Retrospective on Beyond the AI Hype

A recurring undercurrent was the need for composability — not just in tech stacks, but in mindset. Teams that adopted modular thinking were able to move faster, adapt more easily, and ensure consistency across regions, platforms, and channels.

In one session, attendees saw how a modular CMS combined with AI tools enabled companies to scale global content operations without sacrificing local relevance or editorial oversight. This wasn’t innovation for innovation’s sake — it was smart orchestration, rooted in business reality.

If there was one conclusion shared by every speaker and echoed in every conversation, it was this:

Start somewhere. Even if it’s small. Especially if it’s small.

You don’t need a dedicated AI team, months of training, or a six-figure budget to move forward. What you need is focus — on the friction points, the repetitive tasks, the slow processes holding your teams back.

Because when AI is applied thoughtfully — not to impress, but to improve — things start happening. Faster. Smarter. With less stress and more space to think.

One of the more surprising insights from the day? AI can actually reduce complexity. It’s not about adding another layer of tooling — it’s about taking friction out of the system.

Examples ranged from automating metadata creation and detecting anomalies in content performance, to powering personalised commerce journeys — not through flashy features, but through clear logic and composable integration.

The result: less chaos. Fewer bottlenecks. More progress.

That shift in mindset changes everything. It invites experimentation with purpose — using AI not as a gimmick, but as a lever.

One standout case at the event showed how a simple AI application in content operations reduced manual workload by over 60%, just by automating image tagging and metadata entry. Not revolutionary on paper — but deeply impactful in practice.

Behind the scenes, The Reference is already building on these insights. Vitesse, our in-house B2B commerce accelerator with AI orchestration. It's designed to help businesses move from exploration to execution — faster.
From friction-mapping to tool orchestration, Vitesse brings structure and speed to AI adoption — so you can start where it matters most.

To all who joined us: thank you for being part of the shift.
To everyone else: start. You’re more ready than you think.