WP Engine’s seventh annual DE{CODE}, a global virtual conference designed for developers, agencies, and marketers driving web innovation, brought together a massive global audience. With nearly 2,800 live attendees, sessions explored how AI is reshaping the way the web works for both humans and agents.

More than 40 speakers took the virtual stage to share expert insights on everything from machine-readable content to the rise of zero-click commerce. This year’s conference was a deep, unflinching look at what it means to build, market, and grow in a world where AI agents are becoming primary consumers of web content.

This year’s theme was the “Intelligent Web.” The Intelligent Web, sometimes called “web 4.0” or “the agentic web,” is the next evolution of how users are finding and interacting with information online. This advanced, AI-driven web uses machine learning and natural language processing to enhance user experiences on the internet and requires site owners to implement strategies that make their content accessible to both humans and AI systems.

CTRL-ALT-DEL: Rebooting Business for the Intelligent Web

Brian Solis, Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow

Following a welcome message by WP Engine CEO Heather Brunner, Brian Solis, Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow, shared the current state of the Intelligent Web. He challenged the audience to stop the “slop” and instead use AI to expand human creativity.

He imparted a few impactful lessons and new definitions from DE{CODE}’s virtual podium:

• Cognitive Darwinism (when people offload their thinking to AI tools) is the natural result of intelligent tools without intelligent governance. We need to be wary of a world where AI thinks for us, and instead, build a future in which AI is used to explore and expand our horizons.
• Content relevance, not volume, is the key to earning real authority. You’re not just building for bots, you’re building for the humans who are using bots, so everything you make should still be human-ready. Content alone is no longer king; context is.
• The AI tax is already a burden. 80% of users will accept an AI’s incorrect answer without question, which means AI slop can actually lead to poor decision making and erosion of trust. Taking the time to build trust, then, is quickly becoming a strategic business advantage.
• Because there are no current standards for the Intelligent Web, creators today are setting the bar for how AI and humans interact in the future.

Solis, like the rest of our presenters, believes that the playbook for the Intelligent Web is being written in real time, and agencies, marketers, and developers all have unique roles to play in shaping what’s next.