The industry is transforming in real time as AI growth impacts workflows, output and career paths from one moment to the next. Industry leaders are continually refining uses of AI platforms, best practices for prompting and how to communicate new tech initiatives to teams. As Ad Age honors trailblazers in innovation with the 2026 Tech Power List, reporters and editors share their tips for where AI use can go right and wrong in marketing.

This ICYMI roundup features Tech Reporter Asa Hiken, News Editor E.J. Schultz, Creativity Editor Tim Nudd, Influencer Reporter Gillian Follett and Senior Agency Reporter Lindsay Rittenhouse. They offer tips and tricks for topics ranging from consumers' primary AI fears to worst-case brand scenarios and the new talent pipeline conundrum.

Listen to each episode in its entirety:

~Your AI ad playbook: red flags, hard lessons and brand wins, with Asa Hiken

~What's driving marketing impact: lessons from award-winning campaigns, with Tim Nudd

~Decoding 2026 hype vs. reality for marketers, with E.J. Schultz and Adrianne Pasquarelli

~'Fruit Love Island' brand lessons: skip this viral trend, with Gillian Follett

~Agency hiring in the AI era: What grads need now, with Lindsay Rittenhouse