Decoding AI for Marketing

Advertising execution is still surprisingly manual. Marketers and agencies juggle fragmented platforms, disconnected data, and countless hands-on tasks. When those systems are stitched together with new AI tools, they can create what Fluency CEO Mike Lane calls a “Frankenstack” of software.

He talks about what it takes to truly automate advertising execution. Rather than simply adding an AI chatbot to existing workflows, Lane argues that companies need an integrated operating system that connects data, media platforms, workflows, and AI agents. The goal isn't automation for its own sake. By taking repetitive execution and error-prone tasks out of the workflow, AI can give marketers more time for strategy—and potentially provide new insights by continuously analyzing performance across an entire advertising portfolio.

For further reading:

Learn more about Fluency: https://www.fluency.inc/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Is AI really the story of our time—or is humanity?

In this special conversation at the MMA’s CMO & CEO Summit, former OpenAI Head of Go-to-Market Zack Kass joins host Greg Stuart to explore what he calls the “next renaissance”: a future where intelligence becomes abundant, AI agents reshape how consumers make decisions, and marketers must rethink how they create value. Zack argues that AI is not simply another software application—it’s foundational infrastructure that will transform how people work, shop, and interact with brands.

They look at why fears of mass job loss may be overblown, how marketers can identify their place in customers’ “automation boundary,” and why brands need to prepare for a world where AI agents—not humans—may be navigating websites and making purchasing decisions. Zack also shares his optimistic view of technological progress, his concerns about society’s obsession with convenience, and why the future belongs to organizations that understand both human needs and machine intelligence.

For further reading:

The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential by Zack Kass

Future MMA events: https://mmaglobal.com/events

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Justin Inman, founder and CEO of Emberos, is entrenched in the world of influencing what AI says about brands. He shares why responsible optimization — not gaming the system — may determine which brands thrive in the next era of AI-driven discovery. Plus, why marketers need to think about authority, structure, and narrative consistency and how AI visibility may predict real-world business outcomes like box office revenue.

For further reading:

AI Visibility Startup Emberos Raises $1.2M in Pre-Seed Funding: https://www.adweek.com/media/emberos-ai-justin-inman-funding/

Beyond The Slop: Why AI Brand Visibility Depends On Signal, Not Volume: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2026/03/31/beyond-the-slop-why-ai-brand-visibility-depends-on-signal-not-volume/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Alex Sherman, CEO of Bluefish, says brands need to start treating AI like a true marketing channel, not just another variation of SEO. As consumers shift from search engines to answer engines like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, Sherman explains why it’s no longer enough to simply “show up”—brands need to control how they’re represented, what data models learn from, and how they influence AI-generated recommendations.

He breaks down how Bluefish works with major brands to close the growing “content gap,” optimize for machine-readable data, and measure performance across new AI KPIs like visibility, favorability, and influence. Plus: why the marketing funnel isn’t dead but accelerating, how companies are moving from playing defense to offense in AI, and what the rise of agentic commerce could mean for the future of paid media.

For further reading:

Marketing in the Age of AI Answers: https://www.adexchanger.com/adexchanger-talks/marketing-in-the-age-of-ai-answers/

This startup knows what AI is saying about your brand: https://www.fastcompany.com/91387950/this-startup-helps-big-brands-look-good-to-ai

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Brian Stempeck, CEO and cofounder at Evertune AI, says brands need to get smart about how they’re showing up across the major LLMs, from ChatGPT to Claude and Gemini and beyond - and a small sample isn’t enough to build a plan. He explains how Evertune samples AI platforms to help brands better strategize across channels, plus new tactics they’re experimenting with like retargeting users after they’ve searched for products with AI.

For further reading:

Meet Evertune, A Gen-AI Analytics Startup Founded By Trade Desk Vets: https://www.adexchanger.com/marketers/meet-evertune-a-gen-ai-startup-founded-by-trade-desk-vets/

Evertune is building marketing analytics tools for LLMs: https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-ai-ad-analytics-startup-evertune-4-million-seed-2024-10

The Prompt: SEO Is Dead. What Comes Next?: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2025/08/12/the-prompt-seo-is-dead-what-comes-next/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Paul Meinshausen, CEO and co-founder of Aampe, sees a future where marketing is about learning, not targeting - where marketers, with the help of powerful AI agents, design interactions that help systems learn and improve continuously. Rather than sending the same message to millions of people, these agents can continuously experiment, learn from behavior, and adapt messaging and experiences to each individual. He explains the work Aampe currently does in personalization, the value it brings to their clients and eventual end user, and where he sees the space going next.

For further reading:

AI That Thinks Ahead (Triangle Business Journal): https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2026/01/09/ai-startup-aampe-personalized-customer-engagement.html

Meet Aampe, the Company on a Mission to Make Every App Personal (Forbes): https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidprosser/2023/10/09/meet-aampe-the-company-on-a-mission-to-make-every-app-personal/

Aampe aims to personalize app marketing with algorithms (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/11/aampe-aims-to-personalize-app-marketing-with-algorithms/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Jamie Umpherson, Chief Creative Officer at Runway, is using AI to power charge his - and his organization’s - creativity. Drawing on years in agencies working as a creative director, he shares how AI-powered tools are changing marketing, the bottlenecks that the technology can break down, and just how far the technology has come in a short time. Umpherson also shares how brands can scale while maintaining consistency and integrity.

