Welcome to my recap of day one at Sitecore Symposium 2024! There was no shortage of inspiring sessions, key takeaways, and exciting announcements from day one.
Opening Keynote
The opening keynote by Sitecore executives was an excellent kickoff to Symposium, reinforcing their commitment to being a trusted partner. They emphasized their focus on core strengths and want people to have a choice, whether it be XM Cloud, XM, or XP. Sitecore is determined to stay ahead of the market through innovation and they made several exciting announcements about the direction they’ll take in the coming year. It’s an exciting time to be working with Sitecore!
Introducing Sitecore Stream! Sitecore Stream is the new brand-aware AI generative copilot that will work with marketers as they try to do more with less.
Will be integrated across all DXP products
Shortened time to value.
Keep marketing materials consistent.
Help create new campaigns.
Balance strategy with technology.
It really is an impressive tool and I, along with many others in the Sitecore community, can’t wait to see it in action. You really do have to see it to believe it.
Accessibility and the Impact on your Business
Accessibility is more important than ever, yet it’s often treated as an afterthought, typically addressed at the end of projects when it should be prioritized from the start. It’s not just about checking a box or a one-and-done effort—accessibility affects everyone and can benefit anyone. Good website design enhances the user experience for all, not just those with disabilities.
Why is accessibility important?
Regulatory
Legal
Financial
Equality
Doing the right thing
ADA lawsuits:
The number of lawsuits is rising over time.
In 2018 there were 2,000+ Lawsuits.
In 2023 there were 4,000+ lawsuits.
According to the ADA, 72% of lawsuits were against companies with less than 50 million in revenue.
Small companies are at just as high of risk as large companies.
Statistics:
According to the CDC, 28.7% of people have a disability.
UNC School of Medicine found that 71% of web users with a disability will leave a site if it is not accessible.
This equates to a potential 20% loss of revenue.
Can you afford to not be accessible and lose this amount of business?
Doing the right thing:
It can increase your reputation.
It can generate loyalty.
It’s a key differentiator.
It’s a marketing opportunity.
It makes the world better for everyone.
Is AI Bias the New Elephant in the Room?
Bias is an unfavored weight towards one group of people. How does this affect generative AI? Test it yourself: create an image without specifying details like age, gender, or race. What results do you see? Chances are, the image lacks cultural diversity, and representation of people with disabilities, or older individuals. It may also reflect assumptions about gender roles based on job titles.
How AI bias happens:
Algorithmic bias during the development of the model
Data bias in the model training phase
Interaction bias when the AI learns from biased human interactions
What is the impact of bias?
Legal and ethical consequences
Lost revenue
Erases diversity
How can we reduce this bias?
Add diverse perspectives when building the algorithms
Train people to identify bias in generative AI results
Reward people doing good work
Sitecore Search Product Roadmap
Sitecore Search is continuously evolving like many other SaaS products. Take a look at the future of Sitecore Search.
Current
Commerce product grouping
Group similar products on product or size variations
Commerce rules
Bury low or out-of-stock items
CDP
Audience segment support
Next
Unified tracking.
Tracking IDs will work across many of Sitecore’s composable products
XM cloud content indexing
Push changes directly into Search
Order cloud integration
Generative AI Q&A for search prompt
More accurate recommendations
Future
Refined UX
Simplified indexing connectors
Copy rules between instances
Exposed search analytics
Conversational search
Generative AI metadata
Source: Read MoreÂ
