgieter said customer expectations are now centred on speed, accuracy and convenience, particularly during first-contact interactions. “I want the answer right now, immediately, on the channel that I want, and it needs to be correct,” he said.

He added that businesses capable of resolving customer requests during the first interaction are likely to gain a competitive advantage as digital engagement models continue to evolve.