The marketing landscape is currently being pulled in two directions by a pair of distinct, yet overlapping, AI revolutions. As Stefano Puntoni recently highlighted, we are moving past the initial shock of chatbots as search tools and entering a new era where AI agents are beginning to handle actual decision-making.

For B2C, this shift is immediate. But for those of us in the B2B world, Kerry Cunningham offers a necessary reality check: don’t panic just yet. Our buyers aren’t fully delegating complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise purchases to autonomous agents tomorrow morning. However, that doesn’t mean we can afford to stay still.

The challenge for modern marketers is solving for a "dual audience." We now have to create content that resonates deeply with human emotions while remaining structured enough for an algorithm to digest and recommend.

Structuring for the Machines

The first revolution, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), is already here. If a buyer asks a chatbot for the "best CRM for mid-sized manufacturing," you need to ensure your brand is in that response. This requires a technical shift: auditing your search exposure and experimenting with how AI systems process your data. We have to treat AI as a new type of "customer" that requires structured data and clear value propositions to function.

Doubling Down on the Human Element

While we optimize for the machines, the most critical advice from Puntoni, and the point Kerry rightly emphasizes, is to double down on what AI cannot replicate.

Information delivery is now a commodity. If your entire marketing strategy is just "providing information," you are easily displaced by a LLM. The future of B2B dominance lies in the dimensions AI can't touch: community, emotional connection, and shared experience.

This is where "social selling" evolves from a buzzword into a defensive moat. Social selling isn't about automated LinkedIn sequences; it’s about building a reputation and a presence that exists outside of a database. It’s about being a trusted voice in a community so that when a buyer (or even their AI assistant) goes looking for a solution, your brand carries the weight of human endorsement.

Bridging the Gap

To navigate this "wild ride," we have to treat AI integration as a leadership priority, not just a task for the digital team. It requires a bridge between technology and customer experience. We need to structure our technical content for AI visibility, but we must save our best creative energy for building brand affinity.

Conclusion

We are entering a hybrid era. We must prepare for "AI customers" by making our products legible to algorithms, but we must never forget that the final signature on a B2B contract still comes from a human being. The winners of this revolution won't be those who automate the most; they will be the ones who use AI to handle the data, freeing themselves up to focus on the community and connection that humans crave. Optimize for the agent, but always write for the person.