The Association of National Advertisers AI Marketing Conference left me feeling a mix of excitement, inspiration and concern about the profound impact AI is already having — and will continue to have — on marketing, workplace culture and the future of work. Here are some of the most powerful quotes and insights I took away:

“To achieve a new level of precision and competitiveness, marketers have to work with AI. AI agents are the future: They can perform independently, adapt, improve and interact with humans.” — Shiv Singh

Shiv Singh focused on the power of AI agents, emphasizing that their integration is key to transforming the way marketing operates. According to him, the future of marketing lies in human-AI collaboration. He predicts that marketing teams will soon be at least 25% smaller and that marketers must take the lead in adopting AI — because other departments (like data and supply chain) already are. If marketing doesn’t move fast enough, pressure may come from CEOs and CFOs who see AI driving efficiency elsewhere.

He also warned that marketers relying heavily on search-based acquisition are headed for trouble. The future is about building direct relationships — not gaming search results.

Takeaway: We need to begin using AI agents like Operator and Manus (still in beta and expensive) to improve marketing team effectiveness.

“The rollout of social media and AI hurt the youth. Will we do the same with AI?” — @Allison Arden

Allison’s session focused on the human implications of AI. While AI may bring operational perfection, she cautioned that empathy can be lost when efficiency becomes the only focus. She urged marketers to “vote with their wallet” and support tech companies committed to responsible AI development.

Takeaway: AI — especially AI agents — may pose even greater risks to youth than social media or mobile. Her message felt like a warning, and rightly so.

“The future will not fit into the containers of the past.” — Rishad Tobaccowala

Rishad made the bold claim that “there is no such thing as an AI strategy — it’s a business strategy, or you’re toast.” And if you look to AI to fill “containers” of today, you will fail as a business. He introduced the ABCDE framework for Reinvented Marketing (see photo slide) and stressed the need to run two business models: one optimized for today and one for tomorrow. Crucially, the “tomorrow” team must be empowered to disrupt — or even kill—the “today” model.

Takeaway: One of the most memorable talks of the conference, Rishad’s belief that you must use AI to grow and learn every day — or risk irrelevance — hit hard.

“Content is the main factor in generative AI search results.” — Pete Blackshaw

In a powerful talk by Pete Blackshaw of BrandRank.ai, he made two key points:

  1. Content is the top factor determining how and where you’re ranked across Gen-AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
  2. Credentialing matters more than ever — and content is what drives it.

For content marketers, this reinforces what we already know: Your relevance in generative AI environments depends on creating not just good content but also the best. With projections showing Google will send 50% less traffic via organic results by 2028, you need to dominate in generative AI search — and that starts with content. And you need to start now.

Takeaway: Having the best content matters now more than ever.

“In the future, we will be marketing to agents.” — Shelly Palmer

During a wide-ranging talk on the future of marketing and AI, Shelly Palmer made this statement — and it immediately resonated with me. He pointed out that we already market to bots every day: optimizing content for Google rankings, climbing the App Store charts and gaining visibility on YouTube.

We’ve been here before. We’ve learned how to speak the language of algorithms and bots — and now, it’s time to apply those same skills to a new audience: AI agents.

Takeaway: Content marketers already excel at reaching algorithms and winning with bots. The next frontier is the agentic world. Get ready.

““AI-created content creates a lack of brand trust. Meanwhile, humans are great at creating trust.” — Robin Riddle, MS

I might be a little biased here, but I thought my colleague Robin Riddle did a great job tying together many of the themes we heard throughout the conference. While discussing the value of conducting AI-powered content audits, he shared how to build highly effective prompts — often 40–50 pages — that incorporate brand voice, past content performance, audience targeting and more. What stood out most was his emphasis on keeping humans in the loop. Without that, he warned, AI-generated content risks becoming just “a sea of beige.” (And if you’re curious to learn more—DM me!)

Takeaway: Content optimization isn’t a once-a-year task. Revisit it at least quarterly to keep your content sharp, aligned and high performing.

Author Bio

Dan Rubin is a 25+ year veteran of digital and content marketing who brings his expertise from working with Fortune 500 clients across industry verticals to DDM Content Solutions. He is responsible for strategic solutions and marketing support for DDM Content Solutions, Targeted Media Health and Dotdash Meredith Accolades.