The November edition of the MarTech Conference zeroed in on one unifying theme: how AI-driven agents and orchestration are redefining marketing’s role, operations and impact.
Over six panel discussions and one keynote presentation, marketing technologists, data scientists and agency leaders shared practical lessons on scaling from pilot to production, embedding AI across workflow, and aligning humans, data and machines to generate real business value.
Here are 10 of the strongest takeaways from the November 2025 MarTech Conference, which is now available for on-demand viewing.
1. Data quality still determines AI success
Session: How agentic AI is changing the future of marketing
Speaker: Scott Brinker, editor, chiefmartec.com
Brinker opened the day with a reminder that AI isn’t magic — it’s built on the foundation of clean, well-governed data. His point: Data readiness is far more critical than the AI tool itself. Without the right inputs, AI outputs will disappoint. This underpins everything else: Stack strategy, attribution, personalisation.
2. AI empowers the individual — but demands new workflows
Session: AI is your key to better market research and planning
Speaker: Brian Madden, futurist, Citrix
Madden described how his team uses AI to simulate competitor behavior and model “what if” markets. He said it’s like turning one marketer into a whole research unit: “My AI partner now gives me three people’s worth of insight in an afternoon.” The implication: Marketing orgs must adapt their workflows, not just stack.
3. Velocity trumps perfection in campaign optimisation
Session: AI is your key to better market research and planning
Speaker: Katie Templin, CXO, Qualified Digital (QD)
Templin emphasised that the real benefit of AI is speed and adaptability. Rather than march through weeks of testing, marketers can now shift campaigns mid-flight based on near-live signals. She shared how this enabled her agency to pivot creatives, channels or offers within hours, improving relevancy and reducing wasted spend.
4. Behavioral triggers drive retention — not just acquisition
Session: AI is your key to better market research and planning
Speaker: Katie Templin
Continuing in her session, Templin highlighted how AI-driven triggers (e.g., sentiment shifts, inactivity, micro-signals of disinterest) allow brands to intervene before churn happens. She called retention, “the smarter path to growth” given rising acquisition costs, and urged teams to build next-best-action flows, not only new-customer flows.
5. Smaller brands are winning the AI race through agility
Session: How agentic AI is changing the future of marketing
Speaker: Scott Brinker, Editor, chiefmartec.com
Brinker pointed out that while large enterprises are bogged down by legacy, process and risk aversion, smaller brands (SMBs) are experimenting faster, failing cheaper and iterating more. He noted that many of the “interesting” AI use cases are coming from agile, smaller teams — meaning the advantage may soon flip.
6. Treat AI as a coworker, not a calculator
Session: Zero to launch: Using AI for campaign & content creation at scale
Speaker: Eric Mayhew, co-founder, president and chief product officer, Fluency
Mayhew made a point that resonates: Productively using AI isn’t “set it and forget it” — it’s collaborative. His metaphor: Treat the AI tool as a colleague who ideates, drafts, suggests — and you refine, contextualise and approve. This mindset shift is critical to unlocking scale without losing brand voice.
7. Your data and brand narrative are your differentiation
Session: Zero to launch: Using AI for campaign and content creation at scale
Speaker: Eric Mayhew
In the same session, Mayhew emphasised that as access to generative AI becomes ubiquitous, what will separate high-performing brands is the quality of proprietary data and authentic storytelling built on that insight. He argued that generic AI content is table stakes; unique data + narrative = competitive edge.
8. The first-mover in AI-driven discovery may dominate next-gen search
Session: Eyes everywhere: Performance monitoring and optimization with AI
Speaker: Christina Inge, CEO, thoughtlight
Inge addressed how AI-powered “answer engines” are starting to replace traditional keyword search. She advised brands to optimize for structured data, accessibility and voice interface now — because whoever ranks highest in the AI-generated result may lock in that position for a long time. It’s a strategic window.
9. Connect AI pilots to North-Star business metrics
Session: What AI and agents mean for marketing teams… now and in the future
Speaker: Jiaxi Zhu, head of analytics, Google
Zhu stressed that many organisations stop at “we built an AI agent” without clear linkage to business impact. Her recommendation: Define your North Star metric (e.g., revenue growth, retention rate, NPS) before scaling. Then map your AI project’s contribution to that metric. This ensures senior support and operational relevance.
10. Real-time competitor monitoring is a recursive advantage
Session: Eyes Everywhere: Performance monitoring and Optimization with AI
Speaker: Steve Bevilacqua, principal consultant, Cella by Randstad Digital
Bevilacqua described how AI-powered monitoring tools allow brands to detect competitor ad changes, offer shifts or messaging pivots instantly — even outside regular business hours. One anecdote: His team received an alert at 3 a.m. that a competitor lowered offer terms — enabling them to respond proactively the next morning. He argues that this level of “always-on” awareness is now a table stake.
Closing thoughts
The November MarTech Conference crystallised a clear shift in marketing technology: from experimentation to enterprise integration, from tools to orchestration and from automation to augmentation. The brands that succeed in 2026 will be those that don’t just buy AI, but embed it into their operating model — aligning data, people and process, and measuring success by value creation, not cost reduction.
If you’re plotting your 2026 roadmap, now is the moment to move beyond “we’ll try AI” and towards “we’ll embed AI into how we create, optimize and orchestrate experiences that deliver measurable business impact.”
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