Marketing Ops News

Marketing leaders face growing challenges as AI reshapes how brands gain visibility, with companies like UPS, Etsy, and Walgreens eliminating the CMO role in the past year, according to MarTech. According to Forrester’s 2025 report cited in the article, only 49% of Fortune 500 top marketers hold the CMO title, down from 55% the previous year, while average CMO tenure stands at 3.9 years, the shortest in the C-suite, and over one in five Fortune 500 companies have changed their marketing...

A Gartner survey conducted in early 2026 found that CMOs are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, even as only 30% report that their organizations have mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities. This gap highlights that 70% of CMOs view becoming an AI leader as a critical goal for 2026, yet the same percentage admits their internal processes are not mature enough to implement and scale AI effectively, according to...

A Gartner survey conducted between January and March 2026 found that CMOs are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, even as only 30% report that their organizations have mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/cmos-are-buying-ai-that-their-organization-isnt-ready-for/).

Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey reveals that chief marketing officers (CMOs) are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, even as only 30% report that their organizations possess mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities.

CMOs are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, yet only 30% report that their organizations possess mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities, according to Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey. This discrepancy means that while 70% of CMOs identify becoming an AI leader as a critical goal for 2026, the same proportion acknowledges that their internal processes are not sufficiently mature to implement and scale AI effectively.

Gartner's findings...

A Gartner survey conducted in early 2026 shows that chief marketing officers (CMOs) are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, even as only 30% report having mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/cmos-are-buying-ai-that-their-organization-isnt-ready-for/).

A Gartner survey conducted between January and March 2026 found that chief marketing officers (CMOs) are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, even though only 30% report that their organizations have mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities.

The Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) standard is designed to address the core data fragmentation issues in Account-Based Marketing (ABM) by enabling coordinated, real-time experiences across various tools, according to MarTech. In ABM, which requires integration of elements like LinkedIn ads, website personalization, direct mail, and sales outreach to recognize prospects within target accounts, platforms often fail to communicate effectively due to differing identifiers such as domain names, IP...

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel of marketing leaders convened to discuss preserving authentic storytelling amid the rise of AI and data, featuring moderator A. Lee Judge and panelists Dale Bertrand, Melanie Deziel, Lexie Haggerty from Braze, and Jordache Johnson.

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel moderated by A. Lee Judge, co-founder and CMO of Content Monsta, featured marketing leaders Dale Bertrand, Melanie Deziel, Lexie Haggerty from Braze, and Jordache Johnson discussing how to preserve authentic storytelling in an AI-driven era, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/reclaiming-the-power-of-the-story-fueled-by-data-and-ai/).

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel moderated by A. Lee Judge, co-founder and CMO of Content Monsta, featured marketing leaders Dale Bertrand, Melanie Deziel, Lexie Haggerty from Braze, and Jordache Johnson discussing how to preserve authentic storytelling amid AI and data influences, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/reclaiming-the-power-of-the-story-fueled-by-data-and-ai/).

SOCi and Google are hosting an exclusive webinar titled 'Winning the Next Era of Local Visibility' on June 3 to address how AI is changing local search dynamics. According to [MarTech](https://martech.org/winning-the-next-era-of-local-visibility-how-ai-is-changing-local-search/), AI-powered experiences such as Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Ask Maps are altering how customers discover local businesses, with people now asking more detailed, conversational questions that influence which...

The Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) standard is designed to unify fragmented data in Account-Based Marketing (ABM), enabling coordinated experiences across various tools, as outlined in a MarTech article. ABM requires integration among platforms like LinkedIn ads, website personalization, direct mail, and sales outreach to recognize that a prospect belongs to a specific target account, which has historically been challenging due to differing data identifiers.

In ABM, tools often use...

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel of marketing leaders convened to address the challenge of maintaining authentic storytelling amid the rise of AI and data, with moderator A. Lee Judge leading the discussion alongside panelists Dale Bertrand, Melanie Deziel, Lexie Haggerty from Braze, and Jordache Johnson.

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel moderated by Angela Vega, director of capabilities and operations at Expedia Group, featured marketing leaders discussing how brands can deliver personalized customer experiences without appearing invasive. The session, titled "Winning attention without losing trust: creating meaningful moments across the customer journey," included Alec Haase, general manager of AI products at High Touch; Sean Nowlin, founder and CEO of Spotlight IQ; and Ed Poppe,...

