At Cannes I’ve had a chance to connect with so many bold, forward-thinking marketing, brand, and creative leaders. The craft as we know it, is being completely reinvented. AI is reshaping the customer journey, the creative process, and the role of marketers, especially CMOs. Here are 3 shifts every CMO should be tracking: ✅ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Rather than navigating multiple apps or websites, people are increasingly engaging in AI assisted chats to discover, learn, and act on products and purchases. They are shaping their own paths, guided by curiosity, and increasingly, sharing their context to benefit from a more relevant and tailored experience. ✅ 𝐀𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭. If the customer journey is now a conversation, then there is now a 3rd participant between the customer and the brand. People’s AI companions will be an important audience for brands and products as they won’t just assist customers with basic factual information, they’ll initiate the journey, guide discovery, and help shape decisions. ✅𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐌𝐎” In this new world, the most effective marketers won’t be defined by title or tenure—but by how fluently they work with AI. Anyone from a CMO to a first-year marketer can now run end-to-end campaigns, shape brand narratives, and drive measurable growth with the help of AI agents. Enabled by AI, marketers are more empowered than ever to create, analyze, scale, and prototype. #CannesLions2025
A powerful reframing of what leadership looks like in this new era. With, according to Epsilon, 94% of organizations using AI to prepare or execute marketing, this digital shift isn’t coming—it’s here. The future belongs to leaders willing to weave creativity with technology in every interaction!
Very informative and insightful, thanks for sharing 👍
AI truly gives us the ability to move faster and be more strategic than ever before. It means we can quickly test ideas, analyze performance, and create content.
From journey design to narrative control, when AI becomes both the medium and the messenger, marketers have to rethink every layer. And the CMOs who thrive will architect the new playbook of AI teammates.
Yusuf Mehdi AI is transforming the marketing landscape, shifting the customer journey from a funnel to a conversation and introducing new roles for CMOs.
Yusuf Mehdi. Should we consider Ethics to be a part of the Full Stack? Lynne Kjolso Amanda Richman
B2B Email Marketing Nerd | Niche Publishing and Media Leader
3w"Full-stack CMO" is right. AI is empowering people to engage with much more tech than they've ever been able to before.