The Year of Context Engineering

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Introduction

# Scott Brinker, the godfather of martech and founder of chiefmartec.com, reveals why 2026 will be the year of context engineering and how marketers need to prepare for AI-powered buyers taking control of their journey. With over 5,384 martech tools now available and an 8.6% vendor churn rate, Brinker explains why AI didn't consolidate martech—it exploded it—and what this means for marketing leaders navigating an increasingly complex landscape.#n#n1

AI Adoption: From Experimentation to Production

# While most marketers are actively experimenting with AI agents and agentic capabilities, Brinker notes that production deployments remain limited to specific use cases. Content production workflows have emerged as a clear wi er, with marketers successfully using AI to brainstorm, create, distribute, and analyze content across cha els. "These are all things that marketers could do before, but they were generally very time consuming," Brinker explains. The time required to execute these tasks has shrunk considerably, delivering real-world productivity gains.#n#n1 Customer service chatbots represent another breakthrough application. After years of frustrating experiences, chatbots powered by LLMs are finally delivering value. Companies co ecting these chatbots to knowledge bases, ticket histories, and customer profiles are seeing 60-70% resolution rates. The key difference from previous automation attempts is that LLMs excel at adapting to unexpected inputs—they're non-deterministic rather than fragile, rules-based systems.#n#n1

Context Engineering: The Evolution of Prompt Engineering

# Just as AEO expands on SEO fundamentals, context engineering takes prompt engineering to the next level. It's not just about crafting the perfect prompt anymore—it's about bundling instructions with the right data access and tools an AI agent needs to complete tasks effectively. Brinker emphasizes that the real challenge isn't the AI itself but understanding what information and capabilities are needed for specific jobs.#n#n1

The Goldilocks Problem

# Finding the right balance of context proves critical. Too little information leaves AI agents unable to perform effectively, while too much creates overwhelm and processing timeouts. Marketers must carefully curate what data, tools, and instructions they provide—treating AI configuration like they would brief a human team member on a complex task.#n#n1

The Martech Landscape Transformation

# The proliferation of AI-powered personal software development creates unprecedented competition for traditional martech vendors. Professional developers using AI coding assistants report 10x productivity gains, while non-technical users can now build custom applications for specific needs. This shift means martech companies face competition not just from other vendors but from their prospective customers' ability to build tailored solutions themselves.#n#n1 Orchestration emerges as the critical gap in the current landscape. As organizations empower individuals to build their own agents and automations, the need for guardrails and coordination becomes paramount. "We need software that is going to serve as the guardrails, as the orchestration engines," Brinker notes, predicting this will be a major battleground for established players.#n#n1

2026 Prediction: The Year of AI-Powered Buyers

# Brinker's boldest prediction centers on buyers using AI to take complete control of their journey. Agentic browsers already analyze complex pricing pages, compare competitors, and uncover discounting practices—shifting information asymmetry in buyers' favor. This breaks traditional go-to-market playbooks built on controlling the customer journey through gated content and structured sales processes.#n#n1 "I don't really care about you anymore because these AI engines are giving me the ability to really take control of the journey the way I want," Brinker characterizes the buyer's new mindset. Sales managers watching demonstrations of AI agents dissecting pricing strategies are already heading for the bar, recognizing their leverage points are evaporating.#n#n1

Conclusion

# As martech continues its explosive growth amid AI disruption, success in 2026 will depend on mastering context engineering, building orchestration capabilities, and adapting to empowered buyers. The fundamentals remain unchanged—great products, strong brands, and customer focus still matter most. But the playbooks for reaching and converting customers require complete reimagination. Marketers who embrace these shifts rather than resist them will find new opportunities in what Brinker calls "the new treadmill"—though as he notes, it's moving far too fast to be called a treadmill anymore.#n#n1