In a world that’s moving at lightning speed, customers expect brands to keep up — to understand them instantly, respond to their behavior in real-time, and offer relevant, helpful experiences wherever they are. This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become not just useful, but absolutely essential.

The Growing Power of AI in Today’s World

AI is revolutionizing how businesses operate and how brands engage with customers. What started as automation is now intelligent orchestration:

• Recommending the right product at the right time
• Automatically generating content in your brand voice
• Detecting patterns in real-time behavior
• Personalizing experiences across every channel

From e-commerce to healthcare, entertainment to education, AI is making every industry smarter, faster, and more responsive. And customer expectations are rising accordingly.

Why Sitecore Has Embraced AI

As a leader in digital experience platforms, Sitecore understands that personalization, content delivery, and customer journey orchestration can’t rely on manual processes.

That’s why Sitecore has integrated AI deeply into its product ecosystem — not just to enhance content workflows, but to transform how real-time experiences are built and delivered.

At the heart of this transformation is Sitecore Stream.

Introducing Sitecore Stream

Sitecore Stream brings AI capabilities to Sitecore products, tailored specifically for marketers, it empowers smarter, faster end-to-end content creation and distribution at scale—unlocking remarkable efficiency gains. Featuring brand-aware AI, intelligent copilots, autonomous agents, and streamlined agentic workflows, Sitecore Stream transforms marketing effectiveness by helping you speed up time-to-market, lower costs, and deliver compelling, consistent digital experiences across all channels.

But Sitecore Stream doesn’t just work fast — it works intelligently and brand-safely.

Sitecore Stream takes all the tasks and deliverables in a marketing workflow and uses AI to make it faster, easier and more consistent. Through copilots, agents, content ideation and creation, and then optimizing the customer experience.

Stream is built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, it uses advanced large language model (LLM) technology to help teams of all sizes ideate, create, and refine on-brand content more strategically and securely.

What is LLM

A large language model (LLM) is a type of machine learning model designed for natural language processing tasks such as language generation. LLMs are language models with many parameters, and are trained with self-supervised learning on a vast amount of text.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are a cornerstone of generative AI, powering a wide array of natural language processing tasks, including:

• Searching, translating, and summarizing text
• Answering questions with contextual understanding
• Creating new content—ranging from written text and images to music and software code

What truly sets LLMs apart is their ability to synthesize information, analyze complex data, and identify patterns and trends. This enables them to go beyond simple text generation and adapt seamlessly to diverse, specialized use cases across industries

Core Concepts & Capabilities of Sitecore Stream

Sitecore Stream transforms your marketing stack by combining:

• Brand intelligence
• AI automation
• Real-time decisioning

It’s designed to help marketers do more, faster, with less manual effort—while maintaining creative control and brand integrity. Let’s look at how Sitecore stream makes it possible with below capabilities:

1. Brand-Aware AI

Unlike generic AI tools, Stream uses RAG to anchor every response in Organization’s brand knowledge.

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) grounds AI outputs by pulling brand-specific information directly from documents uploaded by the organization. This ensures that content generation is informed by accurate, contextual brand knowledge.

Brand-aware AI is an advanced capability designed to maintain brand consistency across all Sitecore products. It leverages large language models (LLMs) and retrieves relevant information from brand resources to ensure alignment with the brand’s identity.

When brand documents are uploaded—detailing brand values, messaging, tone, visual identity, and the intended customer experience—brand knowledge is created through a process known as brand ingestion. This process organizes and optimizes the uploaded information, making it readily accessible to AI copilots across the platform.

As a result, AI-powered tools within Sitecore Stream consistently generate or suggest content that reflects the brand’s voice, tone, and guidelines. This enables marketers to scale content creation confidently, knowing all output remains true to the brand.

2. Copilots and Agents

Stream introduces AI copilots that assist marketers in real-time – offering intelligent suggestions for content, layout, targeting, and workflows. Agents go further, autonomously executing tasks like campaign personalization, journey orchestration, or data segmentation.

Copilots provide intelligent guidance to support strategic decisions, while agents handle routine actions autonomously—freeing marketers to focus on high-value strategy and creative execution.

Both copilots and agents understand natural language and predefined prompts, seamlessly assisting throughout the content creation process and minimizing repetitive work. Marketers can effortlessly request content drafts, campaign ideas, or personalized experiences, all with simple, intuitive commands.

Fully integrated into Sitecore products, these tools deliver chat-based interactions, one-click workflows, and autonomous operations, making marketing smarter, faster, and more efficient.

Sitecore stream currently offer 3 copilots:

• Brand Copilot – Helps marketers create content that matches the brand using tools for brand-aware chat, idea generation, and content briefs.
• Content Copilot – Supports content tasks like writing, refining, translating, generating content with AI in Experience Platform, and optimizing/personalizing content in Sitecore.
• Experience Copilot – Improves search with features like visual search in Content Hub and Q&A generation in Sitecore Search.

3. Agentic Workflows

What is Agentic AI –  Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can act autonomously, pursue goals, and make decisions proactively—almost like an “agent” with a mission.

In simple terms:

Agentic AI is AI that doesn’t just respond to commands—it plans, decides, and takes initiative to achieve a goal on its own. AI that doesn’t just assist—it acts.

Stream enables agentic workflows, where AI agents execute actions (e.g., publish content, trigger campaigns) based on real-time customer behavior or campaign goals.

Successful project management starts with a clear, organized plan that prioritizes tasks and involves the right team members at the right time. By setting defined goals, monitoring progress, and fostering collaboration, teams can ensure projects stay aligned and deliver desired outcomes.

Sitecore Stream’s orchestration capability takes project management to the next level by integrating AI-driven automation tailored for marketing teams. Whether managing campaigns, product launches, or digital advertising strategies, this feature helps coordinate efforts seamlessly across teams and Sitecore products.

By introducing early-stage AI agents, orchestration supports smarter task execution and informed decision-making. This paves the way for advanced agentic workflows within Sitecore—where AI systems can autonomously drive actions, make decisions, and dynamically respond to evolving project demands.

Conclusion

AI is no longer a future investment — it’s a present necessity. Customers demand relevance, speed, and brand coherence. Sitecore Stream is Sitecore’s answer to that demand: A real-time, AI-powered platform that combines behavioral insight, brand knowledge, and automation to help brands engage customers intelligently and instantly.

This is the future of digital experience. And with Sitecore Stream, it’s already here.

In this episode of “What If? So What?” Jim sits down with Columbia Business School professor and c-suite innovation expert, Rita McGrath, to unpack what it really takes to lead through uncertainty. 

