Global Relay Data Insights 2025/26: What 12,000 Financial Institutions Reveal About AI, Messaging, and Compliance

The Operator’s Summary

What are the key communication trends in 2025–2026?

ChatGPT capture up ~2,900% year-over-year

WhatsApp capture up 36% YoY (after a 258% jump prior)

Apple Messages capture up 114% YoY

33% of firms now capture social media channels

Email (89%), LinkedIn (23%), and Microsoft Teams (23%) remain dominant

X (Twitter) capture continues to decline (-3% YoY)

(Based on analysis of 12,000+ global financial institutions)

Trust is no longer built in messaging. It is enforced through capture

The report is framed around compliance—recordkeeping, surveillance, regulation.

But the underlying signal is more structural:

In regulated environments, trust is no longer inferred from communication. It is derived from the ability to capture, store, and reconstruct it.

Not narrative. Not positioning. Recorded communication as evidence.

1) The expansion of communication is outpacing traditional systems

From the chart on page 3, traditional channels still dominate:

Email: 89%

LinkedIn personal accounts: 23%

Microsoft Teams: 23%

But that’s only half the story.

The faster signal sits in what’s growing:

ChatGPT: ~2,900% increase

TikTok: ~2,000% increase

WhatsApp: 36% increase

Apple Messages: 114% increase

This is not channel diversification.

It is communication surface area expanding faster than governance systems were designed for.

2) Communication is no longer centralized—it is everywhere

The report shows that firms are now capturing:

social media

messaging apps

AI tools

internal platforms

personal accounts

Even within social:

33% of firms capture social media channels

And LinkedIn itself is splitting:

Personal accounts plateauing

Company page capture increasing

This reflects a structural shift:

Communication is no longer happening in controlled environments. It is happening across fragmented, semi-controlled, and off-channel spaces.

3) Regulation is driving behavior—not technology

The report is explicit on this.

Across multiple sections:

Regulatory fines and enforcement drive capture decisions

Marketing rules drive LinkedIn and social capture

Off-channel enforcement drives WhatsApp monitoring

Examples:

SEC fines for WhatsApp and off-channel communication failures

FCA guidance on social media promotions

Crackdowns on “finfluencers” and misleading content

This leads to a clear pattern:

Firms do not adopt communication capture because of innovation. They adopt it because of enforcement.

4) Off-channel communication is now the central risk

The WhatsApp data makes this explicit:

258% increase previously

Additional 36% growth in 2025

89% of captured WhatsApp data is from North America

At the same time:

40% of firms have banned or blocked WhatsApp

Yet usage persists

Employees shift to alternatives (e.g., Apple Messages → 114% increase)

This creates a recurring dynamic:

A channel becomes popular

Regulators intervene

Firms attempt control

Communication shifts elsewhere

The system doesn’t stabilize.

It migrates.

5) AI is no longer adjacent to communication—it is part of it

The report makes this explicit on page 9:

ChatGPT is now a “certified business communication channel”

Used for:

emails
summaries
marketing content
customer support

49% of U.S. companies report using ChatGPT

92% of Fortune 500 use it in some form

And critically:

As AI becomes embedded in workflows, it becomes subject to recordkeeping rules

This is the inflection point.

AI is not just producing communication.

It is now regulated as communication.

6) Regional differences are driven by regulatory intensity

From the regional breakdown on page 7:

ChatGPT capture: 100% North America dominance

WhatsApp capture: 89% North America, 4% UK

This is not about adoption preference.

It reflects:

regulatory enforcement intensity

legal exposure

compliance expectations

Which means:

Geography determines how communication is governed—not just how it is used.

7) The system is moving toward total capture

The report outlines where this is heading:

Expansion of rules to crypto assets (U.S.)

Extension of misconduct monitoring to ~37,000 additional firms (UK)

Requirement for complete repositories of all communication data

And operationally:

Rise in custom connectors (+12%) to capture internal AI tools

Need to archive:

AI-generated content
internal assistants
cross-platform communication

The direction is clear:

Partial visibility is no longer acceptable. Systems are moving toward full communication capture.

8) What this means in practice

If you decode the report operationally, five layers emerge.

Not as theory—but as necessity.

1. Channel coverage

Every communication channel must be captured

2. Data integrity

Captured data must be complete, searchable, and auditable

3. Regulatory alignment

Systems must map to jurisdiction-specific rules

4. Behavioral visibility

Off-channel activity must be monitored

5. System integration

AI tools, messaging apps, and platforms must connect into one archive

These are not strategic choices.

They are compliance requirements.

Final Takeaway: Trust is becoming reconstructable

The report is built around compliance infrastructure.

But its deeper implication is this:

Trust in regulated industries is no longer based on what was said. It is based on what can be proven to have been said.

Because:

communication is fragmented

AI is generating content

channels are multiplying

regulation is tightening

The only stable layer is: the ability to reconstruct communication across time, channels, and systems.

That is what firms are building toward.

Not better messaging.

Not better storytelling.

Better evidence.