Dreamforce 2026 Foreword: Pour a Cup of Ambition & Find Inspiration at #DF26

Put the kettle on, pull up a chair, and settle in, besties, because we’re talking Dreamforce 2026.

Here is my big, bold, blue cloud-framed inverted pyramid takeaway right up front: This is the year the AI hype train finally pulls into the station of reality. We are moving past the “what if” of AI and chugging along right into the “how to.” My (not so shocking to most) bet is that AI and data will be paramount in most sessions, but the real secret sauce to making it all work? The humans driving the strategy.

Speaking of humans, I am absolutely bursting at the seams to share what my favorite people are up to at Dreamforce this year. My team at ListEngage is showing up in San Francisco bigger than ever alongside our partners TCS and Coastal as “The Partner collective: Value multiplied”. 

We have over 30 sessions, a spiffy lounge space with floor-to-ceiling views at the W Hotel, and a sweet setup at Campground Booth #400. Stop by the booth and tell us your best marketing pun; if it makes us laugh (or even fake chuckle), you walk away with free swag from ListEngage, guaranteed. 

Now that the water’s boiling, dust off your finest teacups (or that trusty conference mug if we’re being honest) because it’s time to spill the tech tea. Here is exactly what I predict will rule Dreamforce this year, why it matters, and where you need to be to get the most out of it.

Theme 1: The Agentic Reality Check

Everyone is going to be talking about AI agents, but I believe that 90% of folks are still low-key terrified to implement beyond the basic use case (and there’s a margin in there hesitant about that basic use case, too). The conversations at Dreamforce are going to shift our fear paradigm from replacing humans to empowering them.

1. Move past the AI analysis paralysis: If you are feeling overwhelmed by where to start, you absolutely need to RSVP to “Don’t be AfrAId: Move Past Fear and Start Scaling AI Agents” today. (Yes, it’s an AI pun, but do you hear me apologizing for it?) The brilliant duo that is Cole Fisher, ListEngage Strategic Solution lead, and Bryan da Frota, ListEngage COO, are hosting this roundtable at the W Hotel. They are going to break down how to pick those crucial first use cases without breaking a sweat, with fantastic subject matter experts at each table supporting a hands-on approach that’ll land you with next steps to bring forward through the rest of your week at Dreamforce and beyond the event once you head home. 
   
   
2. See humans and AI holding hands: Okay, maybe not literally. But you need to check out the “Fueling the Agentic Future: Moving from AI Adoption to Human & AI Advantage“ panel. It is an early morning session, but the insights on how leading financial organizations are actually scaling with AI will give you some inspiration and real use cases to take forward. 

Theme 2: Architecture and Data (The Nerdy Stuff We Love)

If your data is a mess, your AI is just going to hallucinate a bigger mess at you confidently. Data 360 and headless architecture will be the MVPs of the week.

1. Getting your time back: A dynamic duo if there ever was one, Cole Fisher and Julie Marques, our Head of Strategic Consulting, are teaming up for “How to Master Data 360 Free Up 8 Hours Per Week.“ Yes, eight hours. Get your Friday afternoons back, people. 
   
   
2. Headless is not just a spooky Halloween story: It is the absolute future of enterprise architecture. Pratik Desai, our Head of Applied AI,  is breaking down exactly how to get there faster in his session, “Beyond the Buzzword: A Real-World Blueprint for Headless.“ Go to this so you can sound like the smartest person at your next architectural review. Bonus: You’ll hear from CrowdStrike leadership, one of my favorite Coasties, Sam Taylor (Coastal, Head of Innovation & Emerging Technology), AND the brilliant Sudipta Ghosh (TCS, Head of Salesforce CoE).
   
   
3. Regulated industries, get your governance on: If you are in FinServ or Health, data compliance is your love language. Keep the momentum going with Julie Marques’s session, “The CoE Playbook: A Roundtable for Regulated Industries,” to learn how to stay audit-ready while moving at lightspeed.