McGrath, known for her work on discovery-driven planning and intelligent failure, challenges the notion that strategy is a linear, long-term plan. “The time to reinvent your competitive advantage,” she says, “is when things are going well.” But that’s also when leaders are least motivated to change. This paradox is at the heart of her book “Seeing Around Corners.” 

One of the most compelling ideas Jim and Rita discuss is the concept of intelligent failure, a term coined by Sim Sitkin. In unpredictable environments, failure isn’t just inevitable – it’s essential. McGrath urges leaders to treat new initiatives as experiments, not predictions. “What’s the smallest test you can run to validate your assumptions?” she asks. This mindset shift helps organizations move faster and learn more, without betting the farm. 

The conversation also touches on discovery-driven planning, a framework that flips traditional business planning on its head. Instead of building a plan to prove you’re right, McGrath suggests building one to learn. Define what success looks like, work backward, and identify key assumptions. Then, test those assumptions through structured checkpoints. Her RACE (Redirect, Accelerate, Continue, Exit) model offers a practical way to evaluate progress. 

One particularly memorable takeaway from the conversation is Rita’s metaphor of “snow melting from the edges.” It’s a reminder that the earliest signs of disruption often appear at the fringes of an organization. Leaders must make time to observe, listen, and absorb uncertainty— especially when their teams are looking for clarity. 

In a world where AI, digital transformation, and shifting customer expectations are rewriting the rules, McGrath’s insights are a timely call to action. Strategy isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about asking the right questions and being brave enough to experiment. 

Subscribe Where You Listen

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Meet our Guest

Professor Rifa McGrath

Rita McGrath, a recognized strategy and innovation expert, is consistently ranked among the top 10 management thinkers in the world by the prestigious Thinkers50 and is a past winner of its coveted Strategy Award. The best-selling author of five books on leadership, business, and organizational management, she runs the Rita McGrath Group and is the founder of consultancy and innovation platform Valize. She is a trusted partner and strategic advisor in the C-suites of many of the country’s biggest and most well-known companies as they work to grow, evolve, reinvent themselves and see around corners.  

Rita is known for her energy, positivity, storytelling, and ability to connect with audiences. She is a sought-after corporate speaker, a longtime educator at Columbia Business School, author and host of the popular podcast and newsletter “Thought Sparks,” available on YouTube. Connect with her on LinkedIn and learn more at RitaMcGrath.com. 

Connect with Rita

Meet the Host

Jim Hertzfeld is Area Vice President, Strategy for Perficient.

For over two decades, he has worked with clients to convert market insights into real-world digital products and customer experiences that actually grow their business. More than just a strategist, Jim is a pragmatic rebel known for challenging the conventional and turning grand visions into actionable steps. His candid demeanor, sprinkled with a dose of cynical optimism, shapes a narrative that challenges and inspires listeners.

Connect with Jim:

LinkedIn | Perficient

Adobe is offering marketers the opportunity to experience the power of Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing firsthand via a product sandbox.

This interactive space will allow users to see the product in action and is designed to simulate the GenStudio for Performance Marketing workflow.

Luckily for you, Perficient is part of a select group of Adobe consulting partners with access to a fully functional sandbox. We’ve learned a few things since using the app that you can benefit from as you experiment with this new product.

In the following blog, our Adobe experts Ross Monaghan, Principal, and Raf Winterpacht, Director, share their initial impressions of GenStudio for Performance Marketing, tips and tricks, and some pitfalls to avoid when using the product for the first time.

Initial Impressions of GenStudio for Performance Marketing

When marketers first dive into Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing, they can expect a mix of familiarity and growing pains. Raf found the platform intuitive, noting, “It feels like Adobe. So, if you’ve worked with some of the other products like Adobe Experience Platform or AEM Assets, it’ll feel familiar to you. There wasn’t a huge learning curve when I started using it.”

From Ross’s perspective, he shared that the app initially felt early in its development. He explained, “When we first gained access to our sandbox, there weren’t a lot of channels where we could activate our assets. For example, Meta wasn’t even an option yet. So, you could create an asset, but you had no place to activate it. Everything was labeled as coming soon.”

However, he acknowledged that the platform has since evolved, with users now having access to Meta and Google Campaign Manager 360, while Microsoft Advertising, Snap, and TikTok are listed as coming soon.

Powerful Key Features

When using the application for the first time, marketers can expect a powerful tool that significantly enhances the ability to personalize and scale content creation while maintaining brand integrity.

Ross emphasized the importance of personalization at scale, noting that GenStudio allows marketers to quickly create, resize, and reuse assets to produce numerous variations that can be leveraged across various channels and campaigns. He said, “It’s practically impossible to create all the asset variations you need without something like GenStudio for Performance Marketing. You could be looking at hundreds of thousands of asset variations for just a single campaign across 25 countries and several languages.”

Raf added that the ability to rapidly generate high-quality, on-brand content is another powerful feature. One of the first things you do within GenStudio is set up your brand and provide guidelines for brand voice, imagery, logos, colors, and channel usage. Raf said, “Doing this allows marketers to use the application’s generative AI models to create high-quality content that not only adheres to your brand guidelines but also allows for rapid generation of personalized content variations that can be leveraged in various channels and campaigns.”

GenStudio for Performance Marketing Tips and Tricks

To maximize the potential of Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing, our experts recommend focusing on two key areas: brand completeness and prompt engineering.

Raf suggested thoroughly completing the brand section in GenStudio, as well as including as much information about your products and personas. This may take some time and effort, but doing so will ensure a better asset creation experience in the app.

He said, “We had to ask Adobe what the best, most efficient way to upload our brand guidelines was, and we were told to use a PDF. Our brand guidelines live on a SharePoint site, so we had to do some trial and error to get our brand content into a PDF that lists out all the different guidelines as much as possible. From there, the app does a good job of picking up those details from the PDF. You could do this manually if you needed to, though.”

Ross called attention to prompt engineering when using generative AI to create assets. He said, “Prompt engineering is critical when generating content in GenStudio. We found it difficult at first to figure out what the best prompts were to get the desired assets. Unfortunately, prompting is an iterative process and takes a bit of trial and error.”

Hopefully, Adobe Experience League will host a list of prompts marketers can use as a starting point one day, but until then, you can take a look at Adobe’s user guide to writing effective prompts.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Using GenStudio for the First Time

As with any powerful tool, success with Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing depends on understanding its limitations and setting it up thoughtfully from the start. Both Ross and Raf shared that while GenStudio can accelerate content creation, it’s not a replacement for human oversight.

