AI hasn’t changed the fundamentals of marketing, but it has changed the conditions in which marketing gets done. With adoption now widespread and early value emerging for companies that scale, 2026 will be defined not by more tools or pilots but by the leadership choices that reshape how teams work. This final post in the series lays out a practical agenda for the year ahead.

AI will make good marketing faster, and bad marketing louder. It could free teams to think bigger or flood the world with the same safe ideas. The difference won’t come from the tools, but from leadership: how we shape the culture, judgment, and taste around them.

Every few years, marketing declares another revolution. This time, it’s AI. The tools are different, but the job is the same: understand demand, create value, build brands people remember. The risk, as before, is that in chasing what’s new, we forget what endures. AI won’t fix marketing or break it, it will amplify whatever it finds.

We’ve always worried that new tools might make our writing less authentic, from the printing press to the word processor. AI is just the next step in that story. The real question isn’t whether the words were written by hand or with a model, but whether the idea and message still move us.

AI is changing marketing — but are our operating models keeping up? This post explores what needs to shift (and what doesn’t) to build an AI-enabled marketing team that’s faster, smarter, and still human at the core.

Marketing leaders face a critical challenge: where to focus for impact. In this post, I share a Spend Better, Market Better framework—eight value levers to help identify opportunities and prioritise actions. From quick efficiency wins to longer-term transformation, it’s about finding the right focus for your brand, at the right time.

AI is reshaping marketing—but where do you start? This post shares five practical stepping stones to help leaders align their teams, build confidence, and move from experimentation to impact. Plus, insights on evolving your operating model and leading change.