The pace is picking up as brands juggle dozens of tools across content, data, and engagement, AI and automation are becoming the connective tissue that drives smarter, faster, and more personalised customer experiences. The next evolution of marketing technology is about how intelligently platforms work together.
As we move toward 2026, AI is transforming marketing operations across the entire MarTech ecosystem. Certain platforms like Adobe and Salesforce still lead the way, but the bigger trend is integration, automation, and AI-driven personalisation across all tools.
AI agents are evolving from experimental tools to essential engines for managing complex marketing workflows autonomously. Marketers can focus on strategy while AI drives personalisation, predictive analytics, and campaign optimisation across web, email, social, and more.
As AI takes on repetitive tasks, the marketer’s role is shifting toward creativity, strategy, and ethical AI oversight - ensuring automation enhances, rather than replaces, human insight.
Whether it’s AEM with EDS automations, Salesforce plugins, or AI-powered personalisation in Braze and Optimizely, automation is central. These enhancements allow:
AI is enabling dynamic content creation, predictive targeting, and adaptive experiences across the MarTech stack. Platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud deliver data-driven personalisation at scale, Braze powers real-time customer engagement across mobile, web, and email, and Optimizely allows marketers to test and optimise experiences continuously.
The result? Customers consistently see the right message, on the right channel, at the right time.
The next wave of AI in marketing isn’t just about one platform - it’s about agents that operate across tools, connecting CRMs, content platforms, analytics, and engagement systems to optimise campaigns end-to-end.
These AI agents will bridge data silos and make marketing ecosystems truly adaptive learning from performance in one tool and instantly optimising across others.
AI-powered analytics and insights make it easier than ever to make real-time, data-backed decisions, improving ROI, engagement, and customer satisfaction.
Predictive models are no longer just for analysts—they’re being embedded into every marketer’s workflow, empowering teams to act faster and smarter.
With greater personalisation comes greater responsibility. As AI connects more systems and customer data flows between tools, organisations will need clear governance and ethical frameworks for AI use, ensuring transparency, compliance, and customer trust remain at the centre of innovation.
The future of MarTech will rely not only on how powerful AI becomes, but how responsibly it’s deployed.
Success in MarTech will mean integrating AI across platforms, automating workflows, and creating seamless, personalised experiences - with tools supporting a smarter, connected ecosystem.
Marketers who thrive will be those who can orchestrate cross-platform strategies - understanding how data, content, and automation work together to deliver intelligent, human-centred experiences.
