We gathered some of the brightest minds in CRM for dinner and an honest conversation about agentic workflows. Denada Chief Product Officer Alex Williams hosted.
Who Joined Us
Ariana SchleismanDirector, Messaging SolutionsMerkle
Jessie SmithSr. Digital Marketing SpecialistBrightstar Lottery
Katie WolffLifecycle Marketing ManagerCactus
Krista RobertsonSr. Email Marketing ManagerBitPayThis was a table of Braze experts. Jessie Smith and Krista Robertson are both Braze Certified Practitioners. Katie Wolff runs Cactus’ full-funnel lifecycle program in Braze across email, push, SMS, in-app and content cards. Ariana Schleisman leads messaging solutions at Merkle, Braze’s 2025 Services Partner of the Year, and is a Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Administrator, Salesforce Certified Data Cloud Consultant, Marketing Cloud Advanced Cross Channel Accredited Professional and Iterable Foundations Certified.
They know these platforms inside and out, and they’ve seen plenty of new technology come and go. That made their take on agents worth hearing.
What We Heard
Everyone is in discovery mode
Everyone at the table has seen that major efficiencies are possible now. The open question is where to start.
It can be overwhelming
There’s so much talk about AI and agentic workflows that it’s hard to tell what’s real today and what’s still a promise.
2027 is the year to automate
Most expect 2027 to be when they go after their most time-consuming tasks. The top of the list:
- Campaign setup
- Audience selection
- Email and SMS creation
- QA
The case studies are getting noticed
Several people mentioned case studies and articles about process times being cut in half.
Interested in Braze’s agents, but waiting
Most were interested in the agentic workflows Braze announced. They also know those are in beta, and wondered when they’ll get to try them, and what they’ll cost.
Excited, and a little anxious
Overall, the table was excited about the big changes coming. And, frankly, anxious that it all works for them in the way they need it to.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who joined us and spoke so openly. Conversations like this one shape what we build next.
Guests were treated to a wellness bag and our printed Email Design Lookbook.