“Users should think of it as a highly efficient way to get dynamic content to review,” Ross said. “Users still need to be the editor and verify that the content is still on brand. I worry that people want these tools to do the entire job.”

He also cautioned against underestimating the need for UI engineering. “I think another pitfall that users should avoid is thinking that they don’t need UI engineering. That is something that you definitely need to set up your templates appropriately,” he said, noting that it took significant back-and-forth with Adobe to get templates just right.

Raf echoed the importance of thoughtful setup, particularly around permissions and workflows. “You’re going to need to have certain permissions and users and groups set up in there ahead of time,” he said. “There’s a little bit of upfront work and configurations and things that have to be done before you can actually get in there and really start using the tool in a good cadence.”

Making GenStudio a Powerful Tool in Your Marketing Toolbox

Whether you’re just beginning to explore GenStudio or are already experimenting in the sandbox, the key takeaway is clear: success lies in preparation, experimentation, and a willingness to learn. With the right approach, GenStudio can become a powerful ally in your performance marketing toolkit.

Are you looking for a partner to help with your GenStudio for Performance Marketing implementation? Connect with us.

And if you’re looking for more Adobe expert insights, check out our Adobe blog site!

AEM Universal Editor: A Simpler, Smarter Way to Create Content

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) has come a long way in empowering content authors. We started with static templates — where even small changes required a developer — and evolved to editable templates and Layout Mode, which finally gave authors visual control over their pages.

Now, Adobe is flipping the script again with the Universal Editor. And at first glance, it might feel like a step backward.

• Layout Mode is gone.
• Custom column controls? Gone too.

For authors used to dragging, dropping, and designing layouts, this can feel like a loss of creative control.

So… what’s really going on?

The Shift from Layout to Experience

The reactions firsthand:

“Where’s Layout Mode?” “Why can’t I just place things wherever I want?”

It’s a valid response. But after spending time with the Universal Editor, I’ve realized this change isn’t about taking power away — it’s about refocusing.

It’s about removing layout distractions and putting the spotlight back on what matters most: creating meaningful, consistent content experiences.

Why Layout Mode Wasn’t the Answer

Layout Mode felt like freedom at first. You could finally design your own pages — no developers needed.

But with that freedom came complexity.

To use it well, authors had to learn:

• Grid systems (8–4 layouts)
• Nested containers
• Margins, paddings, and the infamous box model

Sure, Layout Mode was powerful — but it made content creation more complex than it needed to be.

What Makes the Universal Editor Different?

The Universal Editor brings a fresh approach — one that separates content creation from layout engineering.

Here’s what it introduces:

• Blocks & Section Blocks: Simple building blocks for structured content
• The Properties Rail: A unified editing panel
• Clean HTML output: Faster, more accessible pages
• Content Source Mapping: Bind components to headless content sources
• Document-Based Authoring: Edit directly in the rendered page or email
• Visual Previews Across Channels: Edit content while previewing how it will look across devices and channels

Let’s break these down.

Goodbye Layout Mode, Hello Clean Structure

Layout Mode may be gone, but layout control isn’t.

Instead of manually managing layout containers, authors now build pages using Section Blocks and Content Blocks — all styled using design tokens or CSS classes provided via Edge Delivery Services (EDS).

This shift prevents layout spaghetti and bloated code. The result?

• Cleaner, semantic HTML
• Better SEO and accessibility
• Faster page loads
• Fewer broken layouts

Want columns? You still can — but the approach is smarter and cleaner.

 Visual Authoring: Document-Based, Fragment-Based

Universal Editor allows for:

• Document-Based Authoring: Edit content directly in a fully rendered web page or email. What you see is truly what you get.
• Fragment-Based Authoring: Reuse content fragments like headlines, images, or CTAs across multiple channels.

Whether you’re editing a marketing page, a landing page, or a transactional email, you stay in the context of the real experience.

 JSON-Driven UI & Content Source Mapping

Under the hood, Universal Editor operates on a JSON-driven UI model. That means:

• Developers define what properties are editable
• Authors interact with a lightweight, dynamic interface
• UI and data stay cleanly decoupled

Using content source mapping, you can bind content blocks to headless CMS data, JSON APIs, or structured content fragments. This makes the Universal Editor incredibly flexible — and future-proof.

The Properties Rail: Simple, Unified Editing

Editing in classic AEM was… chaotic. Hidden dialogs, floating pop-ups, custom UIs for each component.

The Properties Rail fixes that. It’s a clean side panel where you can edit any block’s content — all in one place.

Why it rocks:

• Consistent editing across all blocks
• No more UI guesswork
• Fewer clicks, faster changes
• Accessible and keyboard-friendly

It might feel unfamiliar at first, but once you get the hang of it, there’s no going back.

Section Blocks: Structure with Purpose

In the old days, pages could become layout jungles:

• Layouts inside layouts
• Accordions inside tabs inside more accordions
• Way too many nested containers

Section Blocks help authors avoid that. They provide clear boundaries and promote structured, semantic content.

Why they matter:

• Enforce proper heading levels (H1 → H6)
• Help screen readers understand flow
• Boost SEO with cleaner markup
• Make editing and maintaining content easier

Channel Previews: One Editor, Any Experience

The Universal Editor isn’t just for web pages. You can preview and author across:

• Web pages (Sites)
• Emails
• Headless content delivered via APIs
• Single Page Applications (SPAs)

And it all works from the same authoring UI — which makes the experience channel-agnostic.

Why This Change Matters

This isn’t just a tool upgrade — it’s a shift in mindset:

• Authors can focus on storytelling, not structure
• Developers can define reusable, scalable models
• SEO and accessibility come built-in by design

The Universal Editor doesn’t remove flexibility — it refines it. It’s not the freedom we thought we wanted, but it’s the one we actually needed.

Universal Editor Extras

A few more highlights:

• Edge Delivery Services (EDS)
  Integrated delivery via CDN for lightning-fast performance
• Headless & Hybrid Ready
  Works with AEM Sites or headless SPAs
• Visual Authoring Without Developer Bottlenecks
  Developers define structure + styling, authors fill in content = efficiency

 Visual Reference

Universal Editor UI Interface (Forms)

The Universal Editor interface is divided into four logical parts:

    1. A: Experience Cloud Header : The Experience Cloud Header appears at the top of the console and provides navigation context within the broader Adobe Experience Cloud ecosystem. It shows your current location and allows quick access to other Experience Cloud applications.

