A CEO I spoke with one time, told me his marketing team had fully “adopted AI.” When I asked what that meant, he then proceeded to list 17 tools that consists of AI writers, schedulers, and competitive intel bots. I was quite impressed until I asked him the only question that matters: “Did pipeline move?” Silence. Turns out he wasn't paying for revenue but for automated busyness. This is the AI Efficiency Paradox: a situation where companies are investing in more tools to

We’re almost at the midpoint of 2026 and the global economy has been running on a subdued trajectory with US GDP crawling at an annualized 0.7% (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2026). In this tight environment CEOs are under intense pressure to squeeze organic revenue out of a volatile market. Compounding that pressure is the major shift in how consumers discover products as the primary gatekeepers are no longer just traditional search engines. We’re dealing with autonomous AI a

If you're a CEO, let me ask you something you've probably been thinking but haven't said out loud yet. Does your full-time CMO still make sense? I’m not asking, “are they a good person.” I’m not asking, “do they work hard.” I’m asking whether the model — a full-time marketing executive on payroll, benefits, equity, and a six-month ramp — still holds up in a world where AI just commoditized most of what they manage. I live and build in the CMO world every single day. I see it