Global Relay Data Insights: Communication Capture Trends in 2024/25

How was the 2024/25 communication capture data produced?

Global Relay analyzed communication capture data across 12,000 Global Relay accounts representing regulated financial services firms, including banks, broker-dealers, fund managers, and other regulated organizations.

The report focuses on which communication channels firms were capturing and how those priorities changed between September 2023 and September 2024.

Which communication channels were most commonly captured?

Traditional business channels remained dominant, with email, LinkedIn, Instant Bloomberg, Microsoft Teams, and Global Relay App among the most commonly captured sources.

The data also shows firms expanding beyond established channels as mobile, social, video, and emerging AI-based communications became more relevant to compliance programs.

• 89% of sampled firms captured email
• 28% captured communications from personal LinkedIn accounts
• 22% captured Instant Bloomberg
• 21% captured Microsoft Teams, up 13% year on year
• 20% captured Global Relay App, up 12% year on year

Which communication channels saw the biggest changes?

Some of the largest year-on-year movements came from channels outside the traditional top tier. WhatsApp capture rose from 1.2% of sampled accounts in 2023 to 4.3% in 2024.

The report also records increased capture of Zoom, Instagram corporate accounts, and YouTube, suggesting firms were broadening their capture strategies as business communication spread across more platforms.

How is social media capture changing?

Social media is becoming a more established part of financial-services recordkeeping.

Across the sample, 33% of firms captured at least one social media channel.

The regional split was pronounced:

• 38% of U.S. firms captured social media communications
• 9% of U.K. firms captured social media communications

The report also found a 14% increase in U.S. firms capturing social media and corporate website content following implementation of the SEC Marketing Rule.

What does the data show about generative AI?

Between September 2023 and September 2024, Global Relay recorded a 400% increase in financial institutions looking to capture and archive interactions with generative AI, including ChatGPT.

The report connects this emerging requirement with maintaining audit trails, managing data leakage and client-confidentiality risks, and understanding how employees are using AI tools within business workflows.

What should firms take from the 2024/25 trends?

The data points to a broader communications compliance perimeter.

Email and established financial messaging remain central, but firms are increasingly considering mobile messaging, social media, collaboration tools, generative AI, and ephemeral communications as part of recordkeeping and surveillance.

The direction of travel is toward more complete capture across the channels employees actually use.

Explore the full report

Read the full Global Relay Data Insights report for the complete channel rankings, U.S. versus U.K. comparisons, industry-level capture patterns, and analysis of the communications trends shaping recordkeeping and surveillance priorities.