What should marketers prioritize to drive revenue with AI?

Tom Kaneshige

Chief Content Officer · CMO Council

Human judgment

Tom Kaneshige says human judgment will be more important than ever, arguing it won’t be replaced by AI, and that how well marketers integrate human and AI strengths is key.

The answer starts at 28:53.

Tim Soulo

CMO · Ahrefs

Passion for the craft

Tim Soulo says he hires marketers for passion for the craft and a willingness to learn, because AI can generate endless ideas but only experience tells you which ones are good and when to stop.

The answer starts at 54:10.

Duarte Garrido

Co-Founder & Co-CEO · DOJO AI

Creative thinking

Duarte Garrido says the differentiator is creative thinking — the ability to choose what to do and think differently — because AI commoditizes intelligence and creativity comes from human experience, not data.

The answer starts at 29:12.

Gary Lombardo

Adjunct Professor

Agility

Gary Lombardo says agility is at the core, meaning marketers stay close to customers and run small experiments rather than wait for a big annual plan, because the market is moving faster than ever.

Rustom Dastoor

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

Becoming an intelligence function

Rustom Dastoor says marketers can become an intelligence function, using data, AI, and their proximity to consumers to act as an early warning system that influences product development and pricing.

Meghan Gendelman

CMO, B2B · Canva

Throughput

Meghan Gendelman says marketers should prioritize throughput, arguing that making the case around throughput -- letting salespeople, managers and agents move faster -- lands better with CFOs than arguments about staying on brand.

The answer starts at 19:25.

Paul Roehrig

Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer · Ascendion

Good story

Paul Roehrig says marketers need to have a good story, because if they don't, the tactics are much less relevant.

Ryan Gavin

Chief Marketing Officer · Slack

Orchestrating work

Ryan Gavin says marketers need to switch from doers of the work to orchestrators of the work, because humans must stay present and question what AI agents produce.

Marvin Chow

VP of Consumer and AI Marketing · Google

Growth mindset

Marvin Chow says marketers need a growth mindset, since he's had to learn web, social and AI and being open to unlearning old ways is valuable as things shift.

George Bonaci

VP of Growth & Demand Gen · Ramp

High‑trust personal interactions

George Bonaci says marketers should do much more of what is immune to AI, naming high-trust personal interactions such as events and field marketing as the first thing; he says his events team grew from two people to 25.

KM

Khurrum Malik

VP of Business & Product Marketing · Walmart Connect

Focus your attention

Khurrum Malik says marketers should focus their time and attention and not get overwhelmed by all the tools, because he sees the biggest threat as an inability to focus.

James Lawrence 🚀

Co-Founder · Rocket Agency ®

Evergreen principles

James Lawrence says marketers should prioritize evergreen principles—focusing on what doesn't change rather than the shiny object—because the best marketers focus on fundamentals regardless of how technology changes.

Dawn Dawson

Chief Marketing Officer · Mortgage Solutions Financial

One‑to‑one experiences

Dawn Dawson recommends marketers create true experiences that are one-to-one as much as possible, using AI and technology to help, because AI's efficiency isolates people and they need human connection.

Crispin Beale

Worldwide CEO · Idx™

Be the primary source

Crispin Beale says companies need to be the primary source from which AI systems build their understanding of the business, because otherwise answer engines will pull information from other sources and they lose control of their narrative.

Lucinda Barlow

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

Human creativity

Lucinda Barlow says human creativity is required, arguing that AI cannot turn their learnings into a brief and it takes human creativity to bring them together beautifully.

Rachel Thornton

CMO, Enterprise · Adobe

Brand promise

Rachel Thornton says marketers should prioritize defining their brand promise and guidelines, because that lets them scale impact and reach more customers efficiently rather than leaving their brand to agents or chance.

Todd Kaplan

Chief Marketing Officer, North America · Kraft Heinz

Agility

Todd Kaplan says agility is one of the biggest traits marketers need, since platforms and consumer habits are changing and companies must "evolve or die."

Jonathan Kerr (JK)

Chief Growth Officer · Auto & General Australia

Visibility

Jonathan Kerr says marketers should prioritize visibility—both good and positive—because AI draws on everything said about you across the Internet, so you need your house in order.

Mark Ritson

Founder · Minimba

Synthetic data

Mark Ritson says B2B marketers should be interested first in synthetic data, because it is now more accurate than consumer research and can provide data they previously struggled to get.