These advancements are poised to redefine how marketers craft personalised experiences, ensuring that businesses stay ahead in the race for customer hearts and minds. From the moment you visit Braze you understand their philosophy, and it makes sense; Customers are demanding the world, while AI is already transforming it

Project catalyst: the next frontier in personalised marketing

At the forefront of Braze's announcements is the introduction of their new AI agent, codenamed Project Catalyst. Set to enter beta in the first half of fiscal year 2026, this innovation promises to deliver true one-to-one customer engagement on an unprecedented scale. By rapidly creating, testing, and optimising thousands of experience variations, Project Catalyst empowers marketers to connect with consumers in ways previously thought impossible.

With extensive experience working with various client portals, multi-channel quoting systems, and referral channels, I professionally understand the complexity involved in testing a wide range of customer journey variations. Managing all relevant touchpoints—whether email, SMS, phone, websites, or mobile applications—can be overwhelming. Project Catalyst is designed to address this challenge head-on, simplifying and optimising the process.

So, how does it work? Marketers start by providing high-level guidelines for customer journeys, including content preferences, product recommendations, and incentive structures. They also specify target audiences and campaign goals. From there, Project Catalyst springs into action, generating hundreds of variants for each component of the customer experience—be it the subject line of an email, the tone of a push notification, or the timing of a special offer. The AI then intelligently combines these elements to craft unique, personalised experiences for each individual consumer.

"Consumers have more brand choices than ever before," said Jon Hyman, Co-founder and CTO of Braze. "They demand highly memorable and relevant experiences that are personalised to them. The brands that meet that challenge by being absolutely engaging will win consumer attention, advocacy, and dollars."

Enhancing marketer efficiency with BrazeAI assistants

In addition to Project Catalyst, Braze is extending the power of generative AI with new assistant features: the BrazeAI Liquid Assistant and the Message Template Assistant which is scheduled for second half of 2025. These tools, designed to simplify complex marketing tasks, allow marketers to create advanced personalixsation logic and sophisticated message templates using simple, plain-text prompts.

For instance, the BrazeAI Liquid Assistant (generally available) can help generate dynamic content blocks without requiring in-depth coding knowledge. This means marketers can focus more on strategy and creativity, rather than getting bogged down in technical details.

Streamlining Customer Journeys with Canvas Templates

Understanding that time is of the essence for marketing teams, Braze has introduced Canvas Templates, a library of pre-built customer journey templates. These templates cover a range of common use cases—such as onboarding new users, recovering abandoned carts, and re-engaging lapsed customers—allowing teams to quickly implement effective strategies without starting from scratch.

"Braze Canvas Templates have truly transformed the way we work at Overstock," shared Nicole Ruffner, Campaign Automation Manager at Overstock. "Their straightforward setup and editing capabilities have simplified and significantly streamlined our processes. These templates have been a game-changer, boosting our team's efficiency and accuracy."

Harnessing Data for Deeper Customer Insights

Great customer experiences are built on a foundation of deep understanding. To that end, Braze has made significant enhancements to the Braze Data Platform, making it easier than ever to unify and activate customer data. New Cloud Data Ingestion (CDI) integrations with AWS S3 and Microsoft Azure enable seamless data consolidation from various sources.

Moreover, with CDI Segments, marketers can build audiences using zero-copy data directly from their data warehouses. This eliminates the need for data duplication and ensures that segmentation is both efficient and up-to-date. The introduction of automated Identity Resolution capabilities further helps maintain accurate customer profiles, crucial for delivering relevant and personalised experiences.

Expanding Reach with New Global Channels

As digital touchpoints continue to proliferate, Braze is expanding its channel offerings to help brands meet customers where they are. The platform now includes support for LINE, the most popular messaging app in Japan and widely used across Southeast Asia. Additionally, enhancements to WhatsApp messaging—such as dynamic images, click tracking, and commerce support—are set to roll out, offering richer engagement opportunities.

For brands looking to stay at the cutting edge of mobile communication, Braze is also introducing support for RCS Business Messaging. This next-generation SMS protocol allows for interactive, media-rich messaging, providing a more engaging experience than traditional text messages.

Driving Business Success Through Customer Loyalty

In an era where consumers are inundated with choices, building and maintaining customer loyalty is paramount. Braze's latest innovations are not just about leveraging technology for its own sake—they're about forging deeper connections between brands and their customers.

By harnessing the power of AI, data integration, and expanded communication channels, businesses can deliver highly personalised experiences that resonate with consumers on an individual level. This level of engagement not only captures attention but also fosters long-term loyalty, turning customers into brand advocates.

As Jon Hyman aptly put it, "Our latest innovations further improve marketers’ abilities to use first-party data and an ever-evolving set of channels to create more valuable customer experiences. Braze powers experimentation at a true one-to-one scale, which drives measurable value for both the consumer and the brand."

Conclusion

Braze's announcements at Forge 2024 signal a significant leap forward in customer engagement technology. By equipping marketers with advanced AI tools, enhanced data capabilities, and broader communication channels, Braze is enabling brands to meet—and exceed—the evolving expectations of today's consumers.

In a world where customer attention is the most valuable currency, these innovations provide businesses with the means to not just compete but to thrive. Through personalised, engaging experiences, brands can build lasting relationships that drive growth and ensure long-term success.