How should marketers adapt to AI-driven buyer behavior?

Joshua Spanier

Vice President · Google

Learn AI tools

Joshua Spanier says marketers have to personally invest in learning AI tools, because he can tell within 60 seconds whether someone is walking the walk or just talking the talk.

The answer starts at 18:29.

Kyla Malone

Director of Marketing · Idt Corporation

Focus on strategy

Kyla Malone says AI lets marketers do their jobs better by focusing on areas needing strategic thinking and letting AI run the busy work, rather than taking away her team's value.

The answer starts at 10:34.

Duarte Garrido

Co-Founder & Co-CEO · DOJO AI

Think differently

Duarte Garrido says marketers should think differently, arguing AI is commoditized and logic-based, so the differentiator is the human ability to choose and create out-of-the-box ideas.

The answer starts at 29:12.

Gary Lombardo

Adjunct Professor

Stay agile

Gary Lombardo says staying agile is at the core of adapting, which for him means talking to customers firsthand and, in his team, running a standing rhythm of small experiments instead of waiting on a big annual plan.

Rustom Dastoor

Executive Vice President, Head of Marketing and Communications for the Americas · Mastercard

Become an intelligence function

Rustom Dastoor says marketing can move up the value chain from a creative function to an intelligence function, using data and AI as an early warning system that influences product development and pricing.

The answer starts at 20:01.

Paul Roehrig

Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer · Ascendion

Maintain human storytelling

Paul Roehrig says marketers should maintain human storytelling, since AI may help but won't give you the human spark that makes campaigns land.

Ryan Gavin

Chief Marketing Officer · Slack

Become orchestrators

Ryan Gavin says marketers need to switch in many cases from doers of the work to orchestrators, because with AI agents doing tasks, humans must stay present and question and inspect the work rather than assume it's right.

Marvin Chow

VP of Consumer and AI Marketing · Google

Experiment and iterate

Marvin Chow says marketers should experiment and iterate, describing a loop of learning and trying and continuously refining what the audience cares about.

KM

Khurrum Malik

VP of Business & Product Marketing · Walmart Connect

Focus your attention

Khurrum Malik says the biggest threat marketers face is an inability to focus as tools, channels and bidding strategies multiply, and says they should harness their attention on what they're trying to accomplish rather than get overwhelmed.

Mark Abramowitz

Chief Marketing Officer · Dataiku

Focus on business outcomes

Mark Abramowitz says marketers should focus on business outcomes because the shift in AI requires very persona-specific messaging and targeting different teams like data, AI, and IT operational teams.

James Lawrence 🚀

Co-Founder · Rocket Agency ®

Focus on fundamentals

James Lawrence says marketers should focus on fundamentals—evergreen marketing principles—because they persist regardless of how technology changes, while still staying across those changes.

Dawn Dawson

Chief Marketing Officer · Mortgage Solutions Financial

Create one-to-one experiences

Dawn Dawson says marketers should create true experiences, letting AI and technology help but keeping them one-to-one as much as possible, because as AI increases efficiency it also isolates people who need opportunities to connect.

Lucinda Barlow

Senior Director, Head of International Marketing (APAC, EMEA, Latin America) · Uber

Emphasize human creativity

Lucinda Barlow says the market learnings can't be handed to an AI engine to turn into a brief, because it requires human creativity to bring them together in a beautiful way.

Gilad Bechar

Founder & CEO · Moburst

Become AI-native and self-learn

Gilad Bechar says marketers need to self-learn and become AI-native, prioritizing people who test new tools, because the pace of innovation is insane.

Rachel Thornton

CMO, Enterprise · Adobe

Focus on brand promise

Rachel Thornton says marketers should focus on their brand promise and guidelines so they can scale impact while ensuring the brand comes through in every customer interaction, rather than leaving it to agents or chance.

Jonathan Kerr (JK)

Chief Growth Officer · Auto & General Australia

Become AI-native

Jonathan Kerr says marketers should make their teams AI-native, arguing they shouldn't feel threatened and should aim to be orchestra conductors who pull the band together.

Andy Crestodina

Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer · Orbit Media Studios

Focus on key pages

Andy Crestodina says marketers should stay obsessed with their buyer and focus on key pages, understanding why buyers do and don't make decisions, and update those pages both for better conversions and to train the AI to recommend them.

Mark Ritson

Founder · Minimba

Embrace synthetic data

Mark Ritson says B2B marketers should embrace synthetic data, because it is now more accurate than consumer research and solves their previous lack of data.