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TV’s stakeholders — consumers, advertisers, and publishers — are out of sync. Consumers love streaming TV but say they don’t want streaming TV ads due to their frequency and irrelevance. Advertisers adopt genAI to try to make ads more compelling, but according to one member of Forrester’s Market Research Online Community, “when brands use generative AI in TV commercials, they lose their authenticity.” Consumers want to stream live sports, so publishers like Disney and Netflix lure live sports fans to streaming TV, which seems like a win-win but complicates viewing. For example, in the NFL’s first week, consumers toggled between as many as eight streaming services to watch all 16 games. Next summer, the World Cup will spread across four streaming providers, adding friction to consumers’ fandom while duplicating advertisers’ reach. One of advertisers’ greatest challenges with TV advertising is “streaming TV’s high CPMs,” according to Forrester’s Q2 2025 CMO Pulse Survey. TV advertising’s sellers benefit at TV buyers’ expense, and consumers are caught in the middle. Transcend TV’s Past And Potential To Maximize Its Impact Once an offline, live, consolidated medium, TV is now internet-connected, on demand, and convoluted. While TV’s digital transformation makes the medium more addressable, programmatic, and measurable, it also upends TV’s role in the funnel, media plans, and advertising’s supply chain. Across TV planning, buying, and optimization workflows, advertisers need a strategy that blends the best of TV’s past and present. For instance, gross rating points, which correlate with brand energy but distance TV from the bottom of the funnel, can be phased out in favor of new KPIs that measure TV’s full-funnel efficacy. Other elements of TV’s past, like index-based buying and cost-effective reach, remain useful. To make TV advertising’s past and future more than the sum of their parts, marketers should: Minimize TV supply chain’s time to value. A complex supply chain, including publisher ad servers, supply-side platforms, automatic content recognition vendors, demand-side platforms, advertiser ad servers, and more, needlessly complicates TV advertising. Avoid this by getting as close as possible to TV viewers. Transact directly with publishers using technologies like Warner Bros. Discovery’s NEO, which launched at this year’s upfronts. Other publishers are following suit, offering buyers direct access to premium video inventory across streaming and linear TV. Clarify TV’s short- and long-term impacts. Continue using unaided awareness surveys to measure TV’s long-term impacts on new-to-brand sales, as brands have done for decades. Pair them with proof of TV’s immediate impacts on the middle of the funnel. In partnership with TV measurement providers, learn how TV ad exposures cause consumers who would have searched for generic search terms to, instead, search for branded terms. This makes TV plus search a more profitable way to compete for traffic. Overall, optimize for metrics such as blended ROAS and marketing expense ratio, which capture TV’s near- and long-term values. To learn more, Forrester clients can check out our latest report on TV advertising and schedule a guidance session to game-plan total TV. Always feel free to contact us with questions and feedback. source

In the wake of a sweeping CDC leadership shake-up, deep cuts to mRNA vaccine research funding, and intensifying political debate over public safety, vaccine policy in the US is fracturing under the weight of political and scientific discord. Florida may soon become the first state to eliminate all vaccine requirements for children entering public school — reversing a standard held nationwide since 1980. Meanwhile, nearly a dozen states are charting their own course, issuing independent vaccine recommendations separate from federal guidance. Greater political influence on public health may lead paradoxically to an emphasis on individual choice, even as the range of available options narrows. Holding The Line: Preventing A Public Health Breakdown Routine childhood vaccinations saved $540 billion in medical costs and prevented 32 million hospitalizations. Yet policy changes could imperil 30 years of progress. Disruptions to school and work from outbreaks can compound societal and economic costs. US Senator Dr. John Barrasso’s warning underscores the stakes: “If we’re going to ‘make America healthy again,’ we can’t allow public health to be undermined.” As this fragmentation unfolds and government’s role in safeguarding health is debated, healthcare organizations (HCOs) must work to limit the impact of these changes on population health. Consumers are raising questions about the risks posed by a swelling unvaccinated public. HCOs must guide and support customers on how to navigate any fallout from policy changes. Key stakeholders must act immediately: Providers. Shifts in vaccine policies are reshaping preventive care, increasing clinical risk and