    2. B: Universal Editor Toolbar : The toolbar provides essential navigation and editing tools. With it, you can move between forms, publish or unpublish forms, edit form properties, and access the rule editor for adding dynamic behaviors.

     3. C: Properties Panel :  The Properties Panel appears on the right side of the interface and displays contextual information based on what you’ve selected in the form. When no component is selected, it shows the overall form structure.

     4. D: Editor : The Editor is the central workspace where you create and modify your form. It displays the form specified in the location bar and provides a WYSIWYG experience that shows exactly how your form will appear to users. In preview mode, you can interact with the form just as your users would, testing navigation through buttons and links.

For More Information, you can refer to this adobe site: Getting Started with the Universal Editor in AEM | Adobe Experience Manager

AI transforms how businesses create, maintain, and provide engaging content in Sitecore. Embedding AI, Sitecore allows developers, marketers, and IT professionals to improve workflows, enhance customer interaction, and fine-tune digital strategies. Let’s explore how AI is shaping Sitecore and what it means for businesses.

Key AI Features in Sitecore

From Content Hub to XM Cloud, products in Sitecore’s portfolio have embedded AI that provides speed and scalability to personalization. Noteworthy features include:

• AI-powered content creation: Marketers can utilize AI to write articles, rephrase language, or write content for a certain audience. This minimizes manual effort and allows teams to focus on their strategy projects.
• Personalization at Scale: AI leverages user behavior to provide scaled personalized engagement, like personalized product recommendations, or personalizing dynamic page layouts. This improves customer engagement and conversion rates remain on the rise.
• Smart Search: Based on user intents and behaviors, Sitecore delivers relevant results through AI-enabled smart search capabilities for visitors, so that they can find the information they are looking for in the blink of an eye, enriching their overall experience.
• A/B Testing: Real-time multi-armed bandit machine learning algorithms will continuously optimize the variations of content that an end user sees, showing the most efficient version of a web page or campaign.
• Augmented Analytics: AI improves the analysis of consumer data by detecting trends and patterns that support improved decision-making.

Advantages of Integrating AI with Sitecore

There are several important benefits for organizations with embedded AI in Sitecore:

• Improved Efficiency: Automating repetitive tasks such as content tagging, approval procedures, and translations allows focusing on more valuable activities.
• Enhanced Creativity: New product offerings like Sitecore Stream, brand-aware assistant, give marketers agility to work with brand assets in new ways that align creativity across brand campaigns.
• Predictive Modeling: With advanced machine learning algorithms, patterns are identified in client behaviors, which enable organizations to make data-informed predictions and improve decision-making, leading to better business outcomes.
• Improved Security: AI can identify patterns in data that suggest unexpected behavior, which could mean a security breach or fraudulent activity, enhancing website safety.

Sector-Wise Applications

Sitecore AI deployment is also being used widely across multiple verticals:

• Retail: Tailored product recommendations are based on browsing history, which helps boosting sales, and enhance the user experience.
• Media and Entertainment: Automated video content tagging simplifies media management workflows.
• Global Businesses: Businesses use AI translation programs to adapt content more quickly for a larger audience.

Challenges and Considerations

However, despite the clear benefits, integrating Sitecore with AI is not without its challenges. Organizations are forced to navigate additional challenges such as data security, implementation costs, and making sure the AI outputs maintain their brand identity. Skilled personnel are needed to manage these advanced tools effectively.

Conclusion

Sitecore is evolving into a high-performance, AI-infused platform that powers personalized digital experiences at scale. Sitecore provides businesses with the tools they need to automate tasks, encourage creativity, and derive actions from data analytics, allowing businesses to stay relevant in an ever-changing environment. In a time where upstanding customer relationships are just as important as an online approach, leveraging AI with their Sitecore development strategy can do wonders.

A ticketing system, such as a Dynamic Tracking Tool, can be a powerful tool for MSO support teams, providing a centralized and efficient way to manage incidents and service requests. Here are some more details on the benefits.

1. Organize and triage cases: With a ticketing system, MSO support teams can easily prioritize cases based on their priority, status, and other relevant information. This allows them to quickly identify and resolve critical issues before they become major problems.
2. Automate distribution and assignment: A ticketing system can automate the distribution and assignment of incidents to the right department staff member. This ensures that incidents are quickly and efficiently handled by the most qualified support team members.
3. Increase collaboration: A ticketing system can increase collaboration between customer service teams and other stakeholders. It allows for easy and quick ticket assignment, collaboration in resolving issues, and real-time changes.
4. Consolidate support needs: Using a ticketing system consolidates all support needs in one place, providing a record of customer interactions stored in the system. This allows support teams to quickly and easily access customer history, track communication, and resolve issues more effectively.
5. Dynamics Tracking Tool: This shows various reports, such as the Real-Time Tracking Report and Historical Data Report, which are provided to monitor and analyze tracking data efficiently.

Overall, a ticketing system can help MSO support teams to be more organized, efficient, and effective in managing incidents and service requests.

Benefits of a Dynamic Ticketing Management System

1. Prioritization: A ticketing system efficiently prioritizes incidents based on their impact on the business and their urgency. This ensures critical issues are resolved quickly, minimizing downtime and maximizing productivity.
2. Efficiency: A ticketing system streamlines the incident management process, reducing the time and effort required to handle incidents. It allows support teams to focus on resolving issues rather than spending time on administrative tasks such as logging incidents and updating users.
3. Collaboration: A ticketing system enables collaboration between support teams, allowing them to share information and expertise to resolve incidents more efficiently. It also enables users to collaborate with support teams, providing real-time updates and feedback on the status of their incidents.
4. Tracking & Reporting: A ticketing system provides detailed monitoring and reporting capabilities, allowing businesses to analyze incident data and identify trends and patterns. This information can be used to identify recurring issues, develop strategies to prevent incidents from occurring, and improve the overall quality of support services.
5. Professionalism: A ticketing system provides a professional and consistent approach to incident management, ensuring that all incidents are handled promptly and efficiently. This helps to enhance the reputation of the support team and the business as a whole.
6. Transparency: A ticketing system provides transparency in the incident management process, allowing users to track the status of their incidents in real time. It also provides visibility into the actions taken by support teams, enabling users to understand how incidents are being resolved.
7. Continuity: A ticketing system provides continuity in the incident management process, ensuring that incidents are handled consistently and effectively across the organization. It also ensures that incident data is captured and stored in a centralized location, providing a comprehensive view of the incident management process.

