2026 Agenda

RFPs, consolidations, tool sunsets, and new integrations can quickly take over a team’s time. This workshop explores how peers are evaluating platforms, prioritizing integrations, phasing migrations, and managing adoption fatigue. We’ll discuss how teams decide which systems should connect, align technology decisions with governance and training, set realistic rollout timelines, and define 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

How are you integrating AI-driven search into the workflows that already exist across your organization? In this session, we’ll explore how brands are adapting cross-functional processes, responsibilities, and handoffs to support AEO.

You’ll discuss:

• Where AEO is being integrated into content, SEO, web, analytics, agency, and approval workflows
• How teams are prioritizing which AEO recommendations get implemented first
• What’s changing in how search, editorial, brand, web, and other partners collaborate on this work

When a crisis threatens brand reputation, listening becomes a critical decision-making tool. In this workshop, we’ll explore how members track conversations in real time, combine social listening data with manual monitoring, and use AI to analyze sentiment at scale. We’ll focus on how teams turn qualitative and quantitative signals into communications strategies — and what that means for response planning, stakeholder alignment, and protecting trust.

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.

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

As many teams are still working to understand how AEO performance should be measured, there are more questions than answers about which signals are useful, reliable, or worth reporting. In this session, Lou DeCosmo, Senior Director, Corporate Brand Reputation Strategy and Insights at PepsiCo, will share insights on their current approach to AEO measurement before opening a broader discussion on how brands are experimenting with visibility tracking, accuracy checks, performance signals, and internal reporting as the space continues to evolve.

You’ll discuss:

• How teams are measuring AEO performance
• Which signals and KPIs feel reliable and consistent
• How organizations are using measurement to identify optimization opportunities—not just report results
• How organizations are approaching reporting as measurement expectations evolve, including implications for emerging AI-driven search and commerce experiences

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.

As paid advertising enters the fray of AI-driven search and answer experiences, many teams are still trying to understand what is possible, what can be measured, and how this works with broader AEO and paid media strategies. In this session, Vice President of Growth Marketing – Search and Affiliate at Synchrony, Isabel Nie will lead a discussion around paid media in AI search — from testing opportunities and reporting limitations to the unclear relationship between paid placements and organic visibility.

• Learnings from early paid placements in LLMs and AI-driven search experiences (ie. Ads in AI Mode, ChatGPT Ads)
• Where measurement, reporting, and attribution remain unclear
• How paid capabilities compliment the broader AEO, organic visibility, and paid media strategies

As brand discovery increasingly happens beyond owned channels, earned and paid teams must work together to shape a consistent, credible presence across the broader digital ecosystem. Join Splinter Knight, Senior Managing Editor at Gen, for a candid discussion on how organizations are aligning earned media and paid amplification to strengthen offsite brand positioning. Together, we’ll explore how teams can coordinate planning, extend credible third-party coverage, and reinforce brand visibility and reputation.

You’ll discuss:

How earned and paid teams are aligning priorities and messaging
Where paid amplification can extend the impact of earned coverage
What workflows support stronger cross-functional collaboration

How are teams finding new ways to improve paid social performance with tighter budgets and imperfect attribution? Join Katie Jenks, Director of Social Media at Robert Half, for a peer-led conversation on how organic learnings and stronger collaboration can make paid social work harder. Together, we’ll compare how teams are using high-performing organic creative in paid, bringing a paid-media mindset to creator campaigns, and testing new approaches to demonstrate impact when traditional attribution falls short.

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 Reddit becomes an increasingly important channel for brands, how are social teams building credibility and driving results? Join fellow social media leaders to compare what’s working across paid, owned, and community engagement strategies, from branded subreddits and authentic participation to measuring success on a platform built on trust.

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.

As AI-driven discovery changes how information is surfaced and synthesized, generic “help” content may no longer be enough to stand out. Join Brad Perry, Director of Content and Search Strategy at CarMax, in a discussion on how we’re creating “information gain” content—original expertise, research, customer insights, tools, and perspectives that add something new and are more likely to earn mentions and citations.

You’ll discuss:

• Moving beyond generic help content toward original insights, research, tools, and perspectives
• Identifying where your brand has credible expertise or information others cannot easily reproduce
• Balancing customer usefulness, brand relevance, and the potential to earn mentions or citations
• Building the internal partnerships and content processes needed to produce differentiated content consistently

As AI-driven search becomes a bigger priority, how are brands creating guardrails for teams across the business? Business units, regions, agencies, and partner teams may all be eager to act, but moving too quickly or inconsistently can create new risks for brand accuracy, source quality, compliance, and long-term AEO outcomes. Join Cristal Xavier-Cohen, Manager of SEO/AEO at GAF, for a candid discussion on how organizations are setting boundaries, review processes, and shared expectations for this work.

You’ll discuss:

• How teams are preventing disconnected AEO efforts across business units, regions, agencies, and partner teams
• How brands are setting expectations for quality, consistency, and discoverability
• What review, approval, or escalation paths help teams move responsibly without stalling progress