operational complexity for providers. Rolled-back mandates, inconsistent guidance, and gaps in funding make outbreaks of contagious diseases more likely. More illnesses contribute to clinician burnout. This will further strain patient trust. Healthcare providers should adjust workflows to ensure access to vaccines and compliance with evolving federal and state regulations. They should also strengthen patient education and prepare for increased operational complexity. Consider reinstating pandemic-era protocols such as digital waiting rooms to accommodate at-risk patients. Health insurers. The rollback of vaccine mandates adds complexity to coverage decisions and risk modeling, forcing insurers to reassess prior projections. Payers must manage growing volatility in their risk pools. Significant premium increases already loom, and health insurers face tough decisions to offset additional risk for their managed populations in 2026. Payers should evaluate how to sustainably cover routine vaccination (where not mandated) and provide members with education and assistance to ensure maximum uptake of preventive measures. Pharmacies. Pharmacies are in limbo. The completely overhauled Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices hasn’t yet issued recommendations, and FDA guidance is limited. This regulatory whiplash complicates staffing, inventory planning, and patient access, especially in states requiring prescriptions or lacking clear protocols. Pharmacists, for example, already get inundated with requests for Tamiflu during peak flu season. Fewer vaccinated people means more requests for already burdened staff. Some pharmacies may opt not to order and administer vaccines at all, which carries bigger impact for the business. Pharmacies must engage customers via digital channels, streamline vaccine scheduling, and promote prevention in new ways. Dig deeper into the changes and volatility unfolding in the healthcare market. Forrester clients can schedule a guidance session and check out our research on how to thrive through volatility. Not a client? Let’s talk about how we can help. Related Research Healthcare Leaders: How To Thrive Through Volatility source

Technical debt isn’t just a developer headache anymore — it’s a strategic business risk. The backlog of aging servers, half-forgotten vendor contracts, fragile integrations, and undertrained staff is quietly compounding interest in the background. Left unmanaged, it eats away at agility, resilience, and customer experience. That’s why I’m proud to share the updated version of our best-practice report: Establish Technology Lifecycle Management To Control Technical Debt. Why Now? In conversations with tech leaders across industries, we’ve seen how technical debt quietly drains innovation and balloons risk. Technology lifecycle management (TLM) is a key, practical lever leaders can pull to stop debt from overwhelming their organizations. TLM is one of the main components of Forrester’s four-lifecycle model, which includes: Applications: the software your business runs on. Platforms: the environments that host and support those applications. IT assets: the physical and virtual infrastructure behind it all. Technology products: the vendor-supplied tools and components that make everything work. The technology lifecycle — the focus of this report — is the most overlooked. It governs the generic building blocks of your tech stack — not individual assets or runtime services but the underlying vendor and open-source products themselves. When managed well, it prevents the buildup of intractable technical debt and enables agility, innovation, and resilience. The Business Benefits Of Managing The Technology Lifecycle   Managing your technology estate for currency, redundancy, and debt through standard stacks and services delivers measurable benefits across four key dimensions: Risk: reduced attack surface, faster incident response, and fewer obsolescence-driven failures Cost: leaner staffing models and improved vendor leverage CX/EX/DX: modern capabilities that directly enhance the customer, employee, and digital experience Revenue/mission: agile platforms and reusable architectures that accelerate time to value My Message To Technology Leaders I’ve been watching organizations “kick the can” on lifecycle management for decades — patches deferred, portfolios bloated, upgrades postponed until they become multiyear crises. The cost isn’t abstract: It shows up in outages, missed opportunities, and talent attrition. When done right, TLM is a strategic enabler. CIOs, architects, infrastructure leads — this is your blueprint to: Build a leaner, more resilient technology portfolio. Align vendor management with lifecycle governance. Make smarter investments and cut redundancy. Position your org to thrive in a digital-first landscape. Questions? Drop me a line! 📘 Read the full report. 📅 Join us at Technology & Innovation Summit North America, November 2–5 in Austin, or via the digital experience. source

