Digital leaders at the latest CMS Experts meeting in Boston

Boston has always been a beacon for creativity and innovation, and that undeniable spirit is thriving in the SoWa Art + Design District. It was the perfect backdrop for our recent Boye & Company CMS Experts & Digital Leaders meeting, which was held at the charmingly eclectic New England Art Center.

Surrounded by a vibrant pastiche of paintings and sculpture, we hosted a diverse group of leading minds in the content management and digital experience field, where we discussed the continued impact of AI on every aspect of our work.

Claudia Fiks, owner and administrator of the gallery, opened the session with a personal story about the mission and vision of this eclectic location, providing a community space for creative exploration. Despite the tension that has always existed between art and technology, she shared stories around the successful intersection of AI and 3D printing that have evolved the canvas in unexpected ways.

I also had an opportunity to share my “Fly in the AI” presentation from last month’s CMS Connect conference, outlining the five key patterns I’ve been tracking this year as AI becomes the substrate – and machines the new audience for digital experiences. My overview served as a foundation for some amazing presentations, and yes… Jeff Goldbloom was in full bloom once again.

Several artists shared their work with us:

Bill Rogers of ai12z helped sharpen the focus on AI visibility, taking us through his platform’s latest features. AEO, GEO, and AIO have become central targets for brands as traffic continues to erode, but ai12z’s unique position as an answer engine itself is providing deep insight and actionable recommendations to help influence these growing channels. One great observation from Margot Bloomstein about large social platforms that can’t be indexed (and businesses that don’t have websites, but just Facebook pages) forced some reflection about the exclusivity of communities.

Dan Drapeau of DXP Catalyst Consulting helped answer a burning question: what exactly is a DXP in 2026? And what are customers expecting from a digital experience platform? As more vendors reposition their value around agentic AI, the definition seems to be expanding beyond its foundational parameters. That said, Dan continues to see CMS as a gateway requirement for RFPs and inbound interest, and he outlined six things that should still be true for this acronym to mean something. As ai12z’s Rob Yelle reinforced, machines are now consuming our digital experiences – and any tool worth its salt needs to be ready for this.

Erin Wise of Harvard Business School focused her taxonomy and ontology expertise on the topic of generative AI retrieval – and how structure is vital to what it produces. Leveraging her strong heritage in library science, Erin is helping to shape the future of information management to help students find what they’re looking for, and this is where experiments with AI-powered chatbots are intersecting with human knowledge and what librarians expect as accurate and reliable answers. The group provided insight around key questions for success, and Jean Alexandre of Open Text offered some keen insight into Google’s Open Knowledge Format (OKF) for using simple markdown to provide structured, version-controlled context for AI agents.

Mark Raymond of Grove gave a quick but poignant overview of his research into vendor partner programs, uncovering if the juice is worth the squeeze. Mark hails from the headless CMS world, where he managed these partnerships and helped shape expectations. While the early research sample is small, it’s clear that many programs are falling short in sales – in fact, 70% of respondents produced zero conversions. As Mark detailed, some of the traditional dynamics appear to be shifting as both agencies and vendors adapt to an AI-first world.

Participants of CMS Experts meeting in Boston

It’s always an honor to be on the ground with CMS Critic, listening to and translating these stories. A huge thanks to Ravi Mynampaty of HBS, Andres Perea of MilliporeSigma, Lauren Lucibello of Mirion, Tom Gillum or RDA, and Derek Barka of Silvertech for bringing your interest and energy to the day’s conversations – and providing the counterbalance from the agency, vendor, and customer POVs.

And extra props as always to Matthew McQueeny for helping me host this amazing group – and painting another portrait of why this community is truly a work of art.