For further reading:

More about Jamie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-umpherson-03579710/

More about Runway: https://runwayml.com/news

Introducing Runway characters: https://runwayml.com/news/introducing-runway-characters

General World Models: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx3DgeqHO5s

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Shegun Otulana, CEO of http://copysmith.ai, says there’s a widening gap between marketing teams that use AI tools on the edge, and ones that have fully rebuilt their processes around AI. He explains how his company is focusing now on the shift to GEO, how he’s built and continues to build AI-powered products for specific client needs, and why share of voice, mentions, and citations are becoming the new metrics of visibility.

For further reading:

Copysmith.ai: https://www.copysmith.ai/

Comeback Town: He built a billion dollar company in Birmingham and so can you: https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2025/03/comeback-town-he-built-a-billion-dollar-company-in-birmingham-and-so-can-you.html

From $250k Raised to $1.25B Exit w/ Shegun Otulana: https://bryce.medium.com/from-250k-raised-to-1-25b-exit-w-shegun-otulana-34e32912c603

More about Shegun: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheguno/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium, says that as enterprises rush to deploy agentic AI, batch processing and siloed systems won’t cut it: AI strategy lives or dies on the quality — and speed — of your data. In this episode, we explore what a true real-time data layer looks like, why most companies are underutilizing their marketing tech, and how brands must prepare for a world where AI agents — not humans — are initiating customer interactions. From identity tokens and authentication to agent-to-agent negotiation, we look at what’s coming next and what that means for marketers.

For Additional Reading:

Tealium achieves AWS Generative AI Competency, advancing enterprise AI at scale: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/02/17/3239448/0/en/Tealium-achieves-AWS-Generative-AI-Competency-advancing-enterprise-AI-at-scale.html

Tealium Adds AI Features for Real-Time Customer Engagement: https://www.cmswire.com/customer-data-platforms/tealium-adds-ai-features-for-real-time-customer-engagement/

The secret to happy customers is… your data layer: https://martech.org/the-secret-to-happy-customers-is-your-data-layer/

More about Jeff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefflunsford/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Konrad Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Quantcast, explains the shift from rule-based “expert systems” to goal-driven, autonomous AI, the evolution of DSPs, the hidden limits of “AI-washed” platforms, and why measurement—not targeting—is the biggest bottleneck holding marketing back. Drawing on three decades of experience in neural networks, machine learning, and programmatic advertising, he shares where he thinks digital advertising is going next.

For Further Reading:

Konrad Feldman on AI Trends: https://marketech-apac.com/expert-up-close-quantcast-ceo-konrad-feldman-on-ai-trends-and-how-marketers-can-leverage-them-for-success/

Why the CEO of Quantcast is Betting on Personalized AI: https://bigthink.com/business/how-ai-will-impact-marketing/

More about Konrad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/konrad-feldman-555132/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Michael Walrath, Chairman and CEO of Yext, says today’s AI is fundamentally rewriting the rules of search, discovery, and brand visibility. Drawing on his extensive ad tech experience at DoubleClick, Yahoo, Moat, and now Yext, Walrath explains why AI-powered search is so much more powerful than traditional search—and why many current assumptions about GEO, SEO, and advertising are headed for a fast reckoning. Expanding on our episode with Bill Gross, Walrath also argues that inserting ads into AI experiences is the wrong answer, clicks are disappearing, and the future of AI marketing will look more like structured data and affiliate-style value exchange than traditional advertising.

Yext CEO on Search in the Age of AI: https://www.barrons.com/video/yext-ceo-on-search-in-the-age-of-ai/F798C382-AB67-47FD-AA54-4BEA89F5F38F

Yext’s Visibility Brief on Brand Visibility in AI Search: https://martech.org/yexts-visibility-brief-your-guide-to-brand-visibility-in-ai-search/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Shelly Palmer, professor in residence at Syracuse and expert in all things AI, returns to the show to offer up what trends he saw at CES, and where the marketing industry is going. He explains how fast AI is changing every day, what marketers need to be doing to keep up, and why the technology is still underhyped.

For Further Reading:

CES 2026 Day 1: https://shellypalmer.com/2026/01/ces-2026-day-1-robot-wars/

How to Install and Setup Claude Code: https://shellypalmer.com/2026/01/how-to-install-claude-code/

MMA CMO AI Transformation Summit featuring Shelly: https://mmaglobal.com/cmo-ai-transformation-summit

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Sid Sudhakaran, Head of Data Strategy & Engineering for North America at Kantar, explains the benefits of the company’s ambitious AI assistant: KAiA. He explains how it democratizes data, when chatbots work for marketers (and when they don’t), and the real customer pain points they are tackling each and every day.