Last week, I attended HubSpot’s INBOUND conference in San Francisco. Many recaps will focus on the product announcements, strategy, and feature releases, but what stood out to me were the broader themes woven through CEO Yamini Rangan’s keynote: AI, our jobs, the uncertainty many are feeling in this moment, the need to remain relevant, and the reminder that this isn’t just about human productivity but about human identity. Her keynote didn’t lean on hype (I’m looking at you, AI warriors in my LinkedIn feed). Instead, it centered on how humans and technology will work together, what the future of work will look like, and why customers expect outcomes, not just software. These themes shaped the conference and, more importantly, point to how companies should think about creating value going forward. Here are the three themes that stood out to me: AI isn’t just about productivity; it’s about identity. While AI was positioned as a great accelerant, the deeper tension was more personal: “If AI can do this, what’s left for me?” As Rangan reminded the audience, “humans lead — AI accelerates.” The challenge isn’t solely adoption; it’s helping people see where their creativity, judgment, and leadership remain essential. Hybrid work is the future. If AI accelerates, humans must define the direction. The future of work isn’t one or the other — it’s both. Machines will automate and support scale, but only people can provide vision, empathy, and decision-making. When we lead with these uniquely human strengths, AI becomes an amplifier, not a threat. Customers buy outcomes, not tools. The message was clear: Companies don’t just invest in another tool — they invest in results such as retention, growth, and efficiency. To compete, vendors must align across functions to deliver impact. The differentiator won’t be the software itself but the tangible value that it delivers to customers. INBOUND 2025 was more than a product showcase. It reflected both the possibilities and anxieties of the moment. As attendees return to their companies and customers this week, they must remember to treat AI as a partner and not a threat, step into the future of work with confidence, and keep customer outcomes at the center of strategy. That isn’t just the direction HubSpot is signaling — it is the direction that we must take to compete and grow. source

Artificial intelligence has moved from the margins to the mainstream. But as the buzz around generative and agentic AI intensifies, many organizations are asking a more grounded question: How do we move from experimentation to enterprise-scale impact? Last Tuesday, my colleagues Indranil Bandyopadhyay and Raluca Alexandru hosted a virtual event for data and AI leaders focused on these topics. We found that while most organizations claim to have documented AI and data strategies, few have activated them in ways that drive measurable business outcomes. The gap between strategy and execution is widening — and closing it requires more than technology. Activate Your AI Strategy For Business Impact According to Forrester’s Data And Analytics Survey, 2025, 69% of organizations say they have a data strategy and 66% report having an AI strategy. Yet many of these are disconnected from business priorities. A successful AI strategy isn’t just a document — it’s a living framework that aligns outcomes, capabilities, and risk. Activation means embedding AI into decision-making processes, defining clear ownership, and ensuring that strategy evolves alongside emerging technologies and shifting risk appetites. Business Ownership Drives AI Value While technology teams often lead AI efforts, business stakeholders must define the problems that AI is solving. Without this alignment, AI risks becoming a technical exercise rather than a transformative force. Cross-functional governance — bringing together legal, compliance, HR, and business units — is critical to ensure that AI initiatives are viable, valuable, and scalable. Organizations that succeed treat AI as a business strategy, not just a tech investment. They build adaptive cultures, foster data literacy, and prioritize use cases that deliver tangible outcomes. Prioritize AI Use Cases To Scale Effectively One of the biggest barriers to scaling AI is use case sprawl. Enterprises often have dozens of pilots but lack a framework to prioritize and activate them. A structured approach — sourcing ideas from across the organization, forecasting impact, prototyping with governance in mind, and iterating based on ROI and feasibility — is essential. The most successful organizations balance experimentation with discipline. They focus on repeatable patterns, low-risk opportunities, and use cases that align with strategic goals. AI Governance: Foundation For Trust And Growth AI governance is often misunderstood as a blocker. In reality, it’s the foundation for trust, scalability, and compliance. There’s no one size that fits all, with some organizations gravitating more toward defensive governance (focused on risk, privacy, and control) while others, with