Episode Overview

Podcast: The Digital Marketing Podcast
Episode: The Hubspot CMO Interview - Kipp Bodnar on AI, Answer Engine Optimisation and the Future of Marketing
Hosts: Daniel Rowles & Ciaran Rogers
Guest: Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot
Date: February 17, 2026

In this episode, Daniel Rowles sits down with Kipp Bodnar to discuss the seismic shifts in digital marketing for 2026, focusing on the explosive growth of AI, Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), and how these trends are rewriting the rules of discovery, attribution, and team workflows. The conversation offers practical strategies, insights from HubSpot’s internal practices, and actionable advice for marketers ready to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape.

Main Themes and Key Discussion Points

1. The Unprecedented Speed of Change in 2026 ([00:33]–[01:48])

• Kipp Bodnar predicts 2026 as the most significant year of change in marketing yet:

  "Weeks or months happen in days at this moment and it is completely crazy." – Kipp Bodnar [00:39]

• The new priorities for marketers:
  • Discoverability in emerging channels (AEO, AI search, algorithmic discovery)
  • Personalization using data with AI agents
  • Building or buying AI agents to augment team performance

2. AI Agents and Workflow Transformation ([01:48]–[05:16])

• Market readiness and adoption:

  • Most marketers are still experimenting with AI rather than deeply integrating it.
  • Customer service agents are seeing higher adoption than marketing agents.
  • Complexity of “wicked problems” makes marketing harder to automate than sales or support.

• Practical AI adoption tip:

  • Record yourself performing repetitive tasks, upload the video to Google Gemini, and ask how AI can automate the process.
  • "Take the thing that you have to do frequently, the most that you dislike... upload that into Gemini and ask Google Gemini how you can use AI to help you automate that thing." – Kipp Bodnar [04:34]

• Shift from assistance to agents:

  • Majority of marketers are still relying on AI assistants (like ChatGPT, Claude) versus full agent workflows.

3. AEO: Answer Engine Optimisation ([05:55]–[13:23])

• Changing Discoverability:

  • Traditional attribution models (Facebook Ads, SEO) are breaking down.
  • AI-driven answer engines (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) have different signals for visibility—mentions vs. citations—with new challenges for measurement.
    • Mentions may not link back to your brand.
    • Citations resemble traditional links, allowing some attribution but still incomplete.

• First-Mover Advantage:

  • "There's a huge first mover advantage because it’s a function of opportunity and competition." – Kipp Bodnar [08:11]
  • AEO offers rapid time-to-value: Updates appear much faster than traditional SEO; exponential gains are achievable early.

• AEO vs. SEO:

  • AEO focuses on ultra-long-tail, complex queries (40-60 words) vs. shorter keyword phrases in SEO.
  • Success involves structuring web content for machine interpretation (e.g., FAQs, chunked data).
  • Multi-channel presence (e.g., Reddit, software ranking sites, YouTube creators) increasingly influences AEO rankings.
    • "AEO is much broader ... you have to have a more multi channel strategy to also succeed in this new world." – Kipp Bodnar [12:53]

4. Balancing Traditional and Emerging Channels ([13:23]–[15:06])

• Ad costs are soaring:

  • Social and search channels are less dependable due to AI-generated content (“AI slop”).
  • With more marketers shifting budget to paid ads, costs are inflating (Meta network costs up 18% year-over-year).
    • "It’s almost losing one out of every five ads just to inflation of cost." – Kipp Bodnar [14:17]

• Strategic implications:

  • Marketers must adopt new, more efficient channels (AEO, influencer marketing, AI campaign optimization) to offset increased costs.

5. Critical Skills and the Innovation Imperative ([15:06]–[16:22])

• Top skills for marketers:

  • Curiosity and rapid learning.
  • Practical, prototyping mindset – move fast from idea to execution.
    • "Are you prototyping? Are you building quick AI decks? ... Is that becoming the motion?" – Kipp Bodnar [15:22]

• Embedding Innovation:

  • Innovation must be integral, not optional:
    "The world's changing too much, costs are changing too much that you have to have this true kind of innovation angle on your team." – Kipp Bodnar [16:14]

6. Action Plan for Marketers ([16:22]–[17:56])

• Immediate steps:

  • Commit to experimenting with AEO now—track and improve your visibility in AI-driven tools.
  • Fully embrace AI-generated content (images, video, text) to accelerate storytelling.
  • Identify opportunities to automate workflows and agent-based marketing.