Gmail announced its AI Inbox feature on March 31, aiming to use artificial intelligence to organize and prioritize emails, potentially altering how users interact with their inboxes. According to MarTech, this update allows AI to decide which emails are relevant before users scroll, drawing parallels to how Google handles search queries.

On March 31, Gmail introduced AI Inbox, a feature that uses AI to summarize and prioritize emails, aiming to help users manage their inboxes without reaching Inbox Zero. This announcement, as detailed in the source, involves AI deciding which emails matter before users scroll, potentially affecting how emails from marketers are seen, given that Gmail users account for more than 25% of the world’s inboxes.

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel moderated by Angela Vega, director of capabilities and operations at Expedia Group, explored how brands can deliver personalized customer experiences without eroding trust. The session, titled 'Winning attention without losing trust: creating meaningful moments across the customer journey,' featured panelists Alec Haase from High Touch, Sean Nowlin from Spotlight IQ, and Ed Poppe from Poppe Marketing, who emphasized that personalization succeeds only...

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel moderated by Angela Vega, director of capabilities and operations at Expedia Group, featured Alec Haase from High Touch, Sean Nowlin from Spotlight IQ, and Ed Poppe from Poppe Marketing discussing how brands can create personalized customer experiences without appearing intrusive.

On March 31, Gmail announced AI Inbox, a feature designed to prioritize emails using AI, potentially allowing users to avoid reaching Inbox Zero by having AI decide which emails matter most. This development builds on Google's history of using AI in products like search, where it answers queries directly.

At the May 2026 MarTech Conference, a panel of marketing leaders addressed how brands can deliver personalized customer experiences without making customers feel surveilled, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/creating-meaningful-moments-across-the-customer-journey/).

On March 31, Gmail introduced its AI Inbox feature, which aims to use artificial intelligence to organize and prioritize emails, potentially making the concept of reaching Inbox Zero obsolete. According to MarTech, this system will have AI decide which emails users see first, similar to how Google handles search queries.

On March 31, Gmail introduced its AI Inbox feature, which employs AI to summarize emails and determine their priority, aiming to eliminate the need for users to reach Inbox Zero. According to [MarTech](https://martech.org/gmails-ai-inbox-may-redefine-deliverability/), this update could affect more than 25% of the world's inboxes, as Gmail users represent a significant portion of email accounts, potentially altering how marketing emails are handled.

Gmail's AI Inbox functions by organizing and...

Marketing campaigns involve platforms, channels, and data flows, which can be managed without chaos by maintaining a broader operational perspective, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/moving-beyond-silos-to-align-complex-customer-journeys/). This perspective improves speed to market, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction, as martech practitioners work across organizational and technical boundaries.

In multi-channel journey orchestration, teams navigate systems, teams, and...

Digital marketing has settled into a stable system over the past few decades, relying on predictable cores like SEO, content marketing, social media, and digital advertising, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/ai-seo-punishes-lazy-marketing-strategies/). AI search has disrupted this comfort by exposing inconsistencies in fragmented campaigns, as it draws on broader signals from multiple sources.

Digital marketing has settled into a stable system over the past few decades, relying on predictable cores like SEO, content marketing, social media, and digital advertising, but AI search has disrupted this comfort by drawing on broader signals and exposing inconsistencies in fragmented campaigns, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/ai-seo-punishes-lazy-marketing-strategies/).

Digital marketing has settled into a stable system over the past few decades, relying on predictable cores like SEO, content marketing, social media, and digital advertising, but AI search has disrupted this by drawing on broader signals and exposing inconsistencies in fragmented campaigns, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/ai-seo-punishes-lazy-marketing-strategies/).

Performance marketing is shifting from relying solely on return on ad spend (ROAS) as organizations seek clearer accountability for growth, according to MarTech. ROAS, which measures dollars in versus dollars out, is simple but insufficient in the increasingly complex digital ecosystem, as it focuses on immediate efficiency rather than long-term business outcomes.

High-ROAS campaigns often capture existing demand, such as retargeting users near conversion, but contribute little to incremental...