perhaps a higher risk appetite, will embrace more offensive governance (focused on enablement, reuse, and innovation). A “minimum viable AI governance” stack can be implemented in just 90 days. This includes: Defining AI policy and risk levels. Creating a use-case intake process. Establishing data product contracts. Documenting models and prompts. Identifying human-in-the-loop checkpoints. Vetting vendors for AI standards. These foundational elements preserve trust while maintaining momentum. Boost AI Literacy For Enterprise Adoption Forrester’s Future Of Work Survey, 2024, shows that more than half of employees have low AIQ — limited understanding, confidence, and ethical awareness around AI. Without addressing this, adoption slows and trust erodes. Building AIQ across the organization is essential, not just through training but by fostering a culture of responsible experimentation. AI success depends on people as much as technology. Clear roles — such as AI governance leads, data product owners, model owners, and citizen stewards — ensure accountability and turn governance from theory into practice. Strategic AI Readiness: Turning Hype Into Impact Strategic AI readiness isn’t about chasing the latest tech — it’s about building the foundations to scale responsibly. That means aligning strategy with business value, embedding governance early, and empowering people across the organization. Organizations that start small, scale smart, and embed governance by design will be best positioned to turn AI hype into lasting impact. You can accelerate your efforts by leveraging Forrester’s latest research on AI strategy, governance, and use case prioritization. Please also join us at our annual Technology & Innovation Summit EMEA in London, October 8–10, where we will dive deeper into some of these themes. source

How do you make good decisions? That question is at the heart of many conversations I’ve had with clients about CX prioritization. Choosing what to do — and what not to do — is both an art and a science, and you can apply different levels of rigor to your process to enhance your ability to make better-informed decisions. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we’ve updated and upgraded our CX prioritization models, and we’ve also added a report that serves as a front door to help clients decide which CX prioritization model is the right one for them and their organization. There are three different maturity levels of CX prioritization. Click on the bolded bullet title below to read about the approach, and/or click on the link in the paragraph to go straight to that CX prioritization maturity level’s tool: But wait, there’s more! In addition to the models above, there’s also a new Government CX Prioritization Tool that leverages the same concepts as the advanced model and that has been tailored to match our research on the business case for CX in government. And the CX Prioritization Fact Base To-Do List Template has also gotten a facelift; this is a useful prep tool when you’re trying to identify what kinds of data you have (or still need) to support decision-making. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also call out other closely related tools that are not part of these upgrades but still have plenty of value and currency. As above, click on the bolded bullet title for the report and/or the link in the paragraph for the tool: These tools are here to help you make better decisions, whether you’re looking at large initiatives or a punch list of pain points. If you’re still unsure of where to start, please request a guidance session. We can also help you tailor a prioritization approach to your organization’s unique needs with a workshop delivered as a strategy session (VIP seatholders only), initiative workshop, or through Forrester Consulting. If you’re not yet a client, please reach out to our sales team! source

In today’s B2B landscape, partner ecosystems are a strategic priority for driving growth, maintaining competitive advantage, and enabling innovation. Yet most B2B organizations still rely on outdated attribution models that obscure partner value, misguide investment, and impede future growth. My latest report, Plotting The Path For Partner Attribution, delivers a clear message to executive leaders: Attribution is broken in most B2B organizations, and it’s time to rethink how partner impact is measured. The Partner Attribution Problem Creates A Major Executive Blind Spot Legacy attribution models — especially those focused solely on sourced revenue — fail to capture the full spectrum of partner impact on the business. These models either oversimplify and/or completely ignore the broader partner contribution to the organization’s success. This leaves executives blind to the broader value and influence that partners have across the buyer’s journey and their strategic impact on growth and success. These blind spots in measurement undervalue strategic partnerships across the ecosystem, especially for nontransacting partners such