The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström® – Episode #788: Year-end Review with Greg Kihlström

Date: December 24, 2025
Host: Greg Kihlström
Theme: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, and CX—2025 Industry Review

Episode Overview

In this special solo episode, Greg Kihlström closes out 2025 by recapping key trends and insights from over 150 episodes, focusing on how marketing, technology, AI, and customer experience (CX) have evolved. Drawing on guest commentary and industry findings, Greg revisits the five most significant themes from the year—reflecting on the shift to agentic AI, the emergence of real-time data, the continued importance of human connection, composable technology architectures, and the rising bar for proactive, invisible CX. This "best of" look provides actionable lessons for marketing and CX leaders navigating today's rapid digital transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Shift from Automation to Agentic AI (02:18–04:09)

• Theme: AI is moving from being a simple automation tool to acting as a strategic partner—an "agent" making decisions and taking autonomous action.
• Insight:
  • Organizations are using AI beyond basic tasks ("write me a blog post") to support high-stakes decisions and even operate independently.
  • AI is now a "thought partner" in the boardroom and beyond.
• Notable Guest Quotes:
  • Greg Shove, Section:

    “Executives should treat AI as a strategic thought partner rather than just a tool… Role playing with AI before high stakes meetings can uncover blind spots and challenge biases.” (03:05)

  • Sid Banerjee, Medallia:

    “We're entering a post-dashboard era. AI agents will proactively tell leaders what to focus on and, in some cases, take necessary actions autonomously.” (03:23)

  • Robin Ross, Activate Insight:

    “Brands must prepare for a future where consumers deploy their own agents to research and purchase on their behalf.” (03:35)

• Greg’s Reflection:

  “This shifts the marketing dynamic from influencing a human to ensuring a brand is agent ready and can communicate value to a machine.” (03:51)

2. From Static Audience Segments to Real-Time Signals (04:09–05:42)

• Theme: Traditional demographic segmentation is giving way to real-time behavioral signals to drive customer communication.
• Insight:
  • Marketers are expected to react to customers’ current behavior (“what a customer is doing right now”) over historical data.
  • Dynamic personalization and intent are preferred over static identity segmentation.
• Notable Guest Quotes:
  • Michelle Bukoff Bajik, Sitecore:

    “It’s a critical reframe: moving from understanding the customer as a static identity or segment to understanding dynamic intent or signals.” (04:47)

  • Heidi Bullock, Telium:

    “Real-time data is often more valuable than historical data… a customer's behavior in the last 30 seconds can be more predictive of immediate needs than even 10 years of purchase history.” (05:08)

  • Raj DeDatta, Bloomreach:

    “In the new era of loyalty, personalization has replaced traditional perks as the primary driver—the expectation is that the brand anticipates needs rather than rewarding past transactions.” (05:26)

3. The Human-in-the-Loop Paradox (05:42–07:06)

• Theme: Amidst soaring AI adoption, brand trust and distinctiveness depend more than ever on authentic human connection, empathy, and creativity.
• Insight:
  • “AI slop” makes genuine human brand moments a critical differentiator.
  • Authentic stories and unscripted empathy create “tribal fandom” that tech cannot replicate.
• Notable Guest Quotes:
  • Lindsay Irvine, Square:

    “You cannot AI your way to real brand connection; you need to spotlight real human stories within the community.” (06:10)

  • Ken Hughes:

    “Despite the tech stack, brands must fight for emotional heart space… unscripted human empathy is what builds tribal fandom, something AI simply can’t replicate.” (06:30)

  • Robbie Ferrara, Monday.com:

    “While B2B marketing is traditionally logical and risk-averse, breaking through the noise requires emotional resonance and creativity that challenges convention.” (07:01)

4. Data Unification and Composable Architectures (09:28–11:02)

• Theme: The shift from monolithic marketing clouds to “composable architectures” unifying data—while allowing best-of-breed tools for flexibility and speed.
• Insight:
  • AI demands pristine and accessible data.
  • Integration, not centralization, is the big challenge.
  • Composable content and data systems empower marketers and accelerate go-to-market efforts.
• Notable Guest Quotes:
  • Stephen Stouffer, Trey AI:

    “The integration layer is the single biggest blocker to AI adoption… an integration-first mindset is needed because point solutions fail when multiple departments try to use them.” (10:13)

  • Ravi Shankar, Denodo:

    “A logical approach to data management—connecting to data where it lives rather than moving it—allows faster access to insights without ETL delays.” (10:26)

  • Mark Wheeler, Storyblok:

    “Composable, API-first CMS lets marketers bypass developer tickets and instantly publish content across channels, meeting the demands of modern commerce.” (10:46)

5. Proactive but Invisible Customer Experiences (11:02–13:29)

• Theme: The gold standard for CX is now predictive and invisible—solving customer problems before they arise, with seamless experiences.
• Insight:
  • Brands are expected to solve issues proactively, without the customer having to ask.
  • Invisible transactions (e.g., Uber) and proactive service (e.g., auto-suggested downgrades) deepen trust and loyalty, even if they impact short-term revenue.
  • Performance (even at the millisecond level) is critical: slow is now as damaging as downtime.
• Notable Guest Quotes:
  • Peter Galvin, NMI:

    “The best payment experience is the one the customer never really saw—like Uber, where the transaction is almost invisible.” (11:46)

  • Tina Van Kalster, Telenet:

    “Our Click and Smile initiative proactively suggested downgrades or service changes to save customers money, building immense long-term loyalty and trust.” (11:54)

  • Gerardo Dada, Catchpoint:

    “Slow is the new down—53% of organizations now view poor performance as damaging as downtime. Milliseconds of latency can destroy brand perception as effectively as a total outage.” (12:12)

• Greg’s Metaphor:

  “Think of the modern enterprise marketing function less like a factory… and more like a jazz ensemble. The CMO’s job is not to script every note, but to ensure the musicians—your team and your AI agents—are listening, improvising, and playing in the same key.” (12:29–13:18)

Greg Kihlström’s Guidance on Staying Agile (13:31–14:27)

• Question to Self: "What do you do to stay agile in your role and how do you do it consistently?" (13:44)
• Greg’s Answer:

  “For me, I always try to stay curious and put myself in uncomfortable positions… If I’m too comfortable, I’m probably not pushing myself enough.” (13:48)
  “I try to not only keep up on the latest industry stuff, but read and listen to things I might not have normally wanted to do and push myself to learn.” (14:03)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “AI agents used by consumers… This shift to AI agents is just beginning.” – Greg Kihlström (04:06)
• “Humanity is the differentiator.” – Greg Kihlström (06:06)
• “Unified data strategy, agility, and human creativity are all increasingly important, just as AI agents and whatever comes next will be as well.” – Greg Kihlström (13:21)

Timestamps

• 00:10 – Greg welcomes listeners, outlines episode focus
• 02:18 – Theme 1: Automation → Agentic AI
• 04:09 – Theme 2: Real-time signals > static segments
• 05:42 – Theme 3: The Human-in-the-Loop paradox
• 09:28 – Theme 4: Data unification/composable architectures
• 11:02 – Theme 5: Proactive/invisible CX
• 13:31 – Audience Q&A: Staying agile
• 14:27 – Closing gratitude and looking ahead

Conclusion

Greg’s year-end review distills complex trends into five actionable themes: the rise of agentic AI, real-time data-driven marketing, the power of authentic human connection, flexible and unified technology ecosystems, and the new bar of invisible, proactive CX. For leaders in marketing and customer experience, 2025 was a year of transformation—and, as Greg reminds us, curiosity and discomfort are essential to staying agile in the face of whatever 2026 brings.