According to [MarTech](https://martech.org/why-performance-marketing-needs-more-than-roas/), return on ad spend (ROAS) has long been the default metric for evaluating marketing performance, but it is no longer sufficient as digital ecosystems grow more complex and organizations demand clearer accountability for growth.

According to MarTech, AI is already transforming how customers discover products and how organizations compete for growth, yet many marketing leaders are primarily evaluated on campaign execution. Gartner research shows that while 82% of business leaders believe their company’s brand and culture must evolve with AI, only 15% of CEOs view their marketing leader as strongly AI savvy, creating a gap that threatens marketing's strategic relevance.

Gartner research indicates that the average...

AI is already altering how customers make discovery and buying decisions and how organizations evaluate market opportunities and compete for growth, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/how-marketing-leaders-are-succeeding-in-the-ai-era/). Despite this shift, many marketing leaders are primarily evaluated on campaign execution rather than guiding enterprise transformation.

AI is already reshaping marketing by altering discovery, buying decisions, and market opportunity evaluations, yet many marketing leaders are primarily assessed on campaign execution rather than enterprise transformation, according to MarTech. Gartner research indicates that 82% of business leaders believe their company’s brand and culture must evolve to match AI advancements, but only 15% of CEOs consider their marketing leader strongly AI savvy, putting marketing's strategic relevance at...

Gartner research reveals that while 82% of business leaders believe their company's brand and culture must evolve with AI, only 15% of CEOs view their marketing leader as strongly AI savvy, highlighting a disconnect that threatens marketing's strategic relevance. This gap persists as AI already changes discovery and buying decisions, according to MarTech, forcing organizations to compete in environments they cannot fully control.

AI is already transforming marketing by altering discovery, buying decisions, and market competition, yet many marketing leaders are primarily evaluated on campaign execution rather than guiding enterprise transformation, according to MarTech. Gartner research indicates that 82% of business leaders believe their company’s brand and culture must evolve to keep pace with AI, but only 15% of CEOs see their marketing leader as strongly AI savvy, creating a gap that threatens marketing’s strategic...

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled 'The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack' aims to help marketing operations teams move beyond routine maintenance. Moderated by Mike Rizzo, CEO of MarketingOps.com, the panel includes Fergus Ashe, chief commercial officer at Screendragon; Julz James, director of GTM systems at Fleetio; and Jessica Kao, director of B2B GTM transformation at Adobe, according to...

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled 'The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack' features leaders discussing how marketing operations (MOps) teams can move beyond routine system maintenance to drive business growth, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-art-of-doing-more-with-less-the-new-marketing-operations-stack/).

As AI lowers barriers to building custom tools and challenges the per-seat SaaS model, companies are reassessing their martech stacks, according to MarTech. In this context, affiliate marketing emerges as a channel that cannot operate as a self-running solution, despite its average return of 12 to 15 times spend.

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled "The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack" aims to help marketing operations teams move beyond routine maintenance. Moderated by Mike Rizzo, CEO of MarketingOps.com, the panel includes Fergus Ashe, chief commercial officer at Screendragon; Julz James, director of GTM systems at Fleetio; and Jessica Kao, director of B2B GTM transformation advisor at Adobe, according to...

As AI reshapes martech by enabling companies to replace software vendors with AI-enabled tools, affiliate programs remain an area where technology alone falls short. According to MarTech, companies often treat affiliate marketing as a set-and-forget channel despite its average return of 12 to 15 times spend, leading to underutilization of martech stack capabilities.

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled 'The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack' will feature marketing leaders discussing how to shift marketing operations from a maintenance-focused role to a proactive driver of business growth, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-art-of-doing-more-with-less-the-new-marketing-operations-stack/).

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled "The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack" addresses how marketing operations teams handle the tech stack by keeping systems running and ensuring data flows, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-art-of-doing-more-with-less-the-new-marketing-operations-stack/).

As AI lowers barriers to building custom tools and challenges the per-seat SaaS model, companies are reassessing which platforms remain essential in their stacks, according to MarTech. This shift, referred to as the 'SaaSpocalypse,' involves replacing software vendors and IT services with AI-enabled alternatives, prompting marketers to evaluate affiliate marketing's role.

Affiliate marketing is not merely a channel but a portfolio of strategic partnerships that demands constant calibration,...

