AI makes the fundamentals of marketing unavoidable.

Is this the year that AI stops being a novelty and just becomes part of the operating system of an organisation?

It seems so. As the FT puts it, "2026 is when AI moves from 'strategic optionality' to a basic expectation”.

If this is the case, then some of the basics need to be sorted first. 

In this (brave) new world, speed without strategy can mean that you get to the wrong answer more efficiently.

Marketing and comms is where this seems to show up most clearly. Every week there is a new tool promising faster content, cheaper production and easier scaling of campaigns. All of that can be very useful. But only if the thinking underneath is solid.

As we work with more and more marketing teams across sectors and services, we are seeing a growing gap between how AI is meant to work in theory and how things actually play out day to day.

In the past, marketing has been flexible. New strands appeared throughout the process, messages evolved over time. People adjusted tone and emphasis along the way. Messy. But it reflected how organisations actually work.

But AI removes some of that flexibility. When content can be generated and pushed out automatically, whatever sits at the centre of the message gets amplified. Quickly and rhythmically. If that centre is clear, then it can be brilliant. If it isn’t, it means confusion spreads quickly.

That’s why treating AI as a separate workstream, or a strategy doesn’t work. It isn’t a shiny add-on or another channel to optimise. It sits right in the middle of the marketing machine, shaping how messages are created and repeated.

Used well, AI can help teams stay consistent without being boring. Freeing up time for thinking rather than endless production.

But it only works if there’s a clear red thread running through the work.

AI needs coherence and governance to be effective.

Which is why AI doesn’t need a new strategy. What it does is test whether there was one there to begin with.