Editorial
The Gist
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Foundations first. AI won’t fix bad data or disjointed teams. Leaders stress that strategy, clean data and alignment come before any AI rollout.
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Humans still matter. AI can assist, but creativity, judgment, and oversight remain critical. Companies relying solely on automation risk losing authenticity.
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AI gets practical. Businesses are applying AI to specific use cases, from customer service to content creation, with a focus on measurable impact.
While Adobe Summit's flashy AI announcements captured headlines last month in Las Vegas, conversations with over 25 industry leaders revealed a different focus. That was the critical importance of getting fundamentals right before embracing advanced technology.
In the midst of evolving AI trends, executives from Adobe, along with partners like Infosys and Code & Theory, joined customers such as Cox Communications and Marriott International to discuss AI success. They emphasized the importance of solid strategy, clean data, C-suite collaboration and practical implementation as essential prerequisites.
Table of Contents
- Adobe's AI Evolution: Agents with Purpose
- From Hype to Real-World Execution
- The Human Element Remains Essential
- Strong Data and Cross-Team Alignment Fuel AI Success
- Smarter Personalization and the Return of Omnichannel
- Maintaining Brand Identity
- Key AI Trends Shaping Business Strategy
Adobe's AI Evolution: Agents with Purpose
Adobe unveiled purpose-built AI agents across its product ecosystem, designed to accelerate workflows and enhance customer experiences. The customer-facing "brand concierge" stood out, aimed at streamlining shopping experiences and information retrieval. Adobe's strategic approach focuses these agents on specific product functions rather than deploying general-purpose AI, and it prioritizes reliability and controlled implementation.
While demos showed potential, technical details on agent functionality, extensibility and real-world performance metrics remain limited. The technology currently functions primarily as assistive rather than fully autonomous, and it requires marketers "in the driver's seat."
Related Article: Adobe Goes All-In on AI Agents at This Year's Summit
From Hype to Real-World Execution
Industry leaders were unequivocal that AI represents genuine transformation, not temporary hype.
Michael Treff, CEO of Code and Theory, said, "Anyone who says hype, I would not take their opinion seriously." AI trends show companies using the technology differently. Some use it for cost reduction, others for operational efficiency, and others for enhanced customer experiences.
Andres Glusman, CEO of DoWhatWorks, said 2025 will be the year when AI moves "from hype to reality." This will force organizations to confront "the brutal, ugly truth about how hard it will be and what you need to do to get there." This reality check highlights a crucial insight that AI cannot resolve fundamental issues like legacy technology debt or disorganized data structures. Organizations must establish robust data foundations first.
Related Article: Top AI Experts Agree: It’s Time to Rethink the Roadmap
The Human Element Remains Essential
Despite technological advances, the human factor emerged repeatedly as critical for AI success.
Farah Aslam, CEO of maru.ai, said, "For AI to be successful, it needs human adoption. With any technology, the best thing to put in place is people, process and platform. It's not just one thing alone."
This principle extends to creative work.
Adriana Rubio, managing director at Code and Theory, said AI is "a copilot" that "will never replace human creativity."
Bennie Boone of HGA acknowledged AI's potential for content creation but stressed the necessity of human oversight. "You'll still need people to help vet and control the content being produced,” he said.
Glusman highlighted AI's ability to help less experienced staff "punch above their weight class" while emphasizing that human judgment remains irreplaceable. "The value of humans is the ability to show judgment ... use the data, use the AI as opposed to being used by the AI,” he said.
Related Article: AI in Customer Experience Works Best With a Human Heart
Strong Data and Cross-Team Alignment Fuel AI Success
A recurring theme was that advanced technology delivers limited value without organizational fundamentals. Treff said, "It is impossible now to separate the world of technology from the world of communications and the world's products and services." The siloed approach of separate departmental decisions has become obsolete. "The world now is the C-suite coming together to solve big organizational and business challenges ... synthesize that technology through the consumer experience," Treff said.
David Parker of Cox Communications identified persistent data silos as a critical obstacle, advocating for "democratizing data" and cross-functional collaboration to drive efficiency.
Tony Ferrara of Wrench Group directly connected data issues to AI implementation challenges: "Data silos and data quality are usually the big issues." The solution involves cross-functional teams building flexible data foundations aligned with business objectives.
Hillary Cook of Marriott International illustrated this principle powerfully in her keynote, describing Marriott's meticulous work defining data structures and processes across departments. Her assertion that "Taxonomy is sexy" underscored how organized data forms the essential foundation for both personalization and AI implementation.
Smarter Personalization and the Return of Omnichannel
While perfect one-to-one personalization remains an industry talking point, practical approaches typically target more achievable goals. Said Parker, "One-to-many with hyper-focused segments tends to work better than trying to get all the way down to one-to-one." He questioned the ROI of pursuing marginal gains. "If you can get that last drop out of the lemon, does it really make sense to put in that much effort?" he said.
He also highlighted the resurgence of omnichannel strategy, which entails creating seamless experiences across all customer touchpoints. "Omnichannel was a discussion years ago... I truly think that the omnichannel experience is gonna be where the evolution goes," he said, noting AI's potential as an enabler for this approach.
Related Article: AI Agents, Silo Smashing and the Myth of 1:1 Personalization
Maintaining Brand Identity
As AI democratizes content creation, distinctive brand voice becomes increasingly crucial. JR Scott of Edwards Lifesciences said consistency is important. "[By] having a strong brand and then having the people, templates and guidelines in place, your company is able to present itself and speak with one voice, one brand, one face,” he said.
Casey Hill, CMO at DoWhatWorks, reinforced this view, stating that brands must build community through authentic conversations with a clear editorial voice and personal narrative. "The brands that stay very high level will lose. Those that feature personal stories will continue to perform better because it's much harder to emulate with just a basic AI engine,” he said.
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Key AI Trends Shaping Business Strategy
For CX professionals navigating this complex landscape, here are several clear imperatives:
- AI trends reinforce the need to audit your data foundation before significant AI investment and foster C-suite alignment around customer experience goals.
- Develop clear governance models for AI-human collaboration and prioritize brand authenticity as AI makes content creation easier.
- Finally, build cross-functional teams that break down traditional silos.
Organizations that establish these fundamentals while strategically adopting new technologies will be best positioned to deliver genuinely effective customer experiences. As Hillary Cook aptly noted, the future isn't simply happening to us; "We are making the future."
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