Our Top 5 Experiential Trends from Dreamforce 2026

Read Time:5 Minute, 34 Second

AI innovation is inspiring an evolution within the storied convention’s theming

The park rangers are gone, and so is the canoe. Dreamforce 2026, Salesforce’s annual consumer convention and flagship advertising occasion that passed off at Moscone Center in San Francisco Sept. 15-17, nonetheless had the camp vibe however felt extra like a reunion earlier than an area launch.

Traditionally, Salesforce makes use of this occasion to launch new merchandise, and this time, all eyes had been on the brand new Alforce that lets AI brokers entry and act on Salesforce information, in addition to Koa, a brand new CRM reasoning mannequin developed with NVIDIA and skilled on 27 years of Salesforce CRM experience. Translation: Static record-keeping programs are shifting in the direction of dynamic interfaces powered by brokers.

The shift comes throughout a pivotal time for AI, when its energy is each omnipresent and controversial. During Dreamforce, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman took to the stage to weigh in on the way forward for this know-how and the necessity for potential guardrails.

On the bottom at Dreamforce, the power felt electrical. The dichroic, color-shifting arches welcomed attendees to Dreampark, which took over Howard Street, connecting the campus. “Nuggets of data” sparkled within the mountains. Floating iridescent emojis added new dimensions.

Some 45,000 attendees got here to really feel a part of the second and stroll away with actual, tangible takeaways, corresponding to new expertise, instruments and brokers they constructed for his or her use circumstances.

“This year is about transformation,” says Suzanne Fritz-Hanson, vp-creative at George P. Johnson. “You don’t necessarily know what the future will bring, but Salesforce is there to get you there.” Project Worldwide groups from George P. Johnson Marketing, OS Studios, and Wondersauce partnered to provide this undertaking.

Here’s what caught our consideration.

1. A Frictionless Experience

This ought to be desk stakes at commerce exhibits and occasions at this level, however we nonetheless love:

Express badge pickup with facial authentication, the place you add your image throughout pre-registration and, on-site, you have a look at the digicam for 2 seconds and choose up your badge in lower than two minutes.
AI chat within the app and on the web site. Dreamforce makes use of Agentforce, an AI agent, and it makes it a lot simpler to construct your schedule, discover areas and navigate your personal expertise.
Session audio on cell app. Instead of racing to a session, attendees may seize a espresso, discover a comfy chair, and tune into the session’s audio or view captions within the cell app on their gadget.
Self-guided excursions. There’s a lot to discover, and it’s useful to have the ability to scan a QR code and dive into the small print on Spotify.

2. The Product to Persona-Centered Campground

The coronary heart of the present—the Campground—opened with a futuristic Oculus entrance the place attendees may discover creating “their own way to work.” The prompts they typed on one of many stations on the round stage appeared on the clear LED display screen in entrance of them, and everybody else, manifesting the message of connection between a number of platforms and the chances this know-how opens.

From right here, attendees stepped into Agentic Enterprise City, the place manufacturers showcased how they use Salesforce’s brokers and different know-how. More on these activations later, however key moments embody gamification the whole lot, circle demo stations, and big screens to assist attendees observe alongside.

The remainder of the Campground was organized across the issues the attendees had been making an attempt to unravel, relatively than merchandise that the corporate needed to showcase, a notable shift from earlier Dreamforce iterations.

“Persona-led zones help people enter through the lens of their role and need, then discover products and solutions most relevant to them,” says Andrew Lacanienta, director of technique at George P. Johnson. “The products are used as proof within a broader solution story.”

3. ‘Build with Us’ Hands-on Experiences

What was once a couple of tables is now large, immersive areas the place attendees are constructing, testing, and studying. With adoption a key focus for Salesforce, extra bodily environments than ever have been devoted to one-on-one teaching and hands-on alternatives.

At Trailblazer Forest, amongst different actions attendees may participate in included safety challenges and sponsored mini-hacks, getting options with pre-built brokers, and finishing a Trailblazer Quest that took them via 15-minute actions to expertise the merchandise and ideas.

Upstairs, expanded Learning Labs delivered much more hands-on studying, together with serving to attendees stroll away with their very own brokers and different actionable options and instruments they may use that day.

But it wasn’t all digital. Attendees may construct their analog agentic playbook by speaking to an agent, then including bodily pages to an precise ebook and customizing it with their photograph.

4. A Content Engine and Creators

Broadcast has historically been a rising focus space for Dreamforce, with content material reaching over 120,000 viewers on Salesforce+ in the course of the occasion, plus virtually a 12 months’s value of content material created on the Broadcast Stage and across the occasion. Attendees additionally obtain customized watch lists, recapping and increasing their expertise.

Now the attain technique can also be enhanced by the rising invite-only creator program, constructing an ecosystem of numerous voices that assist the model attain new audiences. Last 12 months, the creator marketing campaign generated 16.6 million paid and natural impressions and 1.3 million paid and natural engagements. This 12 months, together with the expanded program, the occasion featured devoted areas for creators and influencers.

5. Cards, Paints and Plants

To maintain issues grounded in a high-tech surroundings, attendees may get their fingers soiled with potting succulents for the Neighborhood Forest indoor plant program. If the texture of a brushstroke on canvas was their jam, they may flex their artistic muscle mass serving to to color a mural for an area college. At the Community Cove, they may take a considerate second to create a card for hospital sufferers, sharing inspiration and encouragement with a human contact.