Marketing AI Pulse: Insights and Inspiration from a Community in Motion
The 6th Marketing AI Pulse gathering brought together marketers, technologists, founders, and innovators from across the region to share practical perspectives on how AI is reshaping modern marketing. The day reflected a community that is learning together, experimenting in real time, and strengthening the local ecosystem by giving space to both established leaders and emerging startups. It set the stage for conversations that looked beyond the moment and toward what marketing teams need to be thinking about as 2026 approaches.
Highlights from Robert Half’s 2026 Salary Guide
Amy Mangan, Robert Half
Amy presented new research showing how AI is reshaping the marketing workforce. The greatest demand is for hybrid thinkers who blend strategy, analytics, creativity, automation, and AI fluency. Her message resonated across the room. AI is raising the value of adaptable marketers, not diminishing it. Roles that merge strategic thinking with technical confidence are rising fastest and commanding higher compensation.
Your GTM System Is Stuck. AI Will Not Save It But It Will Scale It
Sangram Vajre, GTM Partners
Sangram delivered a wake up call. AI does not fix an unclear strategy; it amplifies it. If your organization lacks alignment, AI will accelerate the chaos. He urged leaders to treat GTM as the operating system of the business and to clarify the right problems, segments, and plays before automating anything.
AI in Marketing. The Promise and the Practice
Ben Bolton (Verizon Business), Palmer Houchins (G2), Tammy Barnes (PwC), Sirmitchell Sorrells (Dell and NVIDIA)
The panel brought the conversation to life by grounding the day in real experiences from leaders who are actively shaping how AI shows up inside their organizations.
Start small and focused: one clear AI use case that works is a stronger foundation than a dozen unfocused experiments. Treat brand voice as a strategic asset: custom GPTs only perform when trained on your real tone, language, and thought leadership. Make upskilling a core expectation: structured, role‑specific AI training empowers teams to confidently apply AI in their daily work. Define the problem before the tool: AI projects fail when the use case is vague or constantly shifting. Think beyond quick wins: AI’s real competitive edge comes from building systems that scale sustainably — not just fast, but profitably.
From Vibes to Validation. Building Trust in AI Driven Insights
Peter Cloutier, Improvado
Peter underscored that AI is powerful only when the data foundation beneath it is solid. Most teams jump straight into AI without realizing that the real leverage comes from clean, unified data — not the model sitting on top of it. AI can now surface answers instantly, generate analysis on the fly, and layer reasoning across multiple questions, but the integrity of those insights lives or dies by the data feeding them. When every channel, campaign, and creative is tied to a trustworthy data layer, AI becomes less noise and more signal, giving marketers the ability to see, measure, and act with confidence instead of guesswork.
Marketing AI Forward. Preparing for 2026
Morgan Doyle, The Home Depot and Aby Varma, Spark Novus
As the year winds down, Morgan and Aby reflected on what marketers should be thinking about as they step into 2026 and navigate another period of rapid change.
They highlighted how AI driven workflows will take on more of the execution, giving teams room to invest in strategy, judgment, and creativity. They also noted that generative tools are entering a phase where substance matters more than speed, with marketers expecting outputs that are usable with minimal refinement.
They spoke about the rise of a more intelligent and connected martech environment where CRM, ads, analytics, and content function as one orchestrated system. They pointed to video becoming an always on channel that supports rapid testing of concepts, and to paid media leaning further into automation where strategy and measurement become the real edge.
They emphasized how brand discovery is shifting as more prospects ask models instead of search engines, placing new weight on content and third party signals. They discussed how voice and chat interactions will shape engagement across the customer journey and how AI will help marketers uncover the stories within their data more quickly.
They closed by noting that digital experiences will need to serve both humans and agent aware browsers, and that trust will become the defining advantage for brands that are transparent and consistent in how they use AI.
Featured Startups
The community continues to support the local ecosystem by giving a platform to local innovators. This gathering featured two startups whose work reflects the creativity and ambition shaping Atlanta’s next wave of AI driven marketing solutions. Their presence added real energy to the room and reminded everyone how much innovation is happening right here in our backyard in Atlanta.
Parmonic
Parmonic identifies key moments inside long form video and turns them into consumable clips for humans and structured data for AI, making content digestible and machine interpretable.
BrandPulse
BrandPulse reveals how a brand appears in AI ecosystems as search shifts to generative answers, helping marketers understand and improve their visibility in AI‑driven results.
Community Voices
It was energizing to hear from the community and to see how practitioners across industries are approaching AI with curiosity and intent.
Joe Oquist — Senior Digital Transformation Leader, Verizon
Sherry Heyl — Founder, Amplified Concepts
Claudia Mueller — Marketing and AI Consultant, IMPACT Small Business Solutions
Benny Lee — Senior Manager, Technology and Strategic Partnerships, The Coca Cola Company.
A warm thank you to everyone who contributed their perspectives and helped shape a stronger, smarter community.
The event closed with a sense of momentum that felt both earned and shared. Hearing how marketers and business leaders are experimenting, questioning, and building responsibly made it clear that this community is shaping the next chapter of modern marketing in real time. It was a reminder that progress comes from people who stay curious, stay connected, and keep pushing their craft forward together. Join the community today.
