Christina Schönfeld, Director of Sales for DACH & CEMEA at Algolia, discusses the company’s positioning between open-source and out-of-the-box solutions, the role of AI and MCP, data protection with European roots, and growth in the DACH market.
Christina Schönfeld, Director of Sales DACH & CEMEA at Algolia, knows exactly what she’s dealing with: a market that has long underestimated search and discovery and is now catching up in the AI era.
Algolia sees itself as a Search and Discovery Platform. This means that companies use the solution to make content and products discoverable on their websites or in apps—for end users, but increasingly also for bots and AI agents. The company, founded by French entrepreneurs and headquartered in Paris, employs more than 700 people worldwide and has positioned itself as an API-first provider that avoids both the complexity of pure open-source solutions and the rigidity of simple out-of-the-box products.
“We’ve always played in the middle,” says Schönfeld. “For us, API-first means: a lot of transparency, a lot of control—and the ability to truly empower everyone in the company to build things.” Her corporate philosophy, deliberately phrased in English as ‘for the builders,’ embodies not only a product vision but also a market assessment: With the rise of generative AI, suddenly many more people can tackle technical topics. And Algolia, she is convinced, fits right in with that.
At OMR in Hamburg, from where Schönfeld had just returned shortly before the interview, these developments were particularly noticeable. Partners like Commercetools and Akeneo were represented at the joint booth; the conversations revolved almost without exception around AI. She identifies two types of customers: Some still consider AI to be a distant prospect and need concrete entry points. The others are already experimenting intensively—and are asking themselves how they can achieve a true conversational shopping experience. “We have to cater to both, but in very different ways,” says Schönfeld.
For AI-open customers, Algolia has developed a solution with Agent Studio: A business user can use it to set up a chatbot directly on their own website, based on defined indexes and product data—including configurable language and the company’s specific jargon. Algolia acts as the retrieval engine: The platform provides the data, the chatbot handles the conversation. Schönfeld emphasizes that this is just scratching the surface of what’s possible.
It’s also noteworthy that Algolia was among the first providers to release an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server—an interface through which AI agents can access external data sources in a standardized way. “This shows how early we are in these developments,” says Schönfeld. In addition, the company is working on its Composition API, which is intended to boost retail media, among other things, as well as on enhanced event tracking and session personalization.
Schönfeld sees the company’s European DNA as a key differentiator—especially when it comes to data protection and security. When the GDPR issue hit the German market, Algolia was already prepared: Together with the French General Counsel and the VP of Infrastructure & Security, data flow processes were documented and DPA agreements drafted. “We listen closely to what customers need. Legal safeguards are a basic requirement for many, not an optional extra. The same principle applies today to AI data: customers retain control, data is deleted quickly, and the AI Act is naturally taken into account.”
Schönfeld knows from personal experience that analyst assessments carry particular weight in the German market. She recalls an early situation where a compelling evaluation team was vetoed by a managing director—simply because he didn’t know the name Algolia. “That was a humbling moment for me. When the Gartner Magic Quadrant was published and we were at the top, I was very relieved.” Today, the rankings by Gartner, IDC, and Forrester are a tangible help—especially in the DACH region, which is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Algolia has a presence in the DACH market with approximately 20 employees—covering everything from sales and project implementation to support. Well-known clients in the region include Westwing, DocMorris, Flaconi, C&A Services, Rewe, Alnatura, and Chefkoch. In addition, Algolia is expanding into Central Europe, where Poland and the Czech Republic have been identified as new growth markets. “We’ve already secured several major clients there, but we’re still in the early stages of building out our presence,” says Schönfeld.
The ecosystem of implementation partners and ISVs—Independent Software Vendors—also plays a growing role for Schönfeld. No client buys a standalone solution; integration with other platforms is essential. Partner days, most recently held for the first time in Berlin, are intended to strengthen this network. In addition to OMR, the event calendar includes the K5 Conference, DMEXCO, and regional partner events.
When it comes to implementation times, Schönfeld is honest: It depends. She has seen an airline go live in two weeks—and corporations where internal processes significantly slow down projects. What matters less is the technology than the organizational agility on the customer side.
When asked about her personal goals for the near future, Schönfeld doesn’t give the typical sales manager’s answer. Growth, yes—but above all, sustainable growth: customer satisfaction, high renewal rates, long-term contracts. “I’m incredibly proud that we have customers who’ve been with us for six years and with whom we’ve grown together.” In addition, she focuses on team development and—in keeping with the spirit of the times—on collective learning: In team meetings, she regularly asks what AI insights the week has brought. “We are in the midst of a historic transformation. Staying curious is not an option, but a duty.”
And the search bar? It’s long since ceased to be the core feature. For Schönfeld, Algolia is now a platform that populates product listing pages, powers category pages, supplies chatbots with retrieval logic, and enables social media-like personalization experiences on corporate websites. Users are used to an app knowing exactly what they want. Companies haven’t internalized that yet. That’s where the opportunity lies, and Algolia knows it and acts accordingly.
Dr. Jakob Jung is Editor-in-Chief of Security Storage and Channel Germany. He has been working in IT journalism for more than 20 years. His career includes Computer Reseller News, Heise Resale, Informationweek, Techtarget (storage and data center) and ChannelBiz. He also freelances for numerous IT publications, including Computerwoche, Channelpartner, IT-Business, Storage-Insider and ZDnet. His main topics are channel, storage, security, data center, ERP and CRM.
Contact via Mail: jakob.jung@security-storage-und-channel-germany.de