We’ve just released new research exploring how enterprise content is evolving in the age of AI – and where that evolution is creating unexpected challenges.
The report – Content unlocked: What enterprise AI doesn’t know it’s missing – draws on insights from 200 enterprise leaders to examine how organizations are scaling content across markets, and what happens when speed at the point of creation meets the realities of global delivery.
The result is a more grounded view of how AI is reshaping global content – and where it is falling short.
A closer look at content in the age of AI
Much of the conversation around AI has focused on what it enables at the point of creation.
Content can now be produced faster, at greater volume and across more formats than ever before. For many organizations, that shift has removed long-standing constraints and opened up new possibilities.
But creation is only part of the picture.
Once content needs to move across markets, adapt to different contexts and remain consistent across languages and channels, a more complex set of challenges comes into play. This is where many organizations are encountering friction – not because AI is underperforming, but because the surrounding systems and processes are being tested at scale.
Content unlocked focuses on this transition, exploring how content behaves once it leaves the point of origin and enters real-world global workflows.
Who took part
To reflect what’s actually happening inside enterprise content operations, the research focused on leaders directly responsible for making content work at scale.
The report draws on input from 200 senior decision-makers across content, localization, digital experience and AI strategy. These are people dealing with the day-to-day reality of scaling content across markets – not just setting direction, but seeing where it holds up and where it breaks.
Participants represent a range of sectors, including technology, life sciences, financial services and manufacturing – all industries where content plays a critical role in customer engagement and compliance.
Geographically, the research spans North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, reflecting the complexity of operating across multiple markets. The sample also balances strategic and operational perspectives, linking high-level ambition with the realities of execution.
What the research reveals
Several patterns emerge consistently across the data.
One of the most notable is the gap between speed and usability. While 86% of respondents report that AI is accelerating content creation, a majority also say it is slowing localization due to rework. This points to a disconnect between how content is produced and how it is prepared for global use.
The scale of the challenge is also clear. Around 66% of enterprise content is now multi-market, meaning it must function across different regions and contexts. As that proportion grows, so does the difficulty of maintaining consistency and control.
Cost is another factor shaping this landscape. The research shows that 21% of localization budgets are being spent correcting AI-generated content, highlighting how inefficiencies can offset the expected gains in speed and scale.
Alongside these operational pressures, there is a broader confidence gap. Many organizations express uncertainty about AI’s ability to handle cultural nuance and context, particularly when content is deployed across diverse audiences.
Taken together, these findings highlight a shift in focus.
The challenge is moving beyond generating content at scale to ensuring that content works effectively once it is deployed.
Why this matters now
This shift comes at a critical point in enterprise adoption of AI.
What was once experimental is now embedded in day-to-day operations. Content teams are expected to deliver more, faster and across more markets, while maintaining quality and consistency. The pressure to scale is immediate.
At the same time, many of the systems and workflows that support global content have evolved incrementally over time. They were not designed for the volume and speed that AI now enables.
As a result, existing inefficiencies are becoming more visible. Rework increases. Coordination becomes more complex. Delays that were once manageable begin to affect overall performance.
Understanding this dynamic is essential for organizations looking to translate AI investment into tangible outcomes.
What you’ll learn from the report
The findings highlight some real pressure points, but this isn’t a report about what’s broken.
It’s about what’s changing – and how some organizations are starting to adapt.
Inside the report, you’ll see how teams are beginning to rethink the way content is created and managed, so it can actually work across markets rather than being fixed later. That includes:
- Designing content with global use in mind from the start – instead of retrofitting it for different markets
- Reducing rework by making content easier to reuse, instead of reproducing it for every market
- Rethinking workflows so content can move across regions without constant handoffs and delays
- Being more deliberate about where AI adds value, and where human expertise is still essential
You’ll also get a clearer sense of where things tend to break down – not in theory, but in the day-to-day reality of getting content live across multiple markets.
The common thread is a shift in mindset. Less focus on producing more, more focus on making what’s produced hold together when it’s actually used.
Explore the full report
Content unlocked: What enterprise AI doesn’t know it’s missing provides a deeper view of these dynamics, along with practical perspectives on how organizations are responding.
Explore the full Content unlocked report to see how leading organizations are addressing these challenges – and what it takes to turn AI-driven content into something that works across markets.
Or, if you’re already seeing these issues in your own operations, talk to RWS about how to reduce rework, improve consistency and make your content perform globally.
Author
Emma Fisher
VP, Global Marketing
Leading RWS's global content strategy, Emma is driven by B2H insight, digital content and customer behavior trends, and content transformation strategies that elevate conversations with customers.
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