By Rosie Gentile, EVP, Customer Experience and Engagement Strategy & Innovation

Reimagining Possibilities in the Age of AI

Dreamforce 2025 made one thing clear: the future of marketing isn’t about reaching more people across more channels; it’s about reaching them more meaningfully.

As AI reshapes how we connect, it’s easy to get seduced by the technology and the hype — especially with tools like no-code solutions promising to make everyone, from marketers to sales and operations teams, into experience engineers. Optimization is the easy part, the low hanging fruit. The real challenge lies in looking ahead and reimagining our approach to designing experiences that truly resonate with consumers.

The brands that endure will be those that fuse intelligence with imagination — transforming every interaction into a conversation and every touchpoint into an experience. Strategy sets the direction, creativity brings it to life, and together they are the ultimate differentiators for driving connection that matters.

Ahead of another year likely to be defined by continued evolution, here are some key takeaways from Dreamforce that will help guide the way:

The End of Push Communication

We’re witnessing the end of “do not reply.” The next frontier of marketing is two-way by design, where brands and consumers can interact fluidly in real time, on their own terms, and across any touchpoint.

Soon, consumers will be able to engage with chatbots embedded within communications, like email, with more personalized freedom. They can ask questions, get recommendations, make a purchase, or connect with a human, all within a single interface.   

For marketers, that demands a fundamental mindset shift: stop thinking in campaigns and start thinking in systems. Build journeys that move seamlessly across channels, departments, and moments, allowing for participation, not just persuasion. That’s where creativity now lives — in the design of dialogue.

Technology as a Catalyst for Connection

Technology isn’t replacing human connection. It’s scaling it. The best organizations are building adaptive ecosystems that can process, learn, and respond with precision and empathy.

But only 48% of marketers currently have fully integrated, cross-functional data for campaign building. The opportunity ahead is clear: unify your data, remove silos, and create systems that serve both speed and substance.

Because in the rush to automate, the most powerful advantage remains distinctly human — context, judgment, and care.

What Hasn’t Changed

For all the transformation, the fundamentals still hold true. Data is still king. Trust is still the ultimate currency. And creativity is still the most powerful economic multiplier a brand can invest in.

Consumers have long assessed brands not just by what they sell but by the experiences they deliver, and the connection they forge. In fact, 80% of consumers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products. This is a creative challenge, not just a technological one.

Ultimately, the brands that succeed will be those that respect the fundamentals while embracing the opportunities innovation provides. They will anticipate needs rather than simply responding, and leverage creativity to reimagine what’s possible. This will be what anchors us as we shape the next chapter of connection.

Creativity in Overlooked Spaces: The Next Frontier

As automation expands, the role of strategy and creativity only grows. The opportunity now is to unleash creativity in overlooked spaces and to reimagine every brand behavior, every interface, every micro-interaction. The most enduring brands will be those that think beyond what’s traditionally possible and build experiences that feel both intelligent and alive.

For years, the narrative has been focused on the fact that consumer expectations are evolving, and they now expect connected, omnichannel experiences and instant, personalized responses. Technology may be enabling this level of connectivity and fluidity, but operating within an adaptive ecosystem requires a strategy. Agencies can play a unique role in this new landscape by architecting the desired experience, determining which levers to pull and when, knowing when to course correct or evolve, and most importantly, ensuring the experience drives brand distinctiveness.

A Constant Evolution

Customer connection has never been more complex or more full of possibility. At this year’s Dreamforce, one idea rose above the noise: the future belongs to brands that can transform every interaction into a conversation. Not a campaign. Not a transaction. A living dialogue.

At FCB, we call this mindset Never Finished: constantly evolving, experimenting, and finding new ways to connect meaningfully with our clients’ customers. The technology will change, and the expectations will rise. But the mission stays the same: build brands that last by creating experiences that matter.