Podcast Summary: Marketing Against The Grain

Episode: 5 AI Tools The Smartest Marketers Are Using In 2026
Date: January 6, 2026
Hosts: Kipp Bodnar (CMO, HubSpot) and Kieran Flanagan (SVP of Marketing, HubSpot)

Episode Overview

In this forward-thinking episode, Kipp and Kieran dissect the five most transformative AI tools and launches from 2025 that are reshaping how marketers, founders, and growth-minded professionals win in 2026. The duo shares practical, edge-case use cases, exposes new marketing workflows, and delivers both motivation and urgency for mastering these tools. You’ll hear unguarded opinions, insightful debates, and plenty of specifics that cut through hype and dig into what’s genuinely valuable.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gemini 3 for Content Remixing and Repurposing

Timestamps: 02:53–06:26

• What’s New: Gemini 3’s YouTube integration allows marketers to extract deep, actionable analysis from any video, including understanding esthetics, design, movement, and dialogue.
• Use Cases:
  • Extract learnings and critique from competitor product demos.
  • Generate counter-narratives and talking points (education, spicy content, data-driven).
  • Build microsites or viral social commentary directly from videos.
• Practical Example: Kieran shares how Gemini 3 picked out 25 talking points from a long YouTube video:
  • “Stop underestimating AI. Ask for more. Are you limiting your AI’s potential by asking for too little?”
  • (Logan Kilpatrick at 03:36 in the referenced YouTube video)
• Impact:
  • “If you are out there doing manual research and manual content strategy in 2026, you're going to lose.” — Kipp (06:09)
• Key Takeaway: Mastering content remix is now table stakes for marketers; manual workflows are obsolete.

2. Nano Banana Pro & OpenAI GPT Image 1.5 for Image Creation

Timestamps: 06:26–12:11

• Nano Banana Pro (Google) Highlights:
  • Text-to-image generation is now flawless; text in images appears perfect, not garbled.
  • Linked to Google Search—brings in real-world context and knowledge.
  • Infographics and branded graphics can be custom-made for each prospect (enabling hyperpersonalized account-based marketing).
• OpenAI GPT Image 1.5:
  • Enables regenerating or iterating on only parts of the image, improving versioning and edits.
• Practical Example:
  • Marketers create an infographic for why HubSpot is a fit for Disney, sourcing real-world research and referencing press materials:
    • “Look how perfect the text is, right?” — Kieran (10:32)
• Key Takeaway:
  • Personalized visual marketing assets are now fast, cheap, and on-brand.
  • “You can create like one to one graphics, like one graphic for a company. It really does revitalize account based marketing.” — Kieran (10:56)
• Workflow Tip: Save brand-style image examples to upload for consistency.

3. New Era in Video Generation: Google VO 3.1 & Sora 2

Timestamps: 12:11–17:12

• Google VO 3.1:
  • Text-to-video production with up to 60-second clips, integrated with Google Workspace and native audio generation. Good for product demos, C-level video campaigns.
• OpenAI Sora 2:
  • Major feature: ‘Cameo’ splicing—add real people to generated settings.
  • iOS integration (not yet available to all).
• Importance Ranking:
  • Kipp: “If you are a video professional… these AI models have gotten very good… If you’re a mere mortal like me or you, [video] is still not quite there in the way the image models are.” (15:44)
  • Both recommend prioritizing content repurposing and image tools first, but foresee video becoming essential for creative marketers soon.
• Workflow Insight:
  • Kieran shares how VO 3.1 required iteration, particularly when scripting dialogues between a human and an object:
    • “VO3, I'm literally going to have to burn down my house with me inside it. Unless you can understand that this object can also have dialog.” (16:18)
• Key Takeaway: Mastery in video generation will swiftly become a must-have marketing skill.