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled "The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack" will feature marketing leaders discussing how to shift operations from routine maintenance to proactive business drivers, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-art-of-doing-more-with-less-the-new-marketing-operations-stack/).

As AI reshapes martech by enabling companies to replace software vendors and IT services with custom tools, affiliate marketing remains an area where technology alone falls short, according to MarTech. Despite an average return of 12 to 15 times spend for affiliate programs, many companies treat them as set-and-forget channels, which backfires as per the source material.

Affiliate marketing is not merely a channel but a portfolio of strategic partnerships that demands constant calibration,...

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled 'The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack' will address how marketing operations teams can shift from routine maintenance to strategic roles, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-art-of-doing-more-with-less-the-new-marketing-operations-stack/).

Affiliate marketing continues to demand human expertise even as AI transforms the martech landscape, according to MarTech. Companies are replacing traditional software vendors with AI-enabled tools, and marketers are reassessing their tech stacks as AI lowers barriers to custom tool development.

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled 'The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack' will address how marketing operations teams shift from routine maintenance of tech stacks to strategic roles in business growth. Moderated by Mike Rizzo, CEO of MarketingOps.com, the panel includes Fergus Ashe, chief commercial officer at Screendragon; Julz James, director of GTM systems at Fleetio; and Jessica Kao, director of B2B GTM transformation advisory at Adobe,...

At the May 6th MarTech Conference, a session titled 'The art of doing more with less: The new marketing operations stack' will feature industry leaders discussing how marketing operations teams can shift from routine maintenance to strategic roles, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-art-of-doing-more-with-less-the-new-marketing-operations-stack/).

As discussions around the 'SaaSpocalypse' highlight companies replacing software vendors and IT services with AI-enabled tools, marketers are reassessing which platforms remain essential in their stacks, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/why-affiliate-marketing-still-needs-humans-in-the-ai-era/).

This week's updates highlight how AI is transitioning from analysis to execution in martech, with adMarketplace releasing a tool that places advertisements within AI search engine responses and ASAPP introducing software agents for customer service tasks, all as reported on April 30, 2026, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-latest-ai-powered-martech-news-and-releases/).

This week's updates, as detailed on April 30, 2026, demonstrate how AI is shifting from analysis to execution across marketing technologies, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-latest-ai-powered-martech-news-and-releases/). adMarketplace released a tool that places advertisements within AI search engine responses, using a machine learning model to match commercial results with user query intent.

This week's updates, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-latest-ai-powered-martech-news-and-releases/), show AI shifting from analysis to execution across various martech tools, with releases on April 30, 2026, including ad placements in AI search responses and automated agents for campaign decisions. adMarketplace released a tool that places advertisements within AI search engine responses, using a machine learning model to match commercial results with user query intent.

This week's AI advancements in martech, as detailed in updates from April 30, 2026, show tools shifting from analysis to execution, with companies like adMarketplace placing ads in AI search responses and Braze automating campaign decisions. ASAPP's agents handle customer service tasks by interpreting speech and text to resolve support tickets, while Floyi's framework audits website content for generative search visibility, according to...

This week's AI-powered martech updates, reported on April 30, 2026, demonstrate rapid advancements as companies roll out tools for advertising, customer experience, and content optimization, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-latest-ai-powered-martech-news-and-releases/). adMarketplace released a tool that places advertisements within AI search responses, using a machine learning model to match commercial results with user query intent.

This week's AI-powered martech releases, dated April 30, 2026, demonstrate rapid integration of AI into various marketing functions, with companies like adMarketplace and Braze introducing tools for search and campaign automation, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/the-latest-ai-powered-martech-news-and-releases/).

adMarketplace released a tool that places advertisements within AI search engine responses, using a machine learning model to match commercial results with user query...

IAB Tech Lab announced updates to OpenRTB to address the growing need to define live content in programmatic advertising, including new attributes for describing live content and revisions to substitution macros for pricing communication, with these changes open for public comment through late May.

IAB Tech Lab is introducing updates to OpenRTB to address the growing need to define live content in programmatic channels, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/iab-tech-lab-updates-openrtb-to-better-define-live-content/). The standards body announced new attributes for describing live content and enhancements to substitution macros for pricing and discounts, with these changes open for public comment through late May.

The updates add two optional fields and clarify an existing one in...