• Mindset shift:

  • Upfront investment in new workflows is essential or risk being stuck optimizing outdated tactics.
  • "I don't have time, so I'm going to do it the old way... and you run out of runway on the old way." – Kipp Bodnar [17:47]

7. HubSpot Platform Evolution and Inbound 2026 ([17:58]–[20:15])

• HubSpot’s Role in AI:

  • Positioning as the “context layer for AI,” leveraging customer data to power smarter agents.
  • Release of new agents for customer support, prospecting, and soon, marketing.
  • Emphasis on loop marketing—continuous, post-AI world frameworks for growth.

• Conference Plug:

  • Inbound 2026 returns to Boston—recommended for learning, inspiration, and connecting with innovation leaders.

  "If you've used AI at all, you noticed AI is just as good as the context and information it has. And we are ... sprinting and unlocking that in the platform, in our agents." – Kipp Bodnar [18:39]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “2026 will be the biggest year of change in marketing in history, likely.” – Kipp Bodnar [00:39]
• “The technology is already far ahead of where it needs to be. It’s the human adoption, learning, training, evolution that's really the next big thing here.” – Kipp Bodnar [05:45]
• “There’s a huge first-mover advantage ... these AEO engines, they're much faster ... you can get time to value much faster.” – Kipp Bodnar [08:11], [09:27]
• “AEO is much broader ... you have to have a more multi-channel strategy to also succeed in this new world.” – Kipp Bodnar [12:53]
• “The only way to offset those cost increases are to adopt new, cheaper ways of reaching your customers. AEO is one of them.” – Kipp Bodnar [14:38]
• “Curiosity and learning is number one. Are you prototyping? Are you building?” – Kipp Bodnar [15:22]
• “I don't have time, so I'm going to do it the old way. ... And you run out of runway on the old way.” – Kipp Bodnar [17:47]
• “At HubSpot we are the context layer for AI. ... We are just honestly sprinting and unlocking that in the platform, in our agents.” – Kipp Bodnar [18:39]

Key Takeaways for Marketers

• Embrace rapid change: Marketers can’t afford to wait; proactive experimentation and adoption are urgent.
• Shift to AEO: Compete for visibility in AI answer engines now, as the learning curve is steep but the payoff is fast.
• Redefine measurement: Mentions and citations in AI systems require new analytics and a broader approach to attribution.
• Invest in innovation: Innovation and continuous learning are non-negotiable—teams must evolve along with technology.
• Leverage AI for scale: Use generative AI for content and workflow automation to keep pace and create impact at scale.
• Explore HubSpot’s tools: HubSpot is developing agents and guidebooks (e.g., Loop Marketing Playbook) for the evolving landscape.

Useful Timestamps

• [00:39] — The pace of change and what’s driving it in marketing
• [02:18] — Practical AI workflow integrations and agents vs assistants
• [05:45] — The adoption gap: technology vs. human integration
• [06:16] — How AEO changes attribution and measurement
• [08:11] — First-mover advantage and time-to-value in AEO
• [10:30] — How HubSpot approaches AEO at scale
• [14:17] — Rising ad costs and the need for new approaches
• [15:22] — Skills and mindsets needed for 2026
• [16:30] — Where to start with AEO and AI workflows
• [18:39] — HubSpot’s AI roadmap and industry leadership

Further Resources

• HubSpot AEO Grader
• The Loop Marketing Playbook (launching soon)
• Inbound Conference, Boston, September 2026

This summary captures the episode’s critical insights, practical tips, and forward-looking perspectives, making it essential reading for any marketer hoping to stay ahead in the AI-driven marketing landscape of 2026.