A Support System Orbits Around 3-Tiered Support

Tier 1

Tier 1 tech support is typically the first level of technical support in a multi-tiered technical support model. It is responsible for handling basic customer issues and providing initial diagnosis and resolution of technical problems.

A Tier 1 specialist’s primary responsibility is to gather customer information and analyze the symptoms to determine the underlying problem. They may use pre-determined scripts or workflows to troubleshoot common technical issues and provide basic solutions.

If the issue is beyond their expertise, they may escalate it to the appropriate Tier 2 or Tier 3 support team for further investigation and resolution.

Overall, Tier 1 tech support is critical for providing initial assistance to customers and ensuring that technical issues are addressed promptly and efficiently.

Tier 2

Tier 2 support is the second level of technical support in a multi-tiered technical support model, and it typically involves more specialized technical knowledge and skills than Tier 2 support.

Tier 2 support is staffed by technicians with in-depth technical knowledge and experience troubleshooting complex technical issues. These technicians are responsible for providing more advanced technical assistance to customers, and they may use more specialized tools or equipment to diagnose and resolve technical problems.

Tier 2 support is critical for resolving complex technical issues and ensuring that customers receive high-quality technical assistance.

Tier 3

Support typically involves highly specialized technical knowledge and skills, and technicians at this level are often subject matter experts in their respective areas. They may be responsible for developing new solutions or workarounds for complex technical issues and providing training and guidance to Tier 1 and Tier 2 support teams.

In some cases, Tier 3 support may be provided by the product or service vendor, while in other cases, it may be provided by a third-party provider. The goal of Tier 3 support is to ensure that the most complex technical issues are resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible, minimizing downtime and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Overall, Tier 3 support is critical in providing advanced technical assistance and ensuring that the most complex technical problems are resolved effectively.

Determine The Importance of Tickets/Incidents/Issues/Cases

The first step in a support ticketing system is to determine the incident’s importance. This involves assessing the incident’s impact on the user and the business and assigning a priority level based on the severity of the issue.

1. Receiving: The step is to receive the incident report from the user. This can be done through various channels, such as email, phone, or a web-based form.
2. Validating: This step involves validating the incident and verifying that it is a valid issue that needs to be addressed by the Support team.
3. Logging: Once the incident has been validated, it is logged into an incident application, which is used to track and manage it throughout the process.
4. Screening: The next step is to screen the incident and determine the user’s symptoms. This involves asking questions to gather more information about the issue and to identify any patterns or trends that may help resolve the incident.
5. Prioritizing: Once the symptoms have been identified, the next step is to prioritize the incident based on its impact on the user and the business.
6. Assigning: After the incident has been prioritized, it is assigned to a support team that will handle it. If the support team cannot handle the incident, it is escalated to a higher-level tier.
7. Escalating: If the incident requires more advanced expertise or resources, it is escalated to a higher-level tier where it can be resolved more effectively.
8. Resolving: The support team or higher-level tier works on resolving the incident and provides updates to the user until the issue is resolved.
9. Closing: Once the incident has been resolved, the ticket is closed by logging the resolution and changing the ticket status to indicate that the incident has been successfully resolved.

Summary

Ticketing systems are essential for businesses that want to manage customer service requests efficiently. These systems allow customers to submit service requests, track the progress of their requests, and receive updates when their requests are resolved. The ticketing system also enables businesses to assign service requests to the appropriate employees or teams and prioritize them based on urgency or severity. This helps streamline workflow and ensure service requests are addressed promptly and efficiently. Additionally, ticketing systems can provide valuable insights into customer behavior, allowing businesses to identify areas where they can improve their products or services.

In the new episode of the “What If? So What?” podcast, Jim Hertzfeld and Deena Piquion, chief growth and disruption officer at Xerox, discuss how disruption and digital transformation can position companies to succeed in a rapidly changing technology landscape.

Deena is leading Xerox on a unique and pivotal reinvention journey as the company undergoes a significant transformation, expanding beyond its traditional print and copy services. Deena explains how the company is now focusing on enabling the modern workforce with AI-powered platforms, workflow automation, and IT solutions.

Data plays a crucial role in Xerox’s digital transformation strategy and highlights the importance of integrating data from various sources to create a unified view that enables better decision-making and more effective marketing.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about internal disruption and digital innovation!

Listen now on your favorite podcast platform or visit our website.

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Meet our Guest

Deena Piquion, Chief Growth and Disruption Officer, Xerox

Deena Piquion is chief growth and disruption officer at Xerox. She previously served as chief marketing officer, and senior vice president and general manager of Xerox Latin America operations. Prior to joining Xerox in 2019, she was with Tech Data Corporation, where she last served as vice president and general manager of Latin America & Caribbean.

She is a member of the Advisory Board of Teach for America Miami Dade County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educational equity and excellence. Deena was awarded the Florida Diversity Council Glass Ceiling Award in 2016, was selected as a CRN Women of the Channel Honoree in 2017, and was named to Diversity First’s Top 50 Women in Tech 2021 and Top 100 CMOs in 2022.

Deena is actively engaged in her community and passionate about supporting children’s cancer research, and diversity and inclusion in technology. She is a dynamic blogger who created her own branded platform to share tips on personal and professional growth with an engaged following in the industry.

Connect with Deena

Meet the Host

Jim Hertzfeld is Area Vice President, Strategy for Perficient.

For over two decades, he has worked with clients to convert market insights into real-world digital products and customer experiences that actually grow their business. More than just a strategist, Jim is a pragmatic rebel known for challenging the conventional and turning grand visions into actionable steps. His candid demeanor, sprinkled with a dose of cynical optimism, shapes a narrative that challenges and inspires listeners.

Connect with Jim:

LinkedIn | Perficient

Perficient, the leading global digital consultancy transforming the world’s largest enterprises and biggest brands, has joined the platinum tier of HubSpot’s Solutions Partner Program. HubSpot, an AI-powered customer platform, works hand-in-hand with partner experts to grow their businesses through inbound software, services, and support.

The Solutions Partner Program is an ecosystem of experts who offer marketing, sales, customer service, web design, CRM, and IT services. It’s a global community that believes putting customers first is the key to growth and enables its members to offer a wide breadth of more sophisticated solutions across the entire customer experience.

Perficient is pleased to become one of HubSpot’s largest partners, with the ability to offer HubSpot’s inbound strategies to attract, engage, and delight our clients’ customers. The partnership will expand services across both companies’ primary verticals including, High Tech, Manufacturing, Healthcare, etc.

