How Sitecore’s Agentic AI Rewrites Customer Engagement in 2025

What happens when marketers stop treating artificial intelligence (AI) as an optional add-on and start trusting it as a co-worker?

Brand-aware AI promises to help a company understand its tone, protect its standards, and handle mundane tasks. The narrative suggests that workers are being freed from years of repetitive work and are regaining the opportunity to celebrate their human skills. But what’s the catch?

In search of answers, Techopedia turned to Mo Cherif, Vice President of AI Innovation at Sitecore. Together, we explored what the agentic AI trend really means for brands and their customers.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Beyond Automation: Why 2025 Stands Out
3. When a Chat Becomes a Checkout
4. Let People Be Creative Again
5. 3 Common Mistakes Brands Make When Adopting Agentic AI
6. Sitecore's Playbook
7. Experiment First, Then Scale
8. Personal Agents Instead of Search Engines?
9. The Bottom Line
10. FAQs
11. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Beyond Automation: Why 2025 Stands Out
3. When a Chat Becomes a Checkout
Show Full Guide
4. Let People Be Creative Again
5. 3 Common Mistakes Brands Make When Adopting Agentic AI
6. Sitecore's Playbook
7. Experiment First, Then Scale
8. Personal Agents Instead of Search Engines?
9. The Bottom Line
10. FAQs
11. References

Beyond Automation: Why 2025 Stands Out

AI has been increasingly working behind the scenes to reduce costs and automate repeatable tasks. Sitecore’s plan goes further. It wants AI to step forward and help shape what people see, read, and click on in real-time without being creepy about it.

This means software that understands a goal, plans its steps, and tweaks its output without constant human corrections.

Mo Cherif, Vice President of AI Innovation at Sitecore, described it more clearly:

“They’re great at doing things like classification, prediction, even generating content, but they always operate in silos. When it comes to agentic AI, it’s really about how we introduce autonomy, where again, AI can self-reason, self-plan, and take a goal and figure out the best path to achieve that goal.”

This difference matters because software is no longer just a utility in the background. It has become a central component of our daily lives.

It behaves more like a junior colleague who can connect the dots, adjust its approach, and stick to brand rules.

When AI helps run a marketing campaign or guide a buyer through checkout while protecting tone and facts, creative teams regain time to shape new ideas instead of fussing over tasks.

Before getting too excited or distracted by the shiny allure of agentic AI, Mo is quick to offer a timely reminder on the importance of data to bring any AI initiative to life.

Automation saves hours, but reasoning, planning and collaborating take AI to another level. Mo Cherif from @Sitecore explains why agent AI moves beyond simple tasks. pic.twitter.com/2mDqvQNCkp

— Neil C. Hughes (@NeilCHughes) June 20, 2025

When a Chat Becomes a Checkout

Just five years ago, we were searching for products, comparing prices, adding items to our cart, and sometimes buying them later. Now, we want to type one question, get the right option, and pay in seconds without hopping across pages.

Mo Cherif gave a fresh example:

“eBay just announced their AI agent that you can just buy from. So there’s this shift that people, as they’re purchasing something, want an exact and relevant experience.”

This change turns the old funnel on its head.

Instead of leading buyers step by step, brands must be ready for a one-stop moment. The system must remember each shopper’s history and react quickly. If it misses the mark, the sale disappears. If it gets it right, trust grows quietly in the background.

Not long ago, marketers guessed which messages might land. Now, agentic AI enables them to match each offer with what the buyer wants at that instant. This is a scale no human team can match alone.

The biggest challenge for AI is that it must never forget what it knows about a customer or slip up on accuracy.

Let People Be Creative Again

Some fear that stronger AI means humans lose their place. Cherif sees the opposite. He believes AI allows people to focus on generating fresh ideas, testing innovative thoughts, and crafting messages that resonate.

Cherif said with calm certainty:

“AI is there to help us rather than replace us.”

He recalled how agencies waste time chasing approvals and spreadsheets instead of perfecting stories. Agentic AI changes that. It takes on routine steps so teams can shape campaigns that stand out.

This shift runs deeper than a tool upgrade. It calls on leaders to rethink where budgets and efforts are allocated. Instead of paying for the process, spend it on stories worth remembering.

When staff focus on moments that connect with people, customers sense the difference.

3 Common Mistakes Brands Make When Adopting Agentic AI

Agentic AI holds real promise, but can disappoint if leaders treat it as a gadget rather than a new working style. Mo Cherif named three pitfalls he often sees: poor context, old habits, and weak supervision.

1. Poor Context

First comes context. “AI relies on data, and generative AI is no different,” Cherif said.

Without an up-to-date library of brand facts, product details, and approved language, even innovative software will guess wrong. Wrong guesses damage the trust that took years to build.

2. Old Habits

Next is habit. Adding scattered AI features to old systems will not deliver real results. Teams must rethink how jobs and software fit together. Train the AI on brand truths just as you would teach a new hire.

3. Weak Supervision

Last comes oversight. “You need to have a manager for them,” Mo said of AI helpers.

Someone must review and adjust their output. Digital workers need guidance just as humans do.

Companies that skip this step often find bots saying the wrong things, annoying shoppers instead of solving problems.

Sitecore’s Playbook

Sitecore’s plan builds AI with context, designs helpers to finish tasks, and plans campaigns so AI supports every step seamlessly.

Cherif explained:

“Brand-aware AI is that context. How do we make all the knowledge that AI needs to have easily accessible? Next, these helpers must achieve goals, not just recite random lines. Agents are about this ability for it to take a goal and ultimately achieve the results from that goal by reasoning and planning.”

To tie it all together, Sitecore encourages teams to plan campaigns in a way that blends human creativity with machine speed. No more clunky spreadsheets that slow the best ideas. Instead, smart flows adapt as new content and customer data arrive.

Experiment First, Then Scale

No plan stays perfect once real customers get involved. That is why Sitecore and Microsoft created an AI Innovation Lab, providing brands with a platform to test ideas using live data and identify and address flaws early.

Cherif trusts this method because it stops costly mistakes. “The best way to do it is to do it with our customers,” he said. Early projects, such as the Nestle brand assistant, demonstrated that designing AI tools in collaboration with users works far better than relying on guesswork alone.

For curious managers, this lab lowers the risk of trying something new. They see what works, learn from others, and shape tools that sound like their own voice, not a generic script from a software vendor.

Personal Agents Instead of Search Engines?

In the final moments of our conversation, Mo Cherif painted a scene that sounds futuristic but may arrive sooner than many think.

He envisions a time when people stop searching on browsers and instead ask their assistants to solve tasks directly.

“When I search, rather than bringing me the results, it brings me the right agent that can fulfill the task I’ve asked it for,” he said.

This could turn the internet from pages of links into smooth back-and-forth chats. Everyday chores, such as ordering gifts or booking trips, may feel as quick as texting a trusted friend.

This shift changes how brands compete online. Outranking rivals with keywords might matter less than training your helper to talk clearly with other helpers. Miss this, and customers may never hear your offer at all.

The Bottom Line

Agentic AI is not just another feature to bolt on. Used effectively, it clears the clutter from marketing, allowing people to focus on big ideas, compelling stories, and stronger connections. The brands that prepare carefully, get their facts straight, and establish apparent oversight will win the trust and move faster than those stuck tweaking outdated tools.

Sitecore’s vision is simple: use innovative software to make experiences feel more personal, never more robotic. Protect the voice of the brand. Let people dream up the next big idea while the software handles routine tasks.

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