as strategic alliances, technical partners, system integrators, and influencers. Successful Partner Ecosystem Strategy Depends On Precise Measurement As the report emphasizes, the future of partner ecosystem success hinges on our ability to measure fully what truly matters. Without accurate attribution, partner ecosystem strategies risk falling short. Organizations must evolve from: A distorted to an accurate vision of what really drives direct and indirect revenue and success. An incomplete to a holistic view of partner impact on business success. An underleveraged to a fully leveraged partner ecosystem. Poor to positive partner experience that builds loyalty and trust. Stalled or stagnant offerings to those driven by partner innovation and growth. Misdirected future decisions and investments to aligned investments for future growth and innovation. The Partner Attribution Path Forward Emphasizes Precision Over Tradition B2B suppliers should follow a four-step journey to achieve more precise, holistic partner attribution: Discover your organization’s partner ecosystem strategy, goals, and objectives. Define your various partner classifications (partner types/business models). Assign key values for each unique partner classification. Align metrics for partner values to quantify partner ecosystem attribution. What To Do Next Partner attribution is no longer a back-office concern — it’s a leadership mandate. CEOs, chief revenue/sales officers, CMOs, and partner ecosystem leaders must be armed with models that reflect reality, recognize and reward true impact, and fuel strategic growth. Those who embrace comprehensive partner contribution measurement will gain clearer insights, stronger partnerships, and a competitive edge in an increasingly interconnected market. To explore this leadership imperative in more detail, Forrester clients can read the full report and reach out to schedule a call for tailored advice on how to establish a more holistic contribution methodology for your partner ecosystem. source

To remedy Google’s monopoly in search, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google merely has to share limited search data with rivals and stop making exclusive deals with the likes of Apple and Samsung for Google’s preferential placement on devices. Judge Mehta’s ruling is a big win for Google, Apple, and answer engines like ChatGPT. It’s a loss for rival search engines and the Department of Justice. Google, Apple, And Answer Engines Emerge Victorious Judge Mehta’s remedy is close to Google’s best-case scenario. The company does not have to sell Chrome or Android and can keep paying Apple billions of dollars a year to acquire search traffic from iPhone users. Apple and Samsung benefit by being able to strike lucrative deals with answer engines, rather than dealing exclusively with Google. And the likes of ChatGPT and Bing gain paths to distribution that Google previously foreclosed. In this case, generative AI’s warp-speed growth saved Google. ChatGPT’s launch — two years after the Department of Justice filed its suit — turned Google from a runaway leader in the search engine market into a frenetic challenger in the arms race for answer engines. Hampering Google’s ability to compete with the likes of OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic would reduce competition, undermining antitrust law’s aim. Gemini, Small Search Engines, And The DOJ Remain Challenged Google’s only loss is this ruling’s impact on Gemini, which Google was planning to distribute exclusively via device manufacturers. In addition, Google must provide rivals some of Gemini’s training data, accelerating answer engines’ ability to provide Google-grade user experiences. Unlike answer engines, search engines such as DuckDuckGo and Yahoo are disappointed by Judge Mehta’s decision, which limits search engines to a one-time look at Google’s search index rather than the regular access to Google’s index search engines they sought. The Department of Justice’s five years and millions of dollars of litigation were for naught. It’s unlikely an appeals court will relitigate the trial judge’s remedies, so the DOJ must settle for defeat. The DOJ hoped Judge Mehta would exercise broad latitude in restraining Google’s ability to compete with the likes of OpenAI, but Judge Mehta rightly believed that “courts must approach the task of crafting remedies with a healthy dose of humility.” He was not in a position, he claimed, to “gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future” of answer engines, underscoring antitrust law’s inability to keep pace with genAI. Marketers Must Adapt To Answer Engines’ Growth Though Judge Mehta’s ruling favors Google, it highlights the diversification of search beyond Google. The likes of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok will continue forcing Google to develop increasingly articulate, assistive, and agentic search capabilities at the expense of classic search. Therefore, marketers must make their brands increasingly visible