Watch: How can real-time customer engagement drive conversations across gaming, finance and travel?
As user expectations continue to evolve at speed, real-time customer engagement has become a defining factor for brands operating in highly competitive digital industries. In a conversation with SiGMA News reporter Cyrielle Delmans, Janette Zhou, Marketing Manager at EngageLab, shares how real-time communication is reshaping engagement strategies across gaming, finance, media and travel and why timing, relevance and trust now matter more than ever.
EngageLab positions itself as a customer engagement engine designed to turn fleeting user intent into meaningful action. As Zhou explains, while each industry has its own behaviours and benchmarks, a shared challenge cuts across all of them, “The single biggest challenge we see is how to convert user intention into immediate or high-value action,” she says.
Turning moments into momentum
In sectors like finance, that immediate action might be completing an application. However, in iGaming, the stakes are even higher. “The window to capture a player’s interest and drive a deposit is incredibly small and competitive,” Zhou notes. That reality has shaped EngageLab’s entire marketing and product philosophy.
Rather than focusing on individual channels, the platform enables brands to orchestrate automated, multi-step user journeys that respond in real time to behaviour. A campaign might begin with a website push notification announcing a new game. If the user does not engage, the system can automatically trigger a personalised follow-up via WhatsApp, before closing the loop with a tailored email recap. “Our priority isn’t just to provide channels. It’s to provide a platform that creates high-impact moments”, Zhou explains.
Simple and commercial solutions
With almost every tech solution claiming to be real-time, Zhou is clear that not all innovation is worth pursuing. For EngageLab, the filter is simple and commercial, “Does it really solve a problem that directly impacts revenue, and can it deliver that solution reliably every single time?” she asks.
What qualifies as real-time also varies by sector. A five-second delay in finance or gaming can mean lost revenue, while other industries may tolerate longer response times. Zhou argues that the key is understanding which moments matter most to the user and optimising around them.
“Ultimately, the best real-time technologies are the ones you don’t even notice. They just work seamlessly”, she says. Moreover, when it comes to retention, Zhou believes many operators focus too heavily on surface-level metrics such as daily active users or first deposits. Instead, she points to what EngageLab calls the “first key action completion rate”.
“The biggest drop-off point isn’t always registration. It’s when users fail to experience the core value, whether that’s finishing a tutorial or engaging with the product meaningfully,” she explains. By identifying and supporting users at these early friction points through automated interventions, brands can significantly improve long-term retention.
Local trust, global scale
Operating across regions has taught EngageLab a crucial lesson that localisation is not just about language, “Channel strategy is the localisation strategy,” Zhou says.
A campaign delivered by email in Europe may need to run through WhatsApp in Brazil or app push notifications in Southeast Asia. EngageLab enables operators to design a single global journey while applying local channel rules, balancing consistency with cultural relevance.
This flexibility becomes even more important in regulated industries. Zhou stresses that compliance is non-negotiable. “Compliance is the foundation of player trust,” she says, highlighting EngageLab’s certified, security-first infrastructure combined with hyper-segmented, jurisdiction-aware messaging.
AI-powered and human-led
Zhou sees a clear shift in the future from one-way broadcasting to real-time, two-way conversations. To meet rising expectations for instant support without ballooning costs, EngageLab is preparing to launch LifeDesk, its AI-driven customer service solution.“LifeDesk is built on a powerful synergy between AI and human agents,” Zhou explains. AI handles routine queries around the clock, while complex or sensitive issues are seamlessly escalated to human support. “This blend of AI speed with human empathy is the future,” she concludes, a future where real-time engagement drives conversations and builds lasting relationships.
For more industry insights and expert-led conversations surrounding customer engagement, check out SiGMA’s global calendar for 2026 to ensure you don’t miss the world’s leading gaming, tech and digital innovation summits.
