Every organization with a digital presence (which is practically everyone) is sitting at a fascinating intersection.
Content management systems (CMSs), which have been the backbone of digital experiences for decades, are about to undergo a fundamental transformation—one that goes far beyond just managing and delivering content.
“We are extremely early in this journey,” says guest speaker Chuck Gahun, Principal Analyst at Forrester, during his Webflow Conf presentation. While businesses have been focused on using AI for operational efficiencies like copy generation and transcription, Gahun suggests we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible. “Generative AI wasn’t really imagined to help with operational efficiencies, which is where we have been stuck.”
The numbers paint a compelling picture of what’s at stake. When consumers have good digital experiences, 48% will refer your company to others. Yet, only 34% of marketing decision makers are currently prioritizing consistent and connected messaging across channels. This gap between potential and reality hints at the massive transformation ahead—one that will reshape how we think about content management, digital experiences, and the nature of how brands connect with their audiences.
Shifting to dynamic experiences
The traditional marketing mantra of “right message, right channel, right time” is being challenged by a fundamental question: How can any brand truly know the “right time” to reach a consumer? As Gahun points out, “How are you going to know when somebody wants to buy a pair of sneakers? How are you going to know when somebody’s inspired by a piece of clothing?”
This challenge is pushing the industry toward a more dynamic, AI-driven approach. With 95% of U.S. consumers having “a smartphone in front of their face,” as Gahun notes, there’s an unprecedented opportunity for always-on, personalized engagement. But this requires a complete rethinking of how content is created, managed, and delivered.
"We're going to have individualized content instead of the right message," Gahun concludes.
Entering the era of dynamic content systems
The future of CMSs will operate across four key dimensions:
- First, the interface itself is evolving from today’s visual builders to AI-powered content generation.
- Second, consumer experiences will progress from basic personalization to truly dynamic, individualized content delivery.
- Third, marketing experiences will transform from low-code tools to sophisticated application generation platforms.
Finally, content generation will be powered by large language models (LLMs) that understand both domain expertise and tacit knowledge.
“It’s going to be unlikely that any person…in a certain amount of time will get the same content or digital experience,” Gahun predicts, “because your AI ecosystem will know something about you that is different than the person sitting next to you.”
Building for an AI-powered future
The new content ecosystem
The traditional marketing mantra of “right message, right channel, right time” is being challenged by a fundamental question: How can any brand truly know the “right time” to reach a consumer? As Gahun points out, “How are you going to know when somebody wants to buy a pair of sneakers? How are you going to know when somebody’s inspired by a piece of clothing?”
This challenge is pushing the industry toward a more dynamic, AI-driven approach. With 95% of U.S. consumers having “a smartphone in front of their face,” as Gahun notes, there’s an unprecedented opportunity for always-on, personalized engagement. But this requires a complete rethinking of how content is created, managed, and delivered.
Looking toward the future of CMS
The transformation of content management systems isn’t a distant future—it’s happening now. Gahun suggests that significant changes, particularly in delivering value from dynamic digital experiences, will emerge in less than two years. This rapid evolution will require organizations to:
- Think beyond their own websites to focus on ecosystem-wide content delivery
- Prepare for AI-powered, dynamic content generation at scale
- Consider how their content can be shared and transformed across multiple channels
- Understand that consumers will increasingly control when and how they engage with content
