Into 2026 - how marketing teams and individual marketers are evolving, thanks to AI

We know that AI is driving change in marketing. It’s incorporated in content development, campaign building, and more. But it’s also changing the structure of marketing teams, individual marketers' skill sets, and marketing technology itself. According to Amanda Cole, CMO at Bloomreach, her marketing team was previously organized by function (e.g., product design, content), but is now organized by objectives (e.g., grow in retail or grow in strategic verticals). There are still functional teams, but they focus on strategic objectives. By focusing on strategic objectives, teams can go further down the funnel across every area of the business, she says.

It’s not only how teams are aligned structurally that is changing; it’s also the makeup of those teams. AI teammates are becoming key members of marketing teams, performing tasks independently of humans. Cole notes that an AI teammate may still need more guidance at ...