How CMOs Are Deploying AI Across Marketing

May 7, 2026

Guest

Pejman (Pej)

Guest

Lily Bond

Pejman (CMO at Menlo Security) maps workflows to spot high-ROI AI uses and built a brand tone checker to automate reviews. Lily Bond (CMO at 3Play Media) led practical AI wins like a HubSpot prospecting agent that boosted inbound response and meetings. They discuss replacing manual work with agents, embedding AI into content flows, and scaling quick, measurable automation wins across marketing.

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ADVICE

Make AI Adoption Owned Not Chaotic

Appoint a central owner to shepherd AI adoption and governance across the marketing org.
Tara and Julia recommend a middle path: enable team experimentation but add controls and guardrails to avoid messy, inconsistent agents.

ADVICE

Kickoff AI With Quick Win Tools

Start with easy, marketer-friendly tools to build momentum before investing in complex platforms.
Lily advises testing tools like Lovable first to demonstrate quick wins, then move to more customizable solutions like Cloud Code.

ANECDOTE

HubSpot Agent Replaced Two BDRs

Lily replaced two promoted BDRs with a HubSpot prospecting agent and kept one BDR handling inbound calls.
That agent lifted response rate from 18% to 46% and meeting-booked rate from 5% to 35% using contact and company research in prompts.

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#353 | Tara (CMO, Optimizely), Julia (Director of AI Adoption, Optimizely), Lily (CMO, Three Play Media), Pejman (CMO, Menlo Security), and Kevin (CMO, CompTIA) join Dave for a live Exit Five session on how real marketing teams are actually using AI right now. Lily shows how she replaced two BDR headcount with a HubSpot prospecting agent and went from an 18% to 46% response rate on inbound leads. Julia walks through how Optimizely's marketing team embedded AI agents directly into their content workflow, from briefing to brand voice checking to traffic monitoring, without anyone having to leave the platform. Pejman shares the framework his team uses to map workflows and find the highest-ROI AI opportunities, plus a custom brand tone tool that turns hours of manual review into minutes. And Kevin talks through what it actually looks like to lead an AI culture change on a small team with limited resources.

Timestamps

(00:00) - - Intro
(06:55) - - Guest intros: Tara, Julia, Lily, Pejman, and Kevin
(12:04) - - Tara on why AI adoption needs an internal owner and how to govern it without squashing enthusiasm
(15:02) - - Lily: why their first AI initiative failed and what they did differently
(17:15) - - How Lovable kicked off team-wide AI excitement at Three Play Media
(19:37) - - Lily's HubSpot prospecting agent: 18% to 46% response rate on inbound leads
(23:19) - - Julia: embedding AI agents into Optimizely's content workflow
(31:20) - - Using AI to monitor content performance and auto-assign optimization work
(33:24) - - Pejman: mapping workflows to find the highest-ROI AI opportunities
(35:55) - - Building a brand tone checker that scores and rewrites content against brand guidelines
(39:55) - - Kevin: making AI a mandate on a small team and building a culture of learning
(44:06) - - Group Q&A: optimizing spend vs. shipping faster, budget shifts, and new KPIs

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