Mark from MSQ DX talked about how the future for digital agencies is all about change management

Day two in Gotham brought the gravitas at the CMS Experts NYC edition, held at Vimeo’s luxe Manhattan digs.

While AI visibility was still a recurring theme, we were treated to some fascinating and thought provoking presentations that spurred debate on everything from evolving revenue models to the role of AgenticOps.

Here’s what stood out:

✅ Michelle Savage of PayPal shared how her content design teams are embracing Claude in a big way - and how that transformation happened at a cultural level. She also shared a killer app that’s highlighting the gaps for machine-reviewed content.

✅ Katie Del Angel of The Walt Disney Company, who shared some of her journey to build a CMS, zeroed in on “the three things they don’t tell you about.” Despite being in a corporate Goliath, she reflected on the “startup-y” nature of an in-house innovation practice. As she observed, there’s still room to be a hero amidst the chaos.

✅ Mark Starling of MSQ DX gave a compelling talk on change management as a key strategy, and how it served his agency when rolling out intelligence across its global organization. As he said:

Speed is easy. Direction is hard

✅ Patrick Kent of Conductor carried the AI visibility water via timely data about the state of search - and how bot activity is becoming a minefield of mayhem. He shared how Conductor’s AgentStack, powered by its data moat, is answering the boardroom urgency around AEO. A solid reminder: AI sentiment is key to identifying, extracting, and quantifying subjective information like emotions, attitudes, and opinions.

✅ Big thanks for some amazing group participation from voices like Melinda Belcher of JPMorganChase, Mark Melton of Magnolia, Roland Benedetti of Pantheon, Dan Drapeau of DXP Catalyst Consulting, Lynne Boudreau of Kentico, Nisrine Douidy of Core dna, and Derek Barka of SilverTech.

🔥Shout out to Chad Solomonson, Matthew McQueeny, Janus Boye, and Derek Barka for squeezing a few morning miles on the iconic High Line.

As we wrap another intensive but rewarding meetup, I’m leaving with more insight and perspective. One last thing: it’s OK to feel like you’re falling behind in this hyperbolic age of AI. We’re all coping with that reality - and it’s better to face it together.

PS: For a recap of day #1, see AI urgency in New York City