What your content stakeholders are worried about in the age of AI - and why it matters for developers
Time: Wednesday 13th May 13:50-14:20
Room: Loft
Track: User Experience & Content
How do we structure content so it’s found by AI? How do we measure success with citations replace clicks? Do we even need a CMS anymore?
Your content stakeholders are navigating a fundamental shift in how content works. They're being told to restructure everything for ‘machine readability’, chase GEO metrics they don’t fully understand, and prepare for ‘content warehouses’ that may or may not replace their current systems. Behind the AI jargon, they're wrestling with new tensions on top of their existing workload. They need your technical insight to move forward. This session explores what content teams are actually thinking about and why it’s time for content and engineers to become each other’s biggest supporters.
On producing content for AI: The world of digital content has been turned upside down. Content creators are wondering: Where do I get started on structuring content? If our CMS becomes an ‘edge system’, what’s the centre? How do we balance ‘optimising for AI’ with creating content humans actually want to read?
On content operations: Content teams are hearing conflicting advice about AI: “It can speed up content production” versus “All AI content is rubbish”. They want to know where they can include AI in their content ops to bring value to their business, great content to their customers and joy to their team.
Why this matters for developers: Content stakeholders are making decisions right now, about what to structure, what to rebuild, and where to invest, often without fully understanding the technical implications. When you understand what they're actually concerned about you can guide better architecture decisions, speed up time to release, and help future-proof technical choices to support content ambitions.
We’ll explore real-world examples of what content teams and decision-makers working with large content sets are grappling with, so you can use your knowledge to support them, increase your influence and drive better decisions.
Your content stakeholders are navigating a fundamental shift in how content works. They're being told to restructure everything for ‘machine readability’, chase GEO metrics they don’t fully understand, and prepare for ‘content warehouses’ that may or may not replace their current systems. Behind the AI jargon, they're wrestling with new tensions on top of their existing workload. They need your technical insight to move forward. This session explores what content teams are actually thinking about and why it’s time for content and engineers to become each other’s biggest supporters.
On producing content for AI: The world of digital content has been turned upside down. Content creators are wondering: Where do I get started on structuring content? If our CMS becomes an ‘edge system’, what’s the centre? How do we balance ‘optimising for AI’ with creating content humans actually want to read?
On content operations: Content teams are hearing conflicting advice about AI: “It can speed up content production” versus “All AI content is rubbish”. They want to know where they can include AI in their content ops to bring value to their business, great content to their customers and joy to their team.
Why this matters for developers: Content stakeholders are making decisions right now, about what to structure, what to rebuild, and where to invest, often without fully understanding the technical implications. When you understand what they're actually concerned about you can guide better architecture decisions, speed up time to release, and help future-proof technical choices to support content ambitions.
We’ll explore real-world examples of what content teams and decision-makers working with large content sets are grappling with, so you can use your knowledge to support them, increase your influence and drive better decisions.
Speakers
Ruth Hendry
I’ve been making digital products for over 15 years, working with organisations like Massey University, TSB, Te Papa, Auckland Transport and the Ministry of Education. People I work with get strategic advice and practical on-the-tools mahi to make sure we deliver, together. I'm particularly interested in how AI is reshaping content operations, and how developers and content teams can work together to navigate this shift.
Based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, I’ve been running Ruth Hendry Consulting since 2023, helping businesses across Aotearoa build successful content operations and thriving digital teams, alongside turning customer needs into digital experiences that work.
Prior to 2023 I was Content Director at Springload Te Pipītanga, leading the Content department and working in a wonderful cross-disciplinary team of developers, designers, testers and researchers.
Based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, I’ve been running Ruth Hendry Consulting since 2023, helping businesses across Aotearoa build successful content operations and thriving digital teams, alongside turning customer needs into digital experiences that work.
Prior to 2023 I was Content Director at Springload Te Pipītanga, leading the Content department and working in a wonderful cross-disciplinary team of developers, designers, testers and researchers.