This tool will fade after the hype

Summary

MarTech Podcast ™: "This tool will fade after the hype"

Date: March 5, 2026
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Nick Zeckic, Chief Fire Starter at Smoke Signals AI

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Benjamin Shapiro is joined by Nick Zeckic from Smoke Signals AI to discuss which current AI marketing tools are likely to become obsolete as the market matures. The conversation delves into the hype cycles surrounding AI-driven sales and marketing products, examines the future role of “AI SDRs” (AI-based sales development reps), and explores how both technology and organizational adaptation will render some current tools redundant. The tone is candid, thoughtful, and slightly irreverent as they consider where the market is headed and what marketers should do to avoid investing in soon-to-be-obsolete solutions.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Fast-Paced Evolution of AI Tools

• Irrelevancy of Today’s AI Tools (03:02–03:42):
  • Nick Zeckic states that the pace of innovation makes it difficult for any one tool to become completely irrelevant overnight, but identifies AI “wrappers” as especially vulnerable.
  • Quote:
    "I think all the rappers are dead. Right?...I mean, I think we're living in a time where the...tools are evolving so quickly that irrelevancy seems almost impossible to me."
    — Nick Zeckic (03:08)

2. The Demise of AI “Wrappers” and “AISDRs”

• Understanding ‘Wrappers’ (03:42–05:00):

  • Nick describes “wrappers” as simple tools or interfaces built on top of bigger AI engines (like Claude, Gemini, or OpenAI models) used to automate sales development (AISDRs).
  • He argues that as companies adopt AI more natively (especially via direct integrations with major platforms like HubSpot), these intermediary tools will become unnecessary.
  • Quote:
    "AISDRs and the 11Xs and all those qualifies, etcetera, I don't see a future for them... Functionally every organization is going to get to a place where they understand how to take Claude code and make it do what they thought those AISDRs were going to do for them but actually deliver.”
    — Nick Zeckic (04:05)

• The Role of Major Platforms (04:40–05:15):

  • Nick highlights how platforms like HubSpot now enable deeper AI integration, rendering external boxed-up tools superfluous.
  • Quote:
    “If you put that stuff on top of a major system of record like a HubSpot or Salesforce or what? …At least HubSpot lets you invoke Claude and OpenAI and all the different LLMs in workflows, right? That is an incredible unlock.”
    — Nick Zeckic (04:55)

3. Who's Left Holding the Bag?

• Investors and VC Consequences (05:13–05:29):
  • Nick predicts the collapse of the market for AI wrappers, suggesting many investors will soon regret their backing.
  • Quote:
    “…All the VCs that put in insane amounts of money into those tools are going to be scratching their heads in 12 to 18 months.”
    — Nick Zeckic (05:21)

4. The Agency vs. Enterprise Dilemma

• For Whom Do These Tools Exist? (05:29–06:25):

  • Benjamin notes that while advanced companies will build their own tools, these wrapper/AISDR tools are primarily for organizations not yet ready to build in-house AI solutions.
  • Quote:
    “There's a large group of businesses that…want to adopt AI, that are not ready to actually build with AI. And I think that's what that universe of tools is for.”
    — Benjamin Shapiro (05:33)

• Speculative Nature of General AI Agents (05:35–06:25):

  • Benjamin discusses the hype cycle around general-purpose AI agents that can automate any process and run entire systems—which he sees as more proof-of-concept than practical tool for most businesses, at least for now.
  • Quote:
    “Where there's an agent that's gonna come in and can sophisticatedly run your entire computer and do everything for you...like, that's a proof of concept...You might not want to give it the keys to the car and your credit car right away.”
    — Benjamin Shapiro (05:43)

5. Future Outlook

• Market Maturity and Tool Evolution (05:45–06:50):
  • Both agree that as the AI space matures, the more commoditized or superficial tools will fade, with true capability built directly into platforms by sophisticated providers.
  • Quote:
    “Like the full Agentix stack where you can just talk to your agent and it will go do things, will be built out by sophisticated companies, not bootstrapped.”
    — Benjamin Shapiro (06:25)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “All the rappers are dead. Right?...It’s really sad.”
  — Nick Zeckic (03:10)
  (Playfully referencing both software and famous deceased rappers, weaving in humor.)

• “You might not want to give it the keys to the car and your credit card right away…”
  — Benjamin Shapiro (05:47)
  (On the pitfalls of giving AI agents unchecked power.)

• “If you’re exporting that stuff to kind of like a boxed up tool, I think you’re nuts.”
  — Nick Zeckic (05:15)
  (A blunt summary of his stance against AI wrappers.)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:15 – 01:38: Introduction of guest Nick Zeckic and Smoke Signals AI
• 03:02: Benjamin prompts Nick on which AI tools are hype vs. future-proof
• 03:08 – 05:29: Nick’s critique of “AI wrappers/AISDRs” and prediction of their obsolescence
• 05:29 – 06:25: Benjamin discusses adoption gaps, real vs. hyped AI agents
• 06:50: Closing remarks and episode wrap

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Conclusion

This episode is a must-listen for marketers, AI enthusiasts, and investors seeking to understand which AI-powered sales and marketing tools are here to stay—and which are riding a temporary hype wave. Nick Zeckic provides sharp, practical advice: skip boxed-up AI SDRs and focus on integrating true generative AI capabilities into your existing workflows. Meanwhile, Benjamin Shapiro brings balance, acknowledging the persistent need for out-of-the-box solutions in less mature organizations, while cautioning against over-trusting automation. Both agree: evolve, integrate, and don’t get distracted by shiny, short-lived AI trends.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

From advertising to software as a service

[Nick Zeckic]

to data across all of our programs

[Sponsor Representative]

and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate.