About Perficient
Perficient is the leading global digital consultancy. Our strategists, designers, technologists, and engineers enable the world’s largest enterprises and biggest brands to boldly advance their business and drive real results through the power of technology. We shatter boundaries, obsess over outcomes, and forge the future for our customers. For more information, visit www.perficient.com.

SERPs will change, AI will be a big part of the changes, and SEO remains relevant.

Those were key points made at Google’s Search Central Live in New York City on March 20.

“Search is never a solved problem,” according to Liz Reid (quoted at the event). John Mueller pointed out that “15% of all searches are new every day.“ This means Google has to work hard to keep a fresh index and run algorithms able to serve results that meet user needs.

AI Overview

The biggest change in SERPs over the past year is the introduction of what Google calls AI Overview (AIO), a form of featured snippet on ‘roids. Unlike featured snippets, AIO is generated text based on multiple sources and often with no easily found links to other web sites.

The impact of AIO on Click-Through Rates is unclear, but client data I have seen and studies by SEO pros and vendors show a 50-75% decrease in CTR, depending on the method. AIO can improve CTR for pages that rank so low that even the meager rates for links listed as citations in AIO are better than for the organic result.

Attendees harshly criticized Google’s refusal to share AIO traffic data in Search Console’s Performance report. A Google rep argued that AIO is still new and changing so much that it doesn’t make sense to share the data at this point. That argument did not seem to go over well.

Spam, Penalties, and Site Reputation Abuse

Site Reputation Abuse is a manual action that also entered the chat last year. It penalizes websites that use third-party content to rank with the help of signals earned by first-party work. (Some SEO practitioners refer to this as “parasite SEO,” which makes little sense since the relationship is symbiotic.)

The quality of the third-party content, as is publishers’ intent, is irrelevant in the assessment.
Google’s Danny Sullivan stressed that the spam team works hard to decide if a site is guilty of reputation abuse.

Sullivan stressed that Google “does not hate freelancers.” In some freelance and publisher circles, there is a fear that freelance work is third-party content in Google’s eyes.

He also stated that Google penalizes spam practices, not people or sites (although a site would obviously be affected when penalized for using spam practices).

Freelancers who write for a site that has been penalized will not have their work on other sites penalized, nor will those sites be affected because they have content created by someone who has also created content for a site that has been penalized.

How big is the spam problem for Google?

50% of the documents that Google encounters on the web is spam, said Sullivan, but 99% of search sessions are free of spam. These numbers are, of course, based on Google’s definitions and measurements. You may view it differently.

Brand, ranking, and E-E-A-T

Brand has become a catch-all cure-all term in the SEO industry. It isn’t quite that, but it is important. I define a brand as a widely recognized solution for a specific problem. People prefer brands when looking for a solution to a problem. It takes work to become a brand.
Sullivan said Google’s “systems don’t say brand at all,” but “if you’re recognized as a brand… that correlates with search success.” The signals Google collects tend to line up with brands.
Mueller pointed out that you can’t “add E-E-A-T” to a website; it’s not something you sprinkle on a page. Putting an “About” link on your site isn’t helping you rank.

The acronym E-E-A-T stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Google primarily uses these concepts to explain to its search quality raters what to look for when evaluating the quality of pages linked from the search results,

Google’s search quality rater guidelines give many examples of companies with high E-E-A-T. For example, Visa, Discover, and HSBC are mentioned as companies with high E-E-A-T for credit card services. Brand is a more common and sweeping, if vaguer, way to say E-E-A-T.

Visa did not become a brand by having a Ph.D. in financial services write essay-length web pages on the wonders of credit cards. E-E-A-T, like brand, is an outcome, not an action.

Sullivan said Google is looking for ways ”to give more exposure to smaller publishers.” He also noted that many sites just aren’t good. He asked why Google should rank your site if thousands of other sites are just as good or better.

This is where brand becomes the answer. Become a widely recognized solution, and the signals Google uses will work to your advantage (though not always to the extent you want them to work).

Sundry Points Made at the Event

• Google doesn’t have a notion of toxic links
• Use the link disavow tool only to disavow links you have purchased
•  Google does not crawl or index every page on every site
• If a page is not “helpful,” the answer is not simply to make it longer. More unhelpful content does not make the page more helpful.
• Google Partners does not have an internal connection with Google for SEO help.
• You don’t need to fill your site with topical content to rank. This is especially true for local SEO (the specific question was about “content marketing,” which is a lot broader than putting content on your site, but Mueller spoke only about on-site content).
• Duplicate content is more of a technical issue than a quality issue. Duplicate content can have an unwanted impact on crawling, indexing, and ranking.
• Structured data is much more precise than LLM. It’s also much cheaper.
• Structured data isn’t helpful unless a lot of people use it. Google structured data documentation tells you what types are used by Google and how.
• Structured data is not a ranking signal but can help you get into SERPP features that drive traffic.
• Google Search does not favor websites that buy AdWords or carry AdSense.

Adobe launched GenStudio for Performance Marketing and has made many improvements and updates leading up to Adobe Summit 2025. We’ve had an opportunity to use it here at Perficient, and have discovered a number of exciting features (along with nuances) of the product.

We see an evolving future of its rollout, especially as more and more marketing teams adopt the capabilities it has into their own digital marketing ecosystems. 

What GenStudio Is 

GenStudio may very well be a marketer’s dream. We do see it as a game-changer for how marketing content is created, activated, and measured. That’s because it greatly reduces the amount of time that is typically required to request, build, assemble, review, and publish content for marketing campaigns.

These various flows in creating content can now be handled by the AI capabilities of GenStudio. Not only that, but the content generated can follow brand standards and guidelines that are established in GenStudio. 

Some of the main features to highlight: 

• An AI-first approach 
• Brand scoring based on generated content, with feedback review 
• Integrations with existing brand-approved assets 
• Extensibility options 
• Channel activation directly from GenStudio 

We’d like to note that although there are many Generative AI capabilities within creating content, human review is always a part of the approval and publication process. 

GenStudio Use Cases 

There are a few use cases that have been described by Adobe that can be addressed with GenStudio.  

• Reuse of content from previous campaigns across channels 
• Personalization of content to products, offers, and segments 
• Content localization across geos and languages 
• Content optimization based on insights 

Our experience so far has been focused on the content creation process, and seeing how our content looks and behaves in some of our channels. We look forward to creating personalized experiences, along with seeing how the content performs based on things like Content Analytics, recently announced at Adobe Summit. 

The Process

After onboarding, defining users and groups, and establishing some processes for adopting GenStudio, the first step is to establish the Brand Guidelines.  

