5 questions AI-forward orgs ask in their annual planning

Many of the marketing leaders we talk to daily are nearing the finish line for their annual planning. Or at the very least, they’re knee-deep in the process.

As we chat about their goals and planning process, we’re noticing some key themes. And maybe these sound familiar to you, too:

• Marketing and technology leaders are feeling top-down pressure to adopt and accelerate use of AI. 

• They’re also feeling that pressure from their competition, who are racing to leverage AI to make smarter decisions faster. 

• And of course, as markets shift and budgets tighten, executives and boards are asking their leadership to do more with less.

Where the AI leaders diverge

The issues of AI adoption and shrinking budgets aren’t new. A research study we published earlier this year revealed that these topics are top-of-mind among senior marketers. 

But we’ve seen some other trends among AI forward-thinkers — organizations that are leading the charge with AI adoption and strategy. 

• They’re thinking about AI as a strategic partner for growth, not just a productivity tool.

• They’re finding ways to experiment and iterate faster for continuous improvement. 

• They’re using the 2026 annual planning process to bolster their AI plan and future-proof their marketing organization.

• They’re questioning legacy platforms and practices, like lengthy RFP processes and monolithic suites that historically struggle to deliver.

What this means is that AI-forward organizations are asking different questions during their annual planning process. Want to be in an AI-forward mindset? Here are Questions that you should consider as you’re looking for ways to evolve your organization in 2026.

Why is 2026 different?

Before we dive into those crucial questions, it’s worth explaining why the 2026 annual planning process feels different than previous ones.

Generative AI and AI agents are maturing

The AI maturity and adoption curve has grown exponentially in the last year. Now, Gartner is predicting that 40% of enterprise applications will have task-specific AI agents by 2026, up from roughly 5% now. This rapid growth means organizations leveraging this technology must find a way to evolve alongside the agentic AI and incorporate it into their workflows. 

A first-party data strategy is imperative 

Increased privacy regulation, along with the growth of walled gardens, has made a first-party data strategy a requirement for enterprise companies. Consumers’ personalization expectations mean that companies need to have a cloud-based, single source of truth for customer data to power marketing campaigns. 

Old org structures can’t keep up 

Those personalization expectations are also disrupting traditional organizational structures. The traditional campaign hierarchies and siloed channel functions can’t keep pace with the need for real-time personalization. And that pace matters — 31% of those surveyed by BCG Global Consumer Radar Survey said they’d categorize personalization as positive if it made the experience faster or easier. 

CMOs need to show revenue impact from AI

As organizations adopt AI, marketing and technology leaders need to show their CEOs and boards how this technology is paying off. According to PwC, roughly half of CEOs expect generative AI to increase profitability in the next year. And with AI automating more marketing campaign execution, marketing teams will have to shift to incremental measurement (vs. traditional attribution measurement), as it provides a better framework for measuring AI-driven impact across channels. 

The questions AI-first marketing orgs ask 

It’s clear that annual planning feels different this year, so sticking with the status quo isn’t going to get you ahead. As we talk with marketing leaders, those who are evolving and moving ahead of the competition are asking different questions during the planning process. 

Here are five of the most critical. 

1. Does our tech stack support our AI strategy? 

Many organizations are examining their legacy tech stack and determining whether it will help them accelerate with AI or hold them back. They’re also looking at their data strategy and infrastructure, since all of that feeds the AI use cases they’re building. As we often say, you don’t have an AI strategy without a data strategy. 

The organizations that are adopting AI into their core workflows and seeing results have three key characteristics:

• Their data, marketing, and AI strategies all center around a single source of truth in the enterprise cloud.

• They’re using a composable architecture that taps into that cloud, using a composable orchestration tool to create audiences, build journeys, and deploy campaigns to different channels.

• They’re rethinking monolithic marketing suites, evaluating the expense and scalability of these solutions as AI workloads increase.

2. What AI pilots and POCs will we run in 2026?

With the pace at which AI is evolving, organizations that rely on the traditional RFP process will be left in the dust. Waiting months, or even weeks, can mean falling behind the competition. 

Instead of a six-month RFP process (often followed by a 12-month implementation), winning organizations are instead using pilots or proof of concepts (POCs) to make faster purchasing and implementation decisions. They’re also identifying a small set of workflows or use cases and testing those through the pilots, rather than waiting 18 months to see if the new martech tool meets their needs. 

3. What new partnerships can we explore to help us with our AI evolution?

Faced with top-down pressure and AI directives, many marketing leaders are seeking advice from their legacy partners on how to implement AI. 

But AI-first leaders are not defaulting to the status quo. Instead, they’re investigating new options or opportunities to partner on AI, and looking for tactical steps to move forward that won’t require months of planning. They’re also using this process to determine which external partners they should invest in (or divest from) in 2026.

Regardless of what stage you’re at in your annual planning, make sure your AI partners and advisors align with your future tech and data strategy. If a composable, data cloud-centric strategy is the path you choose, find AI partners that believe in this philosophy.

4. How will we refactor our 2026 budget for AI?

There’s no doubt that AI will massively reshape team structures and individual roles. How will your budget reflect that? 

We believe marketers will always remain in the loop with AI, but as with all technology movements, roles and budget allocation will change. For example, your $10M headcount budget may stay the same, but you may shift from hiring channel marketers to hiring more roles for your marketing operations or intelligence team.

It’s also critical to think about balancing potential increased costs for cloud and AI computing. Will you save money on sunsetting legacy, monolithic systems to offset this cost? 

5. How will we adapt our team structure and skillsets for an AI future?

The marketers we’ve surveyed believe AI is as much a tool for growth as it is for automation and efficiency. Looking ahead to 2026, it’s critical to explore AI beyond the efficiency use case and instead consider how it will fundamentally change your organization. 

Martech leaders like Suresh Susarla (Indeed, USAA) and Murat Genc (McLane, Whirlpool, P&G), shared with us that AI is creating organization-wide transformations — not just in marketing, but in data and engineering roles, too. And beyond team structure, these leaders are also looking at upskilling with AI, helping marketers become more technical and bringing more technical roles into marketing. 

AI is about more than marketing productivity

Whether you’re in the midst of annual planning or closing the book on your final strategy, 2026 should be about rethinking the status quo. The pace of AI is moving too fast to stand still. 

Organizations that are strategic and nimble with AI will move fast and stay ahead of the competition. Those that continue with legacy, monolithic systems and org structures will fall behind. 

If you’re ready to transform your organization into an AI leader, partner with GrowthLoop for a pilot and see how a composable, cloud-centric tech stack will help your team deliver on its AI goals and stay competitive. Our composable audience builder and orchestration tool, the Compound Marketing Engine, will unlock faster campaigns and revenue growth, all built on your existing enterprise cloud.

Get in touch to learn more.