[Nick Zeckic]

Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs

[Benjamin Shapiro]

better than TV advertising. Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours.

[Sponsor Representative]

We're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.

[Podcast Announcer]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that use use technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro

[Benjamin Shapiro]

I'm Benjamin Shapiro and joining me today is Nick Zeckic, the chief fire starter at Smoke Signals AI, an AI first HubSpot agency that helps B2B companies generate, capture and activate buying signals to measure pipeline, not vanity metrics. And today Nick is going to share his process for redesigning demand generation from the ground up for the age of AI.

[Sponsor Representative]

Time for a short break to hear from our sponsor, Scrunch. When was the last time you actually visited a website to research something? For me, AI does all that work now. So if AI is doing the discovery research and deciding who or what is your brand's website really for the rise of AI bots, becoming as important as new visitors is a massive change in user behavior. And that's what Scrunch is taking head on. Scrunch is the AI customer experience platform that helps marketing teams understand how AI agents experience their site. They tell you how your brand shows up in LLM results, where it doesn't, and what's preventing your content from being retrieved, trusted or recommended. It's not just visibility. Scrunch shows you the content gaps, citation gaps, and how to fix the technical blockers that matter so your brand is found and chosen in AI answers. Face it, your most important site visitor isn't human anymore. It's the AI deciding what gets surfaced. And for Martech podcast listeners, Scrunch is providing a free website diagnostic that uncovers how AI sees your site, where you have content gaps and where you're showing up versus your competition. To see how LLMs evaluate your site, go to scrunch.com martech that's Scrunch. S C-R-U-N-C-H.com martech what's the one AI

[Benjamin Shapiro]

tool or capability that everyone's hyping right now that you think is going to be completely irrelevant in 12 months?

[Nick Zeckic]

Holy smokes. Completely irrelevant AI tool. Jeez. I think, I mean I think we're living in a time where the, the answer is the tools are evolving so quickly that irrelevancy seems almost impossible to me. I think rappers, I think all the rappers are dead. Right? I, I are.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

We're talking like Tupac and Biggie here.

[Sponsor Representative]

Yeah.

[Nick Zeckic]

100 they're already gone and it's really sad. And I shut up. Here you can see the tattoo that's here on the side.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

I saw the P. Diddy documentary too.

[Nick Zeckic]

Yeah, it's. Wow. Was that something else? The so so the AISDRs and the 11Xs and all those qualifies, et cetera, I don't see a future for them because as soon as organizations start to get comfortable with quad code either by hiring people who know how to do it, by reimagining how you staff a go to market organization, by having at least somebody who's a developer light on board but you really don't need one. Claude Code does all that. Right? Way better with way better resolution. And at some point OpenAI is going to come up with theirs and Gemini is going to come up with theirs. Right? And I think the competition on that front is going to get really severe over the course of the next 12 months. But I think that if you're exporting your go to market process in full to the cold part of your market one, I think you should stop immediately. I think it's a waste of your time today. But I think functionally every organization is going to get to a place where they understand how to take Claude code and make it do what they thought those AISDRs were going to do for them but actually deliver. Right? And if you put that stuff on top of a major system of record like a HubSpot or Salesforce or what? I mean Salesforce can't do any of this stuff. At least HubSpot lets you invoke Claude and OpenAI and all the different LLMs in workflows, right? That is an incredible unlock. And if people aren't playing with that, it's huge. But I think that if you're exporting that stuff to kind of like a boxed up tool, I think you're nuts and I think they'll all be dead and all the VCs that put in insane amounts of money into those tools are going to be scratching their heads in 12 to 18 months.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

The most qualified already took the cash. They already took the exit from, from Salesforce. And, you know, there's a large group of businesses that I think that are laggards that want to adopt AI, that are not ready to actually build with AI. And I think that's what that universe of tools is for for me. I appreciate the rappers. I think that it is the hype cycle around things like claudebot or I think it's Moltbot is what they renamed it to. Where there's an agent that's gonna come in and can sophisticatedly run your entire computer and do everything for you. Like, that's a proof of concept that will. I'm already seeing the messages now. It's like, look, I created this thing and it can run my entire computer and oops, it bought a Porsche for me and booked a vacation to, you know, and it's like, hey, you might not want to give it the keys to the car and your credit car right away, but I think that that goes away because more sophisticated developers and companies will build that technology so it is protected for people that are using it. Like the full Agentix stack where you can just talk to your agent and it will go do things, will be built out by sophisticated companies, not bootstrapped. So that's my answer.

[Nick Zeckic]

I think that's right. Yeah, I think that sounds right.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

All right, that wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Nick Zeckic, the chief firestarter at Smoke Signals, for joining us.

[Sponsor Representative]

And a special thanks to Scrunch for sponsoring this interview. Scrunch is the AI customer experience platform that helps marketing teams understand how AI agents experience their site. They tell you how your brand shows up in LLM results, where it doesn't, and what's preventing your content from being retrieved, trusted or recommended. And for Martech podcast listeners, Scrunch is providing a free website diagnostic that uncovers how AI sees your site, where you have content gaps, and how you're showing up versus your competition. To see how LLMs evaluate your site, go to scrunch.com that's scrunch S-R-U-N-C-H.com if

[Benjamin Shapiro]

you'd like to contact Nick, you could find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com or you can visit his company's website. It's SmokeSignals AI and if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or subscribe on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed every week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening to the Martech podcast and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything. Com.