Organizations face mounting pressure to manage compliance across an ever-expanding landscape of collaboration platforms, messaging apps, and AI-driven tools.
New research from Metrigy, alongside insight from Global Relay, highlights where organizations are most exposed and what steps UC leaders must take to stay ahead in 2026.
According to the study, over 68 percent of organizations say voice remains an essential channel, illustrating that compliance challenges aren’t limited to messaging and AI – they span every communication modality.
As unified communications evolve, businesses are adopting AI-driven transcription, summarization, and automated content creation, all of which increase the volume of regulated information that must be monitored and retained.
Another key trend observed is the rapid growth of communication channels within organizations.
Tim Ward, Product Marketing Specialist at Global Relay, explains: “Employees are constantly hopping between approved apps and unsanctioned platforms.”
“If you don’t provide compliant solutions that integrate into their workflow, they’ll find their own alternatives.”
He highlights that this movement isn’t just limited to messaging apps.
Collaboration platforms now include AI assistants, automated meeting transcription, and content summarization, all of which generate regulated information that must be monitored and retained.
Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, emphasizes that this proliferation of tools creates new supervisory challenges.
“Organizations are mostly concerned now about how they capture AI-generated output – from meeting transcripts and summaries of messages to documents, presentations, and even graphics.”
The pace at which AI is embedded in workflows often outstrips the speed of compliance preparation. Organizations need to plan for accuracy, classification, and retention of this content before deployment, rather than retrofitting solutions afterward.
Balancing Compliance and Productivity
Overly restrictive policies may seem like a safe option, but they often backfire. Employees under time pressure or facing tight deadlines may circumvent restricted tools, introducing potential data leakage and security breaches.
Ward points out that technology alone isn’t sufficient:
“You can have the right platforms in place, but if employees don’t understand why policies exist or the risks of going off channel, they’ll find workarounds. Continuous education is critical.”
Organizations that succeed in 2026 will focus on both technology and the human element. Providing intuitive, compliant tools integrated into daily workflows reduces the likelihood of off-channel communication. This approach also improves user adoption and supports productivity, even in heavily regulated industries.
Lazar adds that companies should not only monitor usage but also engage employees proactively:
“Explaining the consequences of non-compliance for the firm, its clients, and the individual helps employees make better decisions in high-pressure situations.”
This balanced strategy ensures that compliance does not come at the expense of collaboration.
AI and Voice: New Frontiers of Risk
Artificial intelligence is both a productivity enabler and a compliance headache. As AI generates transcripts, summaries, and presentations automatically, organizations must ensure that content is captured and classified accurately.
