Preparing for the Next Wave of AI in MarTech
Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) today are more flexible and marketer-friendly than ever before, but it wasn’t always that way. When I joined Neiman Marcus in 2019, building a campaign audience required a ticket to the data team, a manual build out for every campaign, and a two-week wait. That pace wasn’t sustainable for marketers trying to stay relevant, let alone drive growth.
My goal was straightforward: implement a CDP that would allow marketers to build and activate their own audiences. Within two years, I watched a one-person initiative grow into an 11-person team launching new use cases every other week. Campaigns became faster, more personalized, and backed by a much stronger foundation of data trust. The value unlocked by that transformation was obvious – and immediate.
Today at Bounteous, I lead a team of CDP and data experts who help some of the world’s top brands take the next step in that same journey. Some are refining mature systems, while others are just starting to lay foundational infrastructure. Regardless of where they are, one thing is consistent: the most successful teams build for flexibility and scale in a world where AI is no longer experimental – it’s expected.
Foundations Matter More Than Ever
In challenging economic times, companies often hesitate to invest in innovation. But that hesitation can be costly. As Warren Buffet once said, “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” The best-performing companies don’t pause innovation during downturns; they double down on building capabilities that compound value over time.
AI is accelerating that mindset. Every CDP vendor now has AI capabilities built in or on the roadmap. But the opportunity isn’t just about using AI to create better audiences; the real opportunity lies in what those tools enable: dynamic, predictive customer journeys that respond in real-time.
That future won’t materialize with technology alone. Teams need solid data pipelines and architecture and strong governance to make AI orchestration work. When these elements come together, AI doesn’t just enhance a campaign – it transforms the way brands engage with their customers.
Designing AI-Driven Journeys Starts with the Right Building Blocks
AI’s role in MarTech isn’t just to automate tasks; it’s to anticipate needs and personalize at scale. That kind of orchestration demands systems that learn and adapt, driven by rich data and content ecosystems.
Imagine lifecycle journeys guided by AI agents that learn from past behavior, across known and anonymous users. These agents can make smart decisions if the inputs are strong. That means marketing teams must:
- Create content with clear metadata and contextual signals
- Build data models that reflect real customer intent, not just transactions
- Plan for AI-driven journey orchestration where creative, offers, and messages adapt in real-time
Equally important is how teams are structured to support this work. AI integration isn’t just a marketing initiative – it requires collaboration across marketing, data, and engineering teams to align on the roadmap and move fast together. We often help clients align these functions through our Co-Innovation framework, which establishes shared ownership of goals, capabilities and outcomes.
The Leaders of Tomorrow are Building Today
Some organizations are already close to this vision, while many are just beginning their journey. But those who start laying the groundwork now by modernizing infrastructure, aligning teams, and designing for flexibility will separate the leaders from the laggards as AI continues to advance.
Our clients are across that entire spectrum. Some are just beginning to unify their customer data, while others are already running pilot programs for AI-driven journeys. The AI frontier in MarTech isn’t about replacing marketers. It’s about equipping them with tools that let them think more strategically while intelligent systems take on the manual work.