Brand Setup 

New Brands can be created (along with Storage Permissions) within the interface, either using a guidelines document or manually.    

Expert Tip: Use a PDF document that has all your brand guidelines defined to upload, and GenStudio will create the various guidelines based on the document(s).   

Once a brand is uploaded, review the guidelines, add new ones, and make necessary adjustments.  

The following example illustrates the WKND brand: 

Note that the permissions to edit and publish a brand should be kept to brand owners. Changes to the brand which are then published may also impact other systems that use these brand guidelines, such as Adobe Experience Manager, or Orchestration Agents. 

Once the brand has been published, it can then be used to generate emails, meta ads, banner ads, and other display ads.  

Content Creation 

Content creation is based on templates. These templates allow the creation of content that may greatly reduce the amount of time to build out content with existing tools. What we would like to see eventually from Adobe in this area is the ability to create and design layouts within the tool, as opposed to having to upload HTML files that need to adhere to certain frameworks. Another approach may be to create a process that can reference existing layouts such as emails from Marketo, or Experience Fragments in AEM, and them brought into GenStudio. 

Assets can also be brought into GenStudio and then used in generating content. Assets that are managed in AEM as a Cloud Service can also be used.  

Note: The Assets that are part of AEMaaCS need to be marked as “Approved” before being made available in GenStudio. Assets can also be sourced from ContentHub.  

Expert tip: Because there are several ways of sourcing Assets that are brought into GenStudio, we suggest working with a partner such as Perficient to guide these processes. 

Example content generation for an event at Adobe Summit:

Content Review 

After the content creation process, content can then be sent for approval. For example, in the above display ad, a content reviewer may ask for re-phrasing to help improve the brand score, if appropriate. Once approved, the content is then published as part of a campaign and can be downloaded in the form of HTML, images, or CSV files for publication. 

Content Activation 

Activating content can also be done on various channels such as Meta, Google Campaign Manager 360, and others. (Note that as of this writing, 3/19/25, the only channel available for activation is Meta.) Once these additional channels are rolled out, we look forward to exploring those capabilities and insights based on those channels, which is another feature available as part of GenStudio.  

Excited About the Future of GenStudio 

We’re excited about the features that Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing provides now, and what will be rolled out over time as features become available. Working with the tool itself feels slick, and having the Generative AI features built on top of it makes us feel like we’re really using some cutting-edge technologies. 

In the latest episode of the “What If? So What?” podcast, Jim Hertzfeld speaks with Andi Orzehoski, director of brand content and digital communications at LyondellBasell. Andi shares her expertise on sustainability, digital transformation, and the critical role of change management in driving business success.

The concept of a circular economy is one of the key topics discussed. Andi emphasizes the importance of extending the lifecycle of materials through recycling and reusing, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable future.

Andi’s role at LyondellBasell entails overseeing brand content and digital communications. She explains how these elements are interconnected and essential for delivering a cohesive customer experience.

In the digital age, even traditional B2B companies must embrace transformation. Andi explains how digital tools and platforms play a crucial role in LyondellBassell’s operations, from interacting with customers to achieving sustainability goals. She stresses the need for businesses to stay current with digital trends to remain competitive.

Finally, Andi and Jim discuss how effective communication and strategic planning are vital for successful adoption of new initiatives. By understanding the human psychology behind change, businesses can navigate challenges and drive meaningful progress.

Want to learn more? Tune in to the full episode of “What If? So What?”

Listen now on your favorite podcast platform or visit our website.

Subscribe Where You Listen

Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Overcast

Meet our Guest

Andi Orzehoski, Director of Brand Content and Digital Communications at LyondellBasell

Andi Orzehoski is a seasoned digital marketing, communications, and content strategist who is supremely passionate about innovation and team building, enhancing operations, and fostering creativity.

She serves as the director of brand, content and digital communications at LyondellBasell, a leader in the global chemical industry. Andi has worked in-house and as a consultant for organizations across industries, corporate functions, and locations, and has been integral to developing, implementing, and scaling successful teams and programs in complex and highly regulated markets.

Connect with Andi

Meet the Host

Jim Hertzfeld is Area Vice President, Strategy for Perficient.

For over two decades, he has worked with clients to convert market insights into real-world digital products and customer experiences that actually grow their business. More than just a strategist, Jim is a pragmatic rebel known for challenging the conventional and turning grand visions into actionable steps. His candid demeanor, sprinkled with a dose of cynical optimism, shapes a narrative that challenges and inspires listeners.

Connect with Jim:

LinkedIn | Perficient

Intro

In this post, we’ll take a look at a couple Sitecore SDKs commonly used to build XM Cloud head applications. Specifically, we’ll be looking at how to disable cookies used by these SDKs. This can be useful for data privacy and/or regulatory compliance reasons. These SDKs allow your application to integrate with other composable Sitecore services like analytics, personalization, and search. The cookies these SDKs use need to be considered as part of your application’s overall data protection strategy.

It’s worth noting that, even without any additional SDKs, an XM Cloud head application can issue cookies; see XM Cloud visitor cookies for more information.

Sitecore Cloud SDK

The Sitecore Cloud SDK allows developers to integrate with Sitecore’s Digital Experience Platform (DXP) products. These include Sitecore CDP, Sitecore Personalize, etc. You can read the official documentation here. To learn more about the first-party cookies used by this SDK, see Cloud SDK cookies. These cookies include:

• sc_{SitecoreEdgeContextId}
  • Stored in the browser when the SDK’s initialization function is called (more on this function later).
• sc_{SitecoreEdgeContextId}_personalize
  • Needed to run A/B/n tests; configured in the addPersonalize() function. Also stored in the browser when the initialization function is called.

Sitecore are actively working on integrating the disparate Sitecore SDKs into the Sitecore Cloud SDK. The latest version, 0.5, was released on January 29, 2025, and added search capabilities (see the XM Cloud changelog entry here). As Sitecore’s Technical Product Manager Christian Hahn put it in this recent Discover Sitecore YouTube video:

“…[the] Cloud SDK is not another Sitecore SDK–it is the Sitecore SDK.”

It’s safe to assume that, eventually, the Sitecore Cloud SDK will be the only Sitecore SDK developers need to include in their head applications to integrate with any other Sitecore DXP offerings (which will be nice ).

For the remainder of this post, assume that a pre-0.5 version of the Cloud SDK is in use, say, 0.3.0—any version that doesn’t include search widgets (such that the Search JS SDK for React is still required).

