AI workflow automation tools connect apps, data, and departments to execute tasks automatically — reducing manual work and improving efficiency across organizations. Unlike traditional rule-based automation, these tools use artificial intelligence to predict next steps, learn from outcomes, and continuously optimize processes.

When I joined HubSpot, I stepped into a rare position. I had already spent years as a customer, learning how to build systems creatively with the tools I had access to. Then, I joined the company with the responsibility of modernizing a long-standing customer reference system that had served many teams well but was now struggling to meet new expectations, complexity, and scale.

One of the most satisfying things you can achieve as a business or personality is instant brand recognition.

I asked six HubSpot colleagues who are experts in their respective arena what their hopes and dreams are for 2026. From “just make AI and spreadsheets work” to tracking emotional momentum, here‘s what we’re looking forward to next year.

AI has drastically changed the marketing industry. From remapping the buyer's journey to changing the way we analyze data, to reshaping how we connect with consumers, almost everything is different from just a couple of years ago.

I spent the last week asking HubSpot marketers to get really honest about what actually worked for them in 2025 — and what they let go of.

Over the last five years, the business world has undergone a more dramatic transformation than it did in the entire decade before.
Just as companies were adapting to permanent shifts in workplace dynamics, consumer behavior, and global economics — all sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic — generative AI emerged. This delivered a shock to business comparable to the internet revolution of the 1990s.