2026 Agenda

RFPs, consolidations, and tool sunsets can take over a team’s time. This workshop explores how peers are evaluating platforms, phasing migrations, and managing adoption fatigue. We’ll talk about aligning tool decisions with governance and training, setting realistic rollout timelines, and defining success metrics before contracts are signed.

Executives want clarity, not dashboards. This discussion focuses on how teams are building credible, simple stories that link social activity to awareness, consideration, and conversion. We’ll look at ways to balance qualitative insights with quant metrics, simplify reporting, and earn leadership confidence without relying on vanity metrics.

Even the most global brands struggle to balance control and creativity. This workshop explores how teams are giving regions autonomy while protecting reputation and efficiency. We’ll discuss governance tiers, shared libraries, and review frameworks that enable local storytelling without eroding brand standards.

A Center of Excellence only works if it has influence. This session looks at how COE models are evolving to drive consistency, upskill regions, and prove value across the organization. We’ll talk about how leaders are modernizing COEs to act more like internal consultants and accelerators — especially as budgets and tech stacks shift.

What experiments are brands running to influence AI-driven discovery — and what early signals are emerging from those tests? In this session, we’ll compare the approaches our teams are taking to experiment with AEO, GEO, and related discovery strategies across content, structure, and distribution.

You’ll discuss:

• The experiments your teams are currently running to influence AI answers
• Early signals or directional insights emerging from those tests
• How teams are structuring experimentation and deciding what to test next

When SEO, AEO, and GEO touches so many parts of the enterprise, what role does team and org structure play in enabling or hindering effective functioning? In this session, we will explore early team and org structure designs our brands are implementing and compare the pros and cons of those structures.

You’ll discuss:

• Where responsibility for AEO work currently sits inside your organization
• What governance or mandates are beginning to emerge
• How search and discovery swim lanes are being outlined and defined across marketing and communications functions

Listening programs are moving from dashboards to decision-making tools. In this workshop, we’ll talk about how members are refining taxonomies, integrating insights across departments, and using AI to extract meaning from noise. We’ll focus on how listening is moving closer to consumer research — and what that means for staffing, reporting, and strategy.

Social care is often the first and most visible touchpoint of brand trust. This workshop looks at how enterprise teams are elevating care as a marketing advantage — through better routing, unified dashboards, and agent empowerment. We’ll also talk about managing burnout, measuring CX outcomes, and strengthening credibility with leadership.

Reactive content can’t wait on old approval ladders. This session explores how teams are modernizing workflows, pre-approving creative assets, and building scalable templates for “always-on” content production. We’ll also talk about balancing risk management with speed, and what governance looks like when real time is the default.

Influencer work in regulated industries takes precision. This session focuses on briefing models, legal workflows, and disclosure structures that reduce rework and risk. We’ll talk about how peers balance creative freedom with compliance and use post-campaign reviews to strengthen both policies and partnerships.

How are you adjusting content creation workflows to account for AI-driven discovery systems? In this session, we’ll explore strategies for adapting editorial workflows to support AEO, GEO, and AIO.

You’ll discuss:

• If and how modular content, thought leadership, structured knowledge pages, and scalable FAQ frameworks are working for our brands
• New content formats or structures your teams are testing
• How search, editorial, and brand teams are collaborating on these changes

When AI-generated answers surface outdated, incomplete, or incorrect information about your brand, how should teams respond? In this session, we’ll compare how organizations are monitoring inaccurate AI responses and determining when intervention is warranted.

You’ll discuss:

• How teams are identifying inaccurate or misleading AI responses
• When it makes sense to intervene — and when it doesn’t
• How communications, digital, and legal teams are coordinating responses

Good governance can empower creativity — or slow it down. This discussion focuses on practical frameworks for decision rights, escalation ladders, and pre-approved responses that protect the brand without creating bottlenecks. We’ll share examples of governance documentation that enables speed and discuss how to maintain buy-in after rollout.

As more brands lean on leader and employee voices to tell their story, alignment has never mattered more. This session explores how teams are connecting corporate messaging, executive visibility, and employee advocacy under one system — without adding layers of approval. We’ll dig into frameworks that scale participation safely, keep tone consistent, and measure business value across audiences.

Social’s scope keeps growing, even when headcount doesn’t. How are teams staying effective as roles, tech, and expectations evolve? We’ll look at models that balance specialist depth and generalist flexibility, when to centralize versus embed, and how automation and AI are reshaping daily work.

Creator fees are climbing, expectations are rising, and measurement is still a challenge. This session takes a candid look at what’s working — from smarter briefs and mid-tier partnerships to performance-based compensation. We’ll also talk about balancing authenticity with brand safety and setting clear expectations with stakeholders.

How are brands monitoring how they appear in AI-generated responses? As AI interfaces become a new discovery layer, teams are developing new ways to track brand visibility and identify patterns across answer engines. In this session, we’ll compare the tools, workflows, and monitoring approaches our teams are using today.

You’ll discuss:

• How your teams are monitoring AI answers about your brand
• Tools, dashboards, and workflows used to track AI visibility
• What signals or indicators are proving useful so far

As brands experiment with influencing AI-driven discovery, what governance considerations should be in place? Teams are beginning to encounter new questions around risk, transparency, and responsible engagement across knowledge sources and community platforms. In this session, we’ll compare how organizations are establishing guardrails around this work.

You’ll discuss:

• Governance considerations around influencing AI discovery systems
• Organizational policies for engaging with knowledge sources and community platforms
• How teams are balancing experimentation with risk management

With attribution getting harder, paid measurement needs a rethink. This workshop looks at how teams are adapting to signal loss — using MMM, incrementality, and qualitative testing to paint a fuller picture of performance. We’ll also discuss how leaders communicate results upstream when data gaps persist.

Communities often surface early signals — if you know how to listen. This discussion explores how teams are collecting, classifying, and sharing community insights across marketing, product, and CX. We’ll talk about how teams are turning community feedback into business intelligence that drives decisions.

As budgets tighten, the brand–agency equation is shifting. This session explores how teams are rethinking scopes, collaboration models, and reporting expectations to get more value from agency partnerships. We’ll compare what’s working, what’s changing, and when it makes sense to bring work back in-house.

Data storytelling is everyone’s job now. This session focuses on how leaders are building data literacy across creative, care, and strategy teams — helping everyone interpret numbers, not just display them. We’ll talk about training approaches, simplifying dashboards, and making data part of everyday planning.

Where do AI systems appear to be sourcing information about our brands? As answer engines synthesize information from across the web, many teams are discovering that the signals shaping AI responses extend far beyond owned channels. In this session, we’ll compare what our brands are seeing across platforms and how those observations are shaping early strategy.

You’ll discuss:

• Where AI tools appear to be sourcing information about your brand today
• The role of owned content, earned media, Wikipedia, Reddit, and other sources
• Surprising or unexpected signals influencing AI-generated answers

If AI systems prioritize sources they perceive as authoritative, how should brands think about building credibility in this environment? In this session, we’ll explore how organizations are strengthening authority signals across expert voices, earned media, and trusted third-party sources that increasingly shape AI answers.

You’ll discuss:

• How brands are building credibility beyond owned channels
• The role of expert voices, media coverage, and community platforms in AI answers
• Strategies teams are exploring to strengthen authority signals