Is AI fundamentally reinventing marketing, or simply accelerating what already matters? This question has been quietly reshaping every marketing and comms team, so we set out to find the answer.
In a conversation last week with three seasoned marketing leaders— Meghan Marks, CMO of Orca Security; Brian Olschock, CMO of ServiceTitan; and Laura Spaventa Lewis, VP of Marketing at Eclipse—we determined that even though AI is making teams faster, braver, and more efficient, it’s also sharpening the value of the very human things that can’t be automated: intuition, authenticity, creativity, and judgment.
In “Marketing Leadership in the Age of AI,” we mapped out our new reality: AI is everywhere, possibilities are multiplying, and success hinges on how thoughtfully teams embrace the shift.
Here are the key takeaways from our conversation:
The metrics are the same, but the game has changed.
Despite the hype, none of the panelists suggested that AI has rewritten marketing’s scoreboard. Pipeline, CAC, LTV, those remain the bedrock. What has changed is everything leading up to those KPIs.
“We’ve gone from more of a volume play to… let’s pay attention to velocity and signals.”
— Meghan Marks
Marketers are shifting from big, general efforts to more focused improvements. Meghan explained that new AI tools help teams notice early clues about what’s working and what’s just taking up room.
Brian echoed this shift, noting that website traffic and other traditional leading indicators will inevitably change as audiences turn to AI tools instead of brand-owned channels. But the true north stars of marketing remain reassuringly durable: pipeline generated, customer acquisition cost, payback period, and lifetime value.
Creativity isn’t dying. It’s being reborn through authenticity.
If AI can generate endless content, what purpose does creativity even serve now?
Laura answered this with conviction: Authenticity has become the rarest and most valuable form of creativity. “Authenticity is creativity these days… how do you go back to your roots and think about what makes you stand out?”
In her world of physical industrial transformation, founders can instantly detect inauthentic content. They know who has worked — and even slept — on factory floors. This shift toward authenticity isn’t a trend; it’s a competitive advantage.
Brian added another dimension: in industries like the skilled trades, stock photography simply doesn’t work. Their customers want to see real people doing real work. AI can support the creative process, he said, but never replace the lived truth behind a brand.
Meghan offered a helpful framing: AI sparks creativity, but humans curate it. “It doesn’t always mean it’s the quality we’ll go to market with… that’s why you have a marketing team — to bring the authentic human voice and discernment,” Marks said.
Leadership is shifting from doing the work to designing the conditions
AI is reshaping not only how teams operate, but what it means to lead them.
Laura described its effect as “empowering,” sometimes accelerating her portfolio companies and sometimes requiring gentle steering. When anyone can instantly spin up posts, drafts, or campaigns, the center of gravity in marketing tilts. Leaders become facilitators, editors, and shapers of intent rather than the primary makers of output.
Brian noted that AI is tightening the connective tissue between marketing, product, and sales. When models ingest everything from product docs to sales decks, leaders must ensure the source material is spotless, narrative-tight, and aligned across functions. As he put it: “The data and dashboards don’t become the work — they become an input to the work.”
This is where the predictions converge: the job of leadership becomes the craft of designing the conditions for higher-quality work.
Meghan captured it plainly: “There will be a high price and value paid for incredible work… the bar is going to be raised.” Brian pushed this further, imagining AI “teammates” showing up on org charts with their own KPIs and performance reviews — not gimmicks, but contributors to scale. Laura reminded us that in a noisier market, audiences will become more ruthless in their filtering. They can tell when a message is rooted in lived expertise. They know when a brand has done the work.
AI isn’t replacing marketers — it’s demanding better storytellers, clearer strategists, and stronger collaborators. The leaders who thrive won’t be the ones generating the most output, but rather the ones who engineer the environment where exceptional output becomes inevitable.
What must remain human
When asked where the bright line should be, the panel immediately aligned: AI can accelerate execution, but strategy, ethics, critical thinking, and judgment must remain human.
“We can’t outsource strategic thinking… that’s got to have human curation.”
— Meghan Marks
Laura added that her biggest concern isn’t AI itself but the potential erosion of critical thinking, especially in rising generations who may rely on AI before forming their own perspective.
Where does marketing go from here?
Across every answer, every anecdote, and every prediction, one truth kept resurfacing: AI is making the fundamentals matter more, not less.
Authenticity, judgment, creativity, and intentionality remain human-centered and always will.
AI gives marketers leverage, but only humans can choose where to lean in, where to hold the line, and where to raise the bar.
As we enter 2026, perhaps marketing success will look a lot like it always has… just sharper, faster, and more deeply human than before.
