Why Retention Marketers Need AI

AI is no longer optional. If you're not using AI in your retention program, you're going to probably fall behind pretty hard. This take is going to upset some of the more traditionalists out there. What do you think about that one?

There's still like a contingent of retention marketers who think AI is a fad or a crutch. It feels crazy to say that given the people that probably listen to this are more like us and more kind of forward-thinking. They want to write— the other group of people, right, that aren't as forward-thinking for whatever reason, they want to write everything by hand, manage every flow manually and do all of their analysis in spreadsheets. And I respect it. I get the craft, get it. No shade there. But I think that's really hard to make scalable these days, right? A marketer using AI well can produce 5, 10 times or more content than one who isn't. That's just the reality. And they can analyze the data way faster. Therefore, it means they can run more tests, ship more campaigns, and create better segments.

Yeah. In like this world today, I would say where things that matter most, right? Frequency, segmentation, personalization, which those are the levers, right? We all understand at as retention marketers. I think AI-augmented marketer wins that lever every time. And here's where it gets a little uncomfortable, in my opinion. The marketers who refuse to use AI, they're not going to get fired in 2026. That's not what it's going to be. I think they're going to be outcompeted, basically. I think people are going to rise faster. Those A-players who just haven't had the experience in time are just going to accelerate so much faster, and their brands tend to lose ground when your competitors are using AI. And eventually the brand will look like— look at the team and ask why, right? Like, what's going on? Why isn't this working?