Forrester Wave DXP Q4 2025: why “agentic” now decides the game (and what Sitecore is doing about it)

Forrester just dropped their latest Wave for Digital Experience Platforms (Q4 2025). Nine vendors evaluated on current offering, strategy, and customer feedback. As always, this isn’t a popularity contest—it’s a “who has their act together now and next” overview.

The headline everywhere: “agentic orchestration is the new differentiator.” Translation: AI isn’t a cute roadmap feature anymore. It’s the layer that determines how your whole DXP operates.

Let me unpack that for people who prefer building over reading buzzwords.

Quick basics: what Forrester is actually saying

Forrester isn’t only asking “can you manage content and personalize?” anymore. That’s hygiene now. A DXP has to prove it can:

• Seriously support AI-driven orchestration. Not just generating text, but agents executing tasks across your stack.
• Think ecosystem-first. Composable architectures, integrations, extensibility.
• Show mature customer proof points. Real customers getting real value.

That AI shift is the biggest change compared to Waves from a few years back. Back then it was all headless/composable. Now it’s: “okay, how intelligently can you automate this with agents?”

Sitecore as a Leader: not surprising, still interesting

Sitecore positions itself as a Leader in the Q4 2025 Wave. That’s not just marketing confetti—Forrester’s framing lines up with where Sitecore has been moving for a while.

Why that makes sense:

• XM Cloud + composable fundamentals have been there for a bit. You can build experiences fast, reuse content, deliver headless.
• The focus is shifting to AI as the orchestration layer for personalization, content supply chain, and experience delivery.
• Sitecore frames this as the “agentic era.” AI agents that don’t just recommend—they execute and optimize

Forrester isn’t rewarding “who has the most features.” They’re rewarding “who’s ready for the agentic transition.” Strategy-wise and investment-wise, Sitecore looks well positioned.

What “agentic orchestration” means for us as a community

Not another AI buzzword bingo, promise. Here are the practical implications I’m taking from it:

1) Personalization shifts from rules to goals

Where you used to go:

• segments → rules → variants → tests

you’re moving toward:

• goal → agent decides variant → agent learns and adapts

Platforms that support that win. You don’t want every marketer to need a data science minor to get something smart live.

2) Scaling content without losing your soul

Everyone wants more content, faster, and consistent. Agents can help you:

• rephrase per channel,
• enforce tone of voice,
• auto-translate/localize,
• and push straight into publishing flows.

But only if your DXP is built end-to-end for that. Otherwise you’re just copy-pasting AI output into tools like it’s 2012.

3) The DXP becomes the interface for your whole MarTech ecosystem

“DXP” no longer means “that CMS layer for websites.” It becomes the orchestrator over your CDP, DAM, automation, analytics, commerce—whatever you’ve got. With agents on top, you automate tasks that are still manual today. That’s where the real ROI sits.

Small reality check (because hype is free)

Forrester’s direction makes sense, but:

• “agentic” capabilities are still young,
• governance matters more than ever,
• and you don’t want a black box autonomously wrecking your customer journeys.

So when a vendor screams “everything is agentic,” ask:

• what’s product-ready today?
• what’s roadmap poetry?
• how do you keep control when it goes wrong?

Why this matters (even without a Forrester subscription)

The Wave is a market signal. And the signal is: DXP selection in 2026+ is about AI orchestration, not core CMS features.

So whether you’re:

• building an XM Cloud starter,
• doing migrations,
• or designing composable stacks…

you need to think about:

• where agents add value,
• how to do that safely and controllably,
• and how your stack supports it.

TL;DR – for busy people

• Forrester says: AI agents + orchestration are the differentiator in DXP-land.
• Sitecore is a Leader because their strategy is already moving there.
• For us: less rule-based nonsense, more goal-driven automation, scalable content, and a DXP that orchestrates the ecosystem.
• But: keep your hype filter on, take governance seriously.