Persistent humoral immunity depends on the follicular B cell response and on the generation of somatically mutated high‐affinity plasma cells and memory B cells. Upon activation by an antigen, cognately activated follicular B cells and follicular T helper (T_FH) cells initiate germinal centre (GC) reaction during which high‐affinity effector cells are generated. The differentiation of activated follicular B cells into plasma cells and memory B cells is guided by complex selection events, both at the cellular and molecular level. The transition of B cell into a plasma cell during the GC response involves alterations in the microenvironment and developmental state of the cell, which are guided by cell‐extrinsic signals. The developmental cell fate decisions in response to these signals are coordinated by cell‐intrinsic gene regulatory network functioning at epigenetic, transcriptional and post‐transcriptional levels.