The Definition of ‘Showing Up’ is Changing
The strength of a brand will be defined by the quality of its data, the clarity of its identity, and its ability to deliver value within AI-driven interactions. Visibility will still matter, but it will not be enough, says Mohammed Alkhotani, SVP & GM, Salesforce.
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For a long time, brands have worked on a simple assumption: show up enough, in the right places, and influence will follow.
Be visible, stay consistent, and trust that recognition will turn into choice.
That assumption is beginning to feel less certain. More often now, opinions are formed before a brand has the chance to speak, shaped by systems that filter, summarise, and narrow what a customer sees first.
In markets like the UAE, where adoption is moving quickly, this is already changing how companies engage. The question is no longer just whether a brand is seen, but whether it is understood at the moment it matters.
As Mohammed Alkhotani puts it, relevance, grounded in context and timing, is starting to matter more than presence alone.
“The definition of ‘showing up’ is changing. It is less about visibility and more about whether your brand can provide context, continuity, and value within an AI-driven interaction,” says Mohammed Alkhotani, SVP and GM, Middle East and Africa at Salesforce.
In this interview, Mohammed shares how AI is shifting control away from brands, why data and trust are becoming strategic priorities, and what it takes to stay relevant in an increasingly AI-mediated customer journey.
Excerpts from the interview;
From your perspective, what does it really mean for a brand to “show up” today, beyond just being visible?
Showing up today is no longer about being present. It is about being relevant in the exact moment a decision is being shaped, and increasingly, that moment is no longer fully controlled by the brand, but shaped by AI.
What we are seeing in the UAE is a strong willingness to lean into this shift. There is real confidence in AI taking on customer interactions. At the same time, many organisations are still building the unified view of the customer needed to make those interactions truly meaningful and consistent.
As a result, the definition of ‘showing up’ is changing. It is less about visibility and more about whether your brand can provide context, continuity, and value within an AI-driven interaction. If a brand can do that, it becomes part of the decision itself. If not, it may still be visible, but it is no longer influencing the outcome.
In MEA, where digital adoption is accelerating, how do you see AI redefining the balance between global platforms and local relevance?
There is a perception that AI will standardise experiences.
In reality, it is doing the opposite; it is raising the bar for relevance. In markets like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, customers expect experiences that reflect their context, language, and expectations, not just global best practice.
What is particularly notable is the pace at which organisations in the region are moving. Many are adopting AI faster than global peers and showing strong confidence in using it for customer engagement. The opportunity now is to translate that momentum into consistently relevant, context-aware experiences.
This is where data becomes critical. Delivering local relevance at scale depends on having a connected, unified understanding of the customer, something many organisations are actively working towards as they modernise their data foundations.
The real opportunity for the region is not just to adopt AI, but to use it to deliver deeply local, highly contextual experiences. The organisations that get this right will not just scale globally.
They will differentiate locally in a way that is very hard to replicate.
The traditional marketing funnel is fragmenting. How should brands rethink their presence when they’re no longer in full control of the customer journey?
The idea that brands fully control the customer journey is evolving.
Today, discovery is increasingly happening in environments where the brand may not even be directly visible, shaped by AI summaries, assistants, and recommendation layers that influence how customers explore and decide.
At the same time, customer expectations are advancing rapidly. People expect conversations, not campaigns, and increasingly expect brands to respond in real time with relevance and context.
Many organisations are already moving in this direction, while continuing to modernise the systems and data foundations needed to support it at scale.
This shift calls for a change in mindset. Rather than trying to control the journey, brands have an opportunity to participate more intelligently within it. That means being structured to deliver relevance wherever decisions are being shaped, with the data, intelligence, and operational agility to respond in the moment.
Ultimately, success will come from being present, connected, and responsive across the entire experience, not just in the channels where brands have traditionally invested.
How are you seeing organisations evolve their approach to first-party data and customer trust as AI becomes more embedded in engagement?
There is a clear shift underway. Data is no longer seen as a back-end function. It is becoming a leadership priority because it directly shapes how effectively organisations can use AI to engage with customers.
In the UAE, many organisations have already embraced AI at a strategic level. The next phase is making that adoption meaningful. And that comes down to data. A unified, trusted view of the customer is what enables AI to deliver the level of personalisation, relevance, and responsiveness that customers increasingly expect.
At the same time, trust is becoming a defining factor. Customers are more aware than ever of how their data is used, and expectations around transparency and control are rising.
As a result, leading organisations are rethinking how they approach first-party data, not just as an asset for activation, but as a foundation for building long-term relationships. The balance between intelligence and trust becomes critical.
Looking ahead, do you see a point where brands become less visible as standalone entities and more embedded within AI ecosystems?
We are already moving in that direction. In many cases, the customer’s first interaction is not with the brand itself, but with an AI layer that represents it.
That does not diminish the role of the brand; it redefines how it is experienced. Brand-building will become less about direct exposure and more about how consistently and intelligently a brand shows up across different environments.
In that future, the strength of a brand will be defined by the quality of its data, the clarity of its identity, and its ability to deliver value within AI-driven interactions.
Visibility will still matter, but it will not be enough. What will matter more is whether the brand is trusted, understood, and chosen, even when it is not front and centre.
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