Sitecore Search JS SDK for React

The Search JS SDK for React allows developers to create components such as search bars, search results components, etc. These components interact with search sources defined and indexed in Sitecore Search. You can read the official documentation here. While the latest version of the Cloud SDK includes some search dependencies, for older Next.js applications using older versions of the Cloud SDK, the Search JS SDK for React can still be used to build search interfaces.

The Search JS SDK for React uses a cookie to track events context called __ec (reference). This SDK is historically based on Sitecore Discover whose cookies are similarly documented here, e.g., __rutma.

For the remainder of this post, assume that version 2.5.5 of the Search JS SDK for React is in use.

The Problem

Let’s say your XM Cloud project leverages JSS for Next.js, including the multisite add-on. This add-on (which is included in the official starter kit by default) allows a single Next.js application to drive multiple headless sites. Next, let’s assume that some of these sites operate outside of the United States and are potentially subject to different data protection and privacy laws. Finally, let’s assume that not all of the sites will use the full feature set from these SDKs. For example, what if a couple of the sites are small and don’t need to integrate with Sitecore Search at all?

How do you disable the cookies written to the browser when the Search SDK’s <WidgetsProvider> component is initialized? Even though the smaller sites aren’t using search widgets on any of their pages, the <WidgetsProvider> component is (usually) included in the Layout.tsx file and is still initialized. We don’t want to remove the component since other sites do use search widgets and require the <WidgetsProvider> component.

Can these SDKs be configured to (conditionally) not create cookies on the client browser?

The Solution

First and foremost (before we get into how to disable cookies used by these SDKs), know that you must ensure that your application is compliant with any and all data privacy and data protection laws to which it is subject. This includes allowing users to opt-out of all browser cookies. Cookie preferences, their management, third-party solutions, GDPR, CCPA, etc. are all great topics but are well outside the scope of this post. To get started, refer to Sitecore’s documentation on data privacy to understand who is responsible for what when building an XM Cloud application.

With that small disclaimer out of the way, the programmatic hooks discussed in the sections below can be used in conjunction with whatever cookie management solution that makes sense for your application. Let’s assume that, for these smaller sites operating in different geographies that require neither CDP nor search, we just want to disable cookies from these SDKs altogether.

To disable Cloud SDK cookies:

The short version: just don’t call the SDK’s init() function . One way this can be done is to add an environment variable and check its value within the .\src\<rendering-host>\src\lib\context\sdk\events.ts file and either return early or throw before the call to Events.init():

import * as Events from '@sitecore-cloudsdk/events/browser';
import { SDK } from '@sitecore-jss/sitecore-jss-nextjs/context';

const sdkModule: SDK<typeof Events> = {
  sdk: Events,
  init: async (props) => {
    // Events module can't be initialized on the server side
    // We also don't want to initialize it in development mode
    if (typeof window === 'undefined')
      throw 'Browser Events SDK is not initialized in server context';
    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development')
      throw 'Browser Events SDK is not initialized in development environment';
    // We don't want to initialize if the application doesn't require it
    if (process.env.DISABLE_CLOUD_SDK === 'true') // <===== HERE
      throw 'Browser Events SDK is not initialized for this site';

    await Events.init({
      siteName: props.siteName,
      sitecoreEdgeUrl: props.sitecoreEdgeUrl,
      sitecoreEdgeContextId: props.sitecoreEdgeContextId,
      // Replace with the top level cookie domain of the website that is being integrated e.g ".example.com" and not "www.example.com"
      cookieDomain: window.location.hostname.replace(/^www\./, ''),
      // Cookie may be created in personalize middleware (server), but if not we should create it here
      enableBrowserCookie: true,
    });
  },
};

export default sdkModule;

By not calling Events.init(), the cookies aren’t written to the browser.

Note that in newer versions of the XM Cloud starter kit using the Cloud SDK, the initialize function may be in the Bootstrap.tsx file; however, the same principle applies—don’t call the initialize() function by either returning early or setting up conditions such that the function is never called.

For consistency, assuming your application uses the OOTB CdpPageView.tsx component, you’d probably want to do something similar within that component. By default, page view events are turned off when in development mode. Simply add another condition to ensure that the return value of disabled() is true:

import {
  CdpHelper,
  LayoutServicePageState,
  useSitecoreContext,
} from '@sitecore-jss/sitecore-jss-nextjs';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import config from 'temp/config';
import { context } from 'lib/context';

/**
 * This is the CDP page view component.
 * It uses the Sitecore Cloud SDK to enable page view events on the client-side.
 * See Sitecore Cloud SDK documentation for details.
 * https://www.npmjs.com/package/@sitecore-cloudsdk/events
 */
const CdpPageView = (): JSX.Element => {
  ...
  /**
   * Determines if the page view events should be turned off.
   * IMPORTANT: You should implement based on your cookie consent management solution of choice.
   * By default it is disabled in development mode
   */
  const disabled = () => {
    return process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' || process.env.DISABLE_CLOUD_SDK === 'true'; // <===== HERE
  };
  ...
  return <></>;
};

export default CdpPageView;

To disable Search JS SDK for React (Sitecore Discover) cookies:

The <WidgetsProvider> component (imported from @sitecore-search/react) includes a property named trackConsent (documented here) and it controls exactly that—whether or not tracking cookies related to visitor actions are created. Setting the value of this property to false disables the various cookies. In the Layout.tsx file, assuming we added another environment variable, the code would look something like this:

ata-enlighter-language="typescript">/**
 * This Layout is needed for Starter Kit.
 */
import React from 'react';
...
import { Environment, WidgetsProvider } from '@sitecore-search/react';

const Layout = ({ layoutData, headLinks }: LayoutProps): JSX.Element => {
  ...
  return (
    <>
      ...
        <div className="App">
          <WidgetsProvider
            env={process.env.NEXT_CEC_APP_ENV as Environment}
            customerKey={process.env.NEXT_CEC_CUSTOMER_KEY}
            apiKey={process.env.NEXT_CEC_API_KEY}
            publicSuffix={true}
            trackConsent={!(process.env.DISABLE_TRACK_CONSENT === 'true') /* <===== HERE */}
          >
            ...
          </WidgetsProvider>
        </div>
      ...
    </>
  );
};

export default Layout;

If trackConsent is false, then the various __r… cookies are not written to the browser.

It’s worth mentioning that, by default, trackConsent is true. To opt-out of cookies, developers must set the property to false.

Whether you control the use of cookies by using environment variables as described in this post or by integrating a more complex cookie preference and consent management system, the onus is on you and your XM Cloud head application to avoid using cookies without a user’s consent.

Thanks for the read!