Scott Brinker's 2026 Martech Predictions Unpacked

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Introduction

# Scott Brinker, the "godfather of martech" and founder of chiefmartec.com, shares his insights on the rapidly evolving marketing technology landscape as we head into 2026. With over 5,384 martech tools now available—a 9% increase despite 8.6% vendor churn—Brinker explains how AI hasn't consolidated the market as predicted but instead created new complexities. Drawing from his unique position as VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot and his extensive research tracking the martech industry, he provides practical guidance for navigating the shift from traditional automation to AI-powered marketing operations.#n#n1

AI Adoption: Moving Beyond Experimentation

# The marketing industry has made remarkable progress with AI adoption in 2025, though most implementations remain in early stages. Brinker identifies two areas where AI is delivering real value today. First, content production workflows have become significantly more efficient, with marketers using AI to brainstorm ideas, create variations for different cha els, and analyze engagement—reducing time investment while maintaining human oversight. Second, customer service chatbots powered by LLMs have finally become effective, achieving 60-70% resolution rates when properly co ected to knowledge bases and customer data. As Brinker notes, "These are all things that marketers could do before, but they were generally very time consuming."#n#n1

The New Automation Paradigm

# Marketing teams are learning to combine traditional deterministic automation with AI's adaptive capabilities. While deterministic workflows provide predictable, structured processes essential for business operations, LLMs excel at handling unstructured data and adapting to unexpected inputs. The wi ing approach involves maintaining deterministic workflows as the backbone while incorporating LLMs at specific steps where flexibility and adaptation add value. This hybrid model represents a fundamental shift in how marketing operations function.#n#n1

Context Engineering: The Evolution of Prompt Engineering

# While 2024 focused on prompt engineering and 2025 on agentic AI, Brinker predicts 2026 will be the year of context engineering. This practice extends beyond crafting prompts to include providing AI with access to the right data, tools, and boundaries for effective execution. The challenge isn't just giving AI more information—it's curating the right information. As Brinker explains, successful context engineering requires first understanding the job to be done: "What's the specific task that I want this thing to accomplish, what information, what tools is it going to need to execute?"#n#n1

AEO vs SEO: Adapting to AI-Powered Search

# Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is emerging as a critical discipline alongside traditional SEO. While SEO remains foundational—AI engines still rely on search indexes—the tactics are evolving. Instead of focusing solely on backlinks, marketers must now consider natural language references across platforms like Reddit. FAQ-style content resonates particularly well with AI models, and unlike Google's restrictions, AI engines accept simplified markdown versions of pages specifically formatted for machine consumption. The core principle remains unchanged: create valuable content and establish credibility, but the execution requires new approaches.#n#n1

The Martech Landscape Transformation

# The proliferation of AI-powered development tools has fundamentally altered the martech competitive landscape. Companies now face competition not just from other commercial solutions but from businesses building custom software internally. This "era of personal software" means individual marketers can create tailored solutions for specific needs, dramatically expanding who can build marketing technology. Brinker identifies orchestration as the critical gap—companies need systems to provide guardrails and coordination as employees create their own automations and agents. Without proper orchestration, the empowerment of 300 employees to build their own tools becomes "a bug, not a feature."#n#n1

The Customer Revolution: AI Shifts Power to Buyers

# Brinker's boldest prediction for 2026 centers on AI empowering customers rather than marketers. Buyers are using AI assistants and agentic browsers to take control of their journey, bypassing traditional marketing playbooks. These tools can analyze complex pricing structures, compare competitors, and gather information that was previously controlled by vendors. This shift in information asymmetry fundamentally disrupts established sales processes. "The narrative of 2026 is it's going to take off like wildfire," Brinker predicts, "and that is going to be the thing that breaks so many of the existing playbooks that marketing has been doing."#n#n1

Conclusion

# As marketing technology continues its rapid evolution, success in 2026 will depend on adapting to fundamental shifts in how AI is deployed and how customers engage with brands. The wi ers will be those who master context engineering, embrace the hybrid automation model, and recognize that customer empowerment through AI requires entirely new go-to-market strategies. While the pace of change creates uncertainty, Brinker emphasizes that timeless principles remain: great products, strong brands, and customer-centric approaches will continue to drive success. The challenge for marketers is maintaining predictability and control while adapting to a landscape where traditional levers of influence are rapidly diminishing.#n#n1