Theme 3: The Ultimate “Woo-Girl” Marketing Gal Moment

Listen, I am a marketing gal at heart, so please allow me to have a brief woo-girl moment over the marketing line-up this year. If you live and breathe campaigns, journeys, and CTRs, grab a front-row seat because we are bringing the heat.

1. The next era of Marketing: We are going all in on the future of our favorite platform. Our Founder & CEO, Altaf Shaikh, is taking the stage for “The Evolution of Marketing Cloud,” with one of my favorite Salesforce gals, Jorja Lyons. You’ll hear the full evolution story from ET to MCN. Then, I am keeping the party going with another all-star set of Salesforce thought leaders, Ian Frosst and Eliot Harper, to host “The Future of Marketing Cloud Next.” We are hosting a totally candid convo about where the platform actually stands today and what it means for your stack. If you stick around for the full session, you’ll not only hear the latest on the product and what’s next, but you’ll be able to ask ANYTHING (yes, anything) during live Q&A. Grab your spot right here. If you want to know exactly where the platform is heading, you need to be at both.
   
   
2. Marketing data IS fun: I might be a little biased, but if you’re looking for some levity with your learning, you absolutely need to come to “Mastering Marketing Data: Tips, Tricks, and Trivia.” I’m so excited to be co-presenting this with Matthew Schnelker, an incredible leader from Salesforce. We are ditching the dry slides and doing this live, trivia-style with actual prizes on the line (I’ll take ‘Must-See Sessions’ for $400, Ken). Expect a healthy dose of data best practices, some friendly competition, and definitely expect to see me having way too much fun. You can add this to your agenda right here.
   
   
3. The absolute joy of customer partnerships: I am over the moon about the “Financial Services Vault: Execs on Marketing & Compliance“ panel. Our CEO, Altaf Shaikh, is moderating, but the real stars of the show are Wes Bell from ICCU and Pamela Hannett from Liberty Bank! As the marketing owner for this session, I have had a front-row seat to their brilliance, and let me tell you, to say that Pam and Wes are inspirational Financial Services marketing leaders is an understatement. Both of these customers have a massive footprint for Marketing Cloud. They know their stuff, and their honesty matches their brilliance. It’s a can’t-miss session. 

Theme 4: Industry Heavy Hitters Bringing the Heat

It is not a one-size-fits-all world anymore, and our industry experts are bringing incredible, tailored insights to the table this year.

1. Manufacturing magic: My good buddy and our MAE expert, Jason Westfall, is leading “How Manufacturing, Automotive and Energy Leaders are Winning with Salesforce.“ If you are in the MAE space, Jason is the guy you want to listen to.
   
   
2. Healthcare data glow up: Fred Homner, my pal and our Head of Salesforce Practices & Customer Success, is stepping in to moderate a true powerhouse panel called “Data Modernization for Healthcare & Life Sciences: Building an AI-Ready Foundation.“ Unifying healthcare data is no joke, and this session is going to break down exactly how to do it right.

Theme 5: The People Powering the Platform

At the end of the day, the most important element of anything we do is the human element. Naturally, the sessions this year focusing on the human experience are the ones you can’t afford to miss.

1. Ethics in the AI age: Pratik Desai is tackling the big, important questions in “The Value We Code: AI, Ethics, and What Remains.“ It is so easy to get lost in the tech, but Pratik is going to ground us in what actually matters.
   
   
2. Women are leading the AI charge: The data proves it, and we are going to talk about it. Come hang out with me at the booth for “How Women in Tech Are Using AI, Better.“ We are exploring how to shift AI from a basic task automator to a collaborative partner.
   
   
3. Growth when things get gritty: Careers are never straight lines. Pratik Desai is joining a panel for what I expect to be an incredibly moving theater session called “Still Standing: How to Grow Your Career When Life Gets Hard.“
   

As we all prepare to skip down the blue brick road to Moscone Center, my biggest piece of advice is to plan your ground game now. Start building your agenda; make plans to see your people; map out at least one big goal for the week; take the time to network with new people at the social events; and, above all else, don’t forget to make time for the human connection at Dreamforce. Talk to the people next to you in line, in the elevator, and in sessions.  

See you in San Francisco!