Adobe Summit 2025 recently brought together thousands of marketing and technology professionals to explore the future of digital experience. Over the course of the multi-day event, a distinct theme emerged from expert consultants and attendees alike: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has shifted from a nascent technology to an essential component embedded across Adobe’s tools and ecosystems. Below, the MERGE team serves up some actionable takeaways to help illuminate how businesses can harness these advancements to achieve personalization at scale, operational efficiency, and creative innovation.
AI as a Strategic Differentiator
What was once conversational speculation a year ago is now tangible, integrated capability, as Adobe demonstrated how much its suite of tools has matured in leveraging AI. The evolution from "Generative AI," which typically performs tasks that are more narrow and well-defined in nature, to what Adobe calls "Agentic AI," a framework that often tackles broader, more multi-step objectives that require continuous decision-making and adaptions, is empowering teams to focus more on high-value strategic and creative work.
For instance, Journey Agent was highlighted as a powerful tool to not only map and analyze customer journeys but also identify pain points and provide actionable recommendations for improvement. Similarly, Site Optimizer Agent stood out for its ability to audit websites, detect SEO and security issues, and suggest precise fixes that advance both technical performance and marketing goals.
The strategic potential of AI was underscored by the realization that marketing teams can now envision and execute campaigns at an unprecedented pace, aided by tools that consistently inform future work. These advancements signal a seismic shift not just in what marketing teams can achieve, but also in how organizations must govern and align their data and creative resources to support AI-driven solutions.
Governance in the Age of AI
The call for enhanced governance to support AI-driven tools has been received. While AI allows for instant audience segmentation, it’s clear that deploying AI successfully requires well-thought-out data strategies. Governance must ensure AI-driven decisions align with defined taxonomy, approved content strategies, and business processes.
This is especially emphasized for industries like
healthcare and
finance, where risk aversion and strict data regulations are key considerations. Adobe’s introduction of Health Shield, a HIPAA-ready framework for its tools such as
Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) and Real-Time Customer Data Platform (RTCDP), addresses some of these concerns. However, it should be stressed that brands will need to proactively build trust by ensuring AI operates within the parameters of legal, ethical, and business guidelines.
From Pilot Programs to Personalization at Scale
While the potential of AI is no doubt exciting, the move to implement should resemble a marathon as opposed to a sprint, as brands and organizations should aim to start small and focus on iterating over time. Client case studies shared during breakout sessions at Adobe Summit supported this notion, demonstrating the efficacy of beginning with limited campaigns, testing the approach on a small set of channels, and expanding based on insights. Moreover, Adobe’s tools have been optimized to not only execute but to guide these processes.
AEM Variations are one example of an AI-driven feature that can enable brands to rapidly generate personalized content and imagery tailored to specific audiences, all while remaining consistent with pre-defined branding elements. This capability aligns with the theme of enabling teams to scale their content production without exhausting creative resources.
That said, the combination of Adobe products such as
Workfront and
Marketo, along with the
Jeto product from MERGE, remain as critical tools for bridging marketing automation with scalable content production pipelines.
Accelerating Productivity with AI
Specifically, Adobe’s Content Production Agent was showcased as a tool designed to accelerate content creation across channels while remaining hyper-personalized. By removing the friction points involved in repetitive tasks like resizing visuals or writing alternate copy variations, teams can focus on ideation and strategy rather than logistics.
Increased collaboration between AI tools is also aiding in accelerating productivity. AI agents such as Journey Agent or Site Optimizer are built to dynamically interact to deliver unified and optimized digital experiences. This level of orchestration is poised to serve as a critical advantage for brands striving to compete in highly saturated markets.
Steps for Forward-Looking Organizations
Adobe Summit was not just a showcase of technical innovation but a framework for marketing leaders and practitioners to reimagine their strategies. As we move forward, our team offers up five actionable takeaways to help organizations keep pace:
1. Prioritize Governance: Before scaling AI solutions, implement robust frameworks for managing data, content approvals, and audience definitions.
2. Adopt Iterative Approaches: Start small. Pilot AI offers features on select projects to gather insights, refine processes, and then grow adoption incrementally.
3. Leverage Embedded AI Features: Tools such as AEM Variations or Site Optimizer empower teams to deploy personalized, scalable campaigns.
4. Empower Teams, Don’t Replace Them: Use AI as a force multiplier rather than headcount replacement. Shift mundane or repetitive tasks to AI, allowing people to focus on ideation and innovation.
5. Focus on Content Supply Chain: For optimal results, understand how best to merge cross-tool collaboration with interconnected workflows to ensure seamless content production.
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