across various engines, necessitating SEO solutions and revamped content and technical SEO best practices. Content must be increasingly specific and authoritative to be indexed and visible. And companies need to master the brilliant basics of technical SEO, like regularly updating sitemaps, resolving indexation issues, and analyzing log files now that hyperactive crawlers are all over websites. Stay tuned for two reports on answer engines in the coming months. One will detail answer engine optimization best practices across content marketing, site health monitoring, and measurement. The other will cover AI-integrated paths to purchase, clarifying how consumers will shop using the likes of ChatGPT and forecasting what that means for answer engines’ business models, retail media networks, and creative velocity. As always, if you’re a Forrester client request a guidance session to discuss. source

Our freshly minted evaluation, The Forrester Wave™: Commerce Search And Product Discovery Solutions, Q3 2025, makes it clear that digital businesses are in a search pinch right now. If they don’t have a standalone search solution, they’re likely limping along with whatever “came with” commerce. That’s not good enough anymore, and it’s time to plan for incremental adoption of one of these solutions, which have quickly evolved well beyond the “good enough.” This Market Is Moving Fast In the 2011 Boston Marathon, Ryan Hall ran at a lightning-fast (and unofficial US-record-setting) marathon pace of 2:04:58. For the subsequent New York City Marathon later that year, Hall’s sponsor, ASICS, set up challenges for those watching the race, mounting a harness over a treadmill that was set to his blazing pace to allow people to see how long they could maintain it. Spoiler: Many were quickly flung off the treadmill when they tried to jump on it at that pace. What does the treadmill challenge have in common with the current commerce search and product discovery market? This market is moving blazingly fast right now. The “good enough” search functionality embedded in commerce solutions is left in the dust by the rapid innovation of standalone solutions over the past two years. A new vendor trying to break into this market now would feel like being lowered onto that ASICS treadmill. The vendors in the Forrester Wave evaluation for commerce search and product discovery already had established solutions in the market when generative AI hit mainstream a few years ago, and they’re building on those foundations as quickly as they can. They’ve stabilized their acquisitions and integrated their own preexisting tech with the latest models from major AI players, and they’re now injecting new innovation into their products at a Ryan Hall-esque pace. The prerequisite landscape report for this market established the core functions that all vendors in the space provide: search configuration, search personalization, merchandising, and facet management. But we also saw vendors offer varied support for specialized use cases (such as search for B2B industrial manufacturers or retail applications) and unique strengths (like technical configuration tooling or controls over the timing of in-session personalization). GenAI Throws This Market Into Overdrive As is the case with so many tech markets right now, genAI is forever changing this market’s functionality, breadth, and application. In fact, nearly half of the vendors in this evaluation demonstrated live examples of agentic/conversational product discovery experiences on customer sites. Most of these applications launched recently, and in many cases, they are still in a testing phase. GenAI changes everything, but it is not a cure-all for commerce. Sometimes, such a rapid pace of innovation leads to premature products with unproven results. (In fact, about half of the customer examples that vendors provided in their responses for this research could not be verified during scoring.) Stay tuned for more from me on the state of these applications and the quality of the experiences for end users. Here’s my best advice for digital businesses assessing commerce search solutions: Focus on results. Begin conversations with commerce search and product discovery vendors, but focus on ROI. Ask them where they anticipate that you’ll receive the most value, and ask them how they might guarantee your results. Take a modular and incremental approach. The “Evaluated Vendors And Product Information” graphic in this Wave is the most complex compared with all of my previous evaluations. The collection of modules that businesses must purchase from these vendors to receive the complete functionality we evaluated is sometimes a lengthy list. The modularity brings the opportunity to start small (with just a module or two), measure the impact, and expand adoption over time. Some modules, however, contain “core” functionality that enables the other modules to function, so anticipate some required modules with the initial adoption phase. Expect “beta” in some areas. Make sure that