For Further Reading:

Embedding Artificial Intelligence in the World’s Largest Companies

Leveraging GenAI for Connected Insights

Kantar forecasts ten marketing trends for 2026 strategic planning

MMA and Kantar unveil how consumers are using AI

More about KAiA

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Bill Gross, founder of Overture (the company that created paid search) and now http://prorata.ai, says that generative AI is fundamentally rewriting the rules of search - which means marketers, advertisers, and customers must all adapt to new ways of discovering products. Gross explains ProRata’s business model, how advertising will evolve inside AI-generated results, what a fair-value model for publishers and creators might look like, and how brands can stay discoverable and trusted as attention shifts away from search pages toward GenAI chat models.

For Further Reading:

Generative AI Has a 'Shoplifting' Problem. This Startup CEO Has a Plan to Fix It

ProRata.ai raises $40M and launches new search tool for publishers

http://prorata.ai

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Jacob Bank, Relay.app founder and CEO, says the days of building up a huge marketing department might just be over. The Relay.app platform helps teams design and deploy custom AI agents, without losing impact. Bank explains why the old model of hiring is on the way out, why he offers step-by-step guides to users on how to effectively build agents, and how marketers can rethink scale, autonomy, and leverage in this new age.

For Further Reading:

After selling his last startup to Google, this founder now wants to automate mundane tasks with Relay

Backed by a16z, Relay races to market with Zapier in its crosshairs

The Mom Test

Traction

Jeff Su

Jacob’s Favorite AI Agents!

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Diaz Nesamoney, Founder, President, and CEO of Jivox, says that commerce media is fast becoming the next big wave in advertising, thanks to transaction-level data that makes personalization more precise than search and social media ever could. He explains how commerce media is growing beyond retail and how AI allows that scale, as well as the complexities marketers face when handling diverse product catalogs across multiple retail platforms.

For Further Reading:

The Future of Commerce Media Isn’t Retail. It's Everywhere

Commerce Media Has Entered a New Era

Commerce media evolves as AI, offsite, and new vertices reshape the landscape

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Hannah Elsakr, Vice President of New GenAI Business Ventures at Adobe, hears from enterprise marketing leaders every day about what they really need from their AI tools. She talks about why so many marketers are still hesitant to adopt AI into their workflows for true transformation, and how Adobe Firefly is helping to create commercially safe and ethically sourced generative AI to open new doors for your brand.

For Further Reading:

Adobe’s AI Vision: Hannah Elsakr on Empowering Creativity Responsibly

Adobe Firefly and Adobe Express now feature Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash Image Model

What’s Next in the Evolution of Generative AI-Powered Marketing

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Wade Foster, CEO and cofounder of Zapier, says the next frontier for marketers isn’t just shiny AI agents, but practical AI workflows. By weaving automation and intelligence into the systems teams already use, marketers can reduce manual tasks, accelerate lead management, and unlock new personalization at scale. Wade explains how Zapier has moved beyond basic integrations to become an orchestration layer for AI, and why this shift matters for marketing leaders looking to drive results without overhauling their entire stack. He unpacks the biggest workflow wins he’s seeing across the industry and where marketing is heading next.

For Further Reading:

Wade Foster in AdWeek

How to analyze Facebook and LinkedIn campaign performance with AI-powered agents

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Sandeep Menon, cofounder at Auxia, says AI is quickly enabling the marketing industry to enter the age of “supermarketers” - where individuals can do the jobs of all different kinds of specialized marketers with the help of AI tools. He unpacks how agentic AI is changing the game by creating tools to compress roles, accelerate experimentation, and drive deeper personalization at scale. From lifecycle decisioning to AI-powered analyst agents, Sandeep shares real-world applications and explains how marketers can set guardrails, gain explainability, and finally unlock the value of first-party data - and avoid the AI marketing content that feels overly spammy.

For Further Reading:

The Anthropic Vending Machine Test: https://www.inc.com/ben-sherry/an-ai-ran-a-vending-machine-for-a-month-and-proved-it-couldnt-even-handle-passive-income/91207636

More about Auxia: https://www.auxia.io/en

The One to One Future (book):

https://www.amazon.com/One-Future-Don-Peppers/dp/0385485662

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755

Paul Yacoubian, founder and CEO at http://copy.ai, is on a mission to cut down go-to-market bloat. One big way that AI can help marketers, especially at larger organizations, is in creating standardized content creation processes - and integrating those outputs into existing companies at the organization. It can mean efficiency and scale that saves thousands of employees time, and can increase the satisfaction of thousands of customers. Paul chats with Greg and Rex about how http://copy.ai generates marketing and sales content, the importance of workflow-based solutions over isolated AI tools, and how to enhance customer experience.

For Further Reading:

Learn more about http://copy.ai: https://www.copy.ai/

Learn more about Paul:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulyacoubian/

NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google.com/

AI productivity study: https://fortune.com/2025/07/20/ai-hampers-productivity-software-developers-productivity-study/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755