IAB Tech Lab is rolling out updates to OpenRTB to address the challenge of defining live content in programmatic advertising, with new attributes and refinements to substitution macros now open for public comment through May 28, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/iab-tech-lab-updates-openrtb-to-better-define-live-content/).

Buyers are researching independently, comparing options, and forming opinions before engaging with sales, as noted in a recent MarTech article. Google AI Overviews now appear across searches with commercial and transactional intent, meaning the first interaction with a brand might be a synthesized answer from multiple sources rather than direct engagement.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab collaborated on hands-on projects, including creating a marketing tool for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, to generate consistent content across channels. The author developed a story engine that transformed a real impact story into various content pieces while aiming to preserve the organization's voice, as detailed in the article on MarTech.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab worked in small teams to create a marketing tool for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/if-your-ai-content-feels-generic-this-is-why/). One team developed a story engine to transform a single impact story into various content pieces across channels while maintaining consistent voice.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab collaborated on hands-on projects, such as creating a story engine for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, to generate content while maintaining consistent brand voice. The exercise revealed that AI tools produce content quickly but often fail to capture the specific tone, emphasis, and community representation of the brand, as experienced in the lab.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab collaborated on hands-on projects, including creating a story engine for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, to generate consistent content across channels.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab collaborated on hands-on projects, including creating a story engine for Harlem Grown to transform one impact story into multiple content pieces while maintaining consistent voice, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/if-your-ai-content-feels-generic-this-is-why/).

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab worked in small teams to create marketing tools for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, revealing challenges in maintaining brand consistency with AI-generated content. One team developed a story engine to transform a single impact story into various content pieces across channels while ensuring a consistent voice, as detailed in the lab's hands-on collaboration.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab collaborated on creating tools like a story engine for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, to generate consistent content across channels.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab collaborated hands-on to develop a marketing tool for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, revealing that AI-generated content often lacks brand-specific voice despite efficient production.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab engaged in hands-on collaboration to create marketing tools for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit dedicated to urban farming and youth mentorship, where one team developed a story engine to transform a single impact story into various content pieces while maintaining consistent voice.

Marketers at the Spring 2026 MarTech conference's MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab worked in small teams to create tools like a Harlem Grown story engine, which transforms one impact story into multiple content pieces while maintaining consistent voice, highlighting the challenge of ensuring AI-generated content sounds like a specific brand.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference, participants in the MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab collaborated on hands-on projects, including creating a story engine for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, to transform a single impact story into various content pieces while maintaining consistent voice, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/if-your-ai-content-feels-generic-this-is-why/).

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference's Vibe Marketing Lab, participants engaged in hands-on collaboration to create marketing tools, including one for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship. The author developed a "Harlem Grown story engine" to transform a single impact story into various content pieces while maintaining consistent brand voice, revealing the difficulty of ensuring AI-generated content reflects a brand's unique identity.

At the Spring 2026 MarTech conference's MarTech Vibe Marketing Lab, participants collaborated on hands-on projects, including creating a marketing tool for Harlem Grown, a nonprofit focused on urban farming and youth mentorship, where one team developed a "Harlem Grown story engine" to transform a single impact story into various content pieces while ensuring consistent voice, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/if-your-ai-content-feels-generic-this-is-why/).

B2B marketers frequently describe data as their most valuable asset, comparing it to gold or oil, and invest heavily in tools such as marketing automation platforms (MAPs), customer relationship management systems (CRMs), customer data platforms (CDPs), and other martech solutions, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/b2b-marketers-are-drowning-in-data-but-starving-for-insight/).

B2B marketers repeatedly describe data as their most valuable asset, comparing it to gold or oil, and invest heavily in tools like MAPs, CRMs, CDPs, and various martech solutions that consume a significant portion of their budgets. Despite this investment, reporting now includes analytics from digital campaigns, a shift from past practices where B2B companies advertised in trade publications with limited evidence of benefits, yet more data has not clarified decision-making as marketers fail to...

Microsoft is introducing AI Max for Search campaigns, which expands query matching and personalizes ad delivery across Copilot and Bing, as part of updates designed to help advertisers maintain visibility as AI agents take on larger roles in discovery and transactions, according to [MarTech](https://martech.org/microsoft-updates-ads-platform-for-ai-driven-discovery/).