your vendor explains to you the maturity of cutting-edge functionality. Stay ready to test and establish a culture of perpetual internal and user testing to ensure positive experiences — not just business results. Lean on your peers. Use our “Customers Like Us” tool to help vendors identify their current customers that have similar business models and needs to yours. Aim to set up conversations with counterparts at customer organizations for all members of your vendor selection team, including the users who will rely on the solution. Ask the hard questions of your peers who have gone down that path before you. Let’s Discuss Further! For more specific support and advice as you choose your first — or next — commerce search and product discovery solution, please reach out to me and book a guidance session. We will figure out where you stand to gain the most, dig into the Wave results, and work through your vendor shortlist together. source

Hard markets, increased shopping and switching, value-added advice, and the need to scale more effectively are driving insurance agencies to seek superior technologies that help them cater to increasingly sophisticated policyholders. Policyholders want personalized service, seamless communication, and lightning-fast responsiveness. To deliver on these expectations, agencies are turning to a powerful ally: insurance agency management systems (AMSes). These platforms are transforming the way agencies run their businesses, helping them stay ahead of the curve while maintaining a human touch. Forrester’s new report, The Insurance Agency Management Systems Landscape, Q3 2025, will help insurance technology and digital leaders understand the market for AMSes and where it is heading next. An AMS Is More Than Just A Tool Think of an AMS as the Swiss Army knife of insurance operations — it’s versatile, efficient, and indispensable. At their core, these systems streamline the policyholder lifecycle, from client relationship management to claims processing and commission tracking. But their real magic lies in how they empower agencies to deliver exceptional service while boosting operational efficiency and profitability. An AMS: Lays the foundation for superior customer experiences. Gone are the days of agents sitting in swivel chairs, juggling documents and sticky notes. An AMS gives agencies a 360-degree view of their clients, enabling personalized advice and proactive communication. Whether through a quick quote or self-service access to policy details, these systems make interactions smoother, faster, and digital — exactly what today’s policyholders want. Bolsters agency efficiency. By automating repetitive tasks such as data entry and renewal reminders, an AMS frees up agents to focus on what they do best: advising clients, creating protection solutions, and solving problems. Centralized workflows eliminate information silos and reduce manual errors, saving time and money. Streamlines operations and creates resource capacity. By streamlining operations and improving client retention, AMSes drive growth while keeping costs down. They help agencies spot upsell opportunities, track commissions accurately, and make informed financial decisions — all of which directly contribute to the bottom line. Agencies Are Smarter, Faster, And More Connected While AMSes have been a cornerstone of the industry for years, the market is hardly standing still. The future of these systems is about intelligent automation, personalization, and specialization: AI takes center stage. Artificial intelligence is transforming AMSes and helping agencies move from being data organizers to proactive advisors. AI can analyze market trends and client preferences to predict churn risk. Generative AI tools can draft emails, marketing copy, and claims reports, taking busy work off agents’ plates and letting them focus on high-value activities like relationship building. AMSes offer the personalization that the industry craves. Bespoke product recommendations, tailored communications, and seamless multichannel interactions will delight policyholders and deepen loyalty. Self-service tools will grow smarter, enabling clients to manage their policies anytime, anywhere. AMSes help agencies develop a niche. Agencies continue to become increasingly specialized in response to the market opportunities that dictate depth. AMSes offer robust support for complex lines of business — such as aviation or cyber — while integrating data from internet-of-things devices and even social media. Agencies catering to niche markets will reap the benefits of these tailored tools. Insurance agency management systems have come a long way, and they’re not done evolving. As technology develops, agencies have an opportunity to deliver standout service, streamline operations, and grow their bottom line — all while focusing on what matters most: their clients. Clients interested in discussing this report and increasing their AMS sophistication can connect with me via an inquiry or guidance session. source