AI Won't Replace Strategy

Welcome to another episode of Build a Better Agency! Host Drew McLellan sits down with Emily Thompson, marketing manager at CoSchedule, to unpack the just-released AI Impact 2026 research study. With 900 respondents spanning every industry, company size, and marketing level, this is one of the most comprehensive looks at how marketers are actually using AI today and what they plan to prioritize in the year ahead.

Despite reporting declining ROI across every major channel in 2025, a striking 79% of marketers say AI positively impacted their performance, and yet only 3% consider themselves AI experts. Emily and Drew dig into what that gap means for agencies, why owned channels like organic search and email are taking the biggest hits, and why the oversaturation of AI-generated AI research content is actually one of the strongest arguments for what agencies do best. The data is full of contradictions that agencies are uniquely positioned to help clients untangle.

From the surprising stat that 53% of marketers now use AI tools (not Google) as their primary source of information discovery, to the finding that AI research shows humans still own strategy, this episode is a masterclass in reading the room on behalf of your clients. If you want to know where the real agency opportunity lives in 2026, this conversation is where to start.

A big thank you to our podcast's presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They're an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.

• Why 79% of marketers feel positively about AI even as ROI declines across every channel
• What the AI research data reveals about how marketers are actually using AI in 2026 vs. 2025
• Why only 3% of marketers consider themselves AI experts and what that means for agency opportunity
• Which channels are declining most and why owned media is taking the biggest hit
• Why lead generation is the top 2026 priority and why marketers channel choices do not yet match that goal
• How 53% of marketers now rely on AI tools over Google for information discovery
• Why differentiation (not AI adoption alone) will determine agency success in a saturated market
• What it means to be your clients AI Sherpa and how to position that as a core offering