4. Agentic Workflows and Automation: Swarm SDK, Google Workspace Studio

Timestamps: 17:48–22:45

• Definition: Tying multiple AI “agents” (specialized AI models) into sophisticated, orchestrated workflows that dramatically multiply an individual marketer’s output.
• Major Tools:
  • OpenAI Agent SDK Swarm: Build and coordinate task-specific agents.
  • Google Workspace Studio: No-code agentic workflow creation platform.
• Competitive Differentiation:
  • “If you take two marketeers in 2026, one understands how to build agentic workflows... Who wins that? The AI enabled marketer.” — Kieran (18:51)
• Practical Examples:
  • Agents that auto-monitor competitor launches, analyze materials, match against product roadmaps, generate counteractions.
  • Agents that research incoming prospects (funding, leadership changes, growth areas) and prepare custom sales points (21:00–22:19).
• Key Quote:
  • “If you are a traditional marketer trying to compete with that person, you are toast.” — Kieran (22:06)
• Key Takeaway:
  • Agentic workflows enable one person to operate at the scale (and efficiency) of a large team.

5. Vibe Coding & Coding Agents: Replit, Claude Code, Opus 4.5

Timestamps: 22:56–28:24

• What’s New:
  • A new class of code generation agents that allow non-coders (and coders) to rapidly build custom software, dashboards, apps tailored for their marketing needs.
• Top Tools:
  • Replit agent: Autonomous coding for building complete apps.
  • Anthropic Claude’s Opus 4.5: “Unbelievable. Jaw dropping. Insane.” — Kieran (23:25)
  • Claude Code: The primary focus and obsession for both Kipp and Kieran.
• Practical Impacts:
  • Marketers can build personalized lead magnets, scoring tools, dashboards without software teams.
  • Supercharge own workflows by “vibe coding” tools to exact personal needs.
• Anecdotes:
  • Kieran references a well-known engineer: “100% of all of the code he created... was Claude code. And he said he's actually stopped even reading it… he just shipped it, it works. That is scary.” (25:18)
  • Head of Growth at Claude uses mostly code agents, especially for accessing files and context at scale.
• Key Quotes:
  • “Claude code is going to do the same thing for marketing... If you are a good marketer, these coding agents are going to make you a 10x marketer.” — Kipp (26:24)
  • “We are ahead of the average, but behind on the opportunity. The opportunity has got so large that that’s what I feel behind on.” — Kieran (28:05)
• Key Takeaway:
  • Vibe coding and code agents represent an unprecedented leap in what one marketer can achieve, but adopting them fast is vital.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s that old quote, you know, some decades nothing happens, in some weeks decades happen. Felt like in 2025 decades of progress happened.” — Kipp (02:34)
• “If you are out there doing manual research and manual content strategy in 2026, you're going to lose.” — Kipp (06:09)
• “You can create like one to one graphics, like one graphic for a company. It really does revitalize account based marketing.” — Kieran (10:56)
• “If you take two marketeers in 2026, one understands how to build agentic workflows... The AI enabled marketer wins.” — Kieran (18:51)
• “If you are a traditional marketer trying to compete with that person, you are toast.” — Kieran (22:06)
• “Claude code is going to do the same thing for marketing... If you are a good marketer, these coding agents are going to make you a 10x marketer.” — Kipp (26:24)
• “We are ahead of the average, but behind on the opportunity.” — Kieran (28:05)
• “Whatever you think the stakes are, they're 10 to 100x bigger.” — Kipp (28:16)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Purpose: 00:01–02:32
• Gemini 3: Content Remix: 02:53–06:26
• Image Creation Tools: 06:26–12:11
• Video Generation: Google VO 3.1 & Sora 2: 12:11–17:12
• Agentic Workflows & Automation: 17:48–22:45
• Vibe Coding & Agents: 22:56–28:24
• Final Reflections & Stakes for 2026: 28:05–28:56

Final Thoughts

Kipp and Kieran give listeners both a roadmap and a warning: 2026 will reward those who master content remixing, hyper-personal image/video creation, agentic workflows, and especially vibe coding. The concluding message: opportunities are multiplying, but the bar for success is rising exponentially. Adopt these tools—or risk being left behind.

“Whatever you think the stakes are, they're 10 to 100x bigger.” (28:16)

Subscribe and stay tuned for deeper dives into each of these tools and workflows throughout 2026.