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AI and SEO: What AI means for the future of SEO [Expert Tips & Interview]

AEO
March 6, 2026/by
AI and SEO: What AI means for the future of SEO Artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting the playbook of so much of our lives — how we interact, how we learn, how we complete daily tasks, and sometimes even what we eat for dinner. So, of course, AI and the future of SEO are no different. It’s been just over three years since ChatGPT took the internet by storm. While AI was technically nothing new in modern consumer (and marketer) lives, this level of AI had never been so accessible to the general public before, and they certainly haven’t taken it for granted. According to McKinsey, half of Google's results already have AI-powered results, and trends predict that number to hit 75% by 2028. What does this mean for marketers? We’ll unpack how AI and SEO are converging, how AI has changed consumer behavior, and what it holds for the future of SEO. Table of Contents How AI is Impacting SEO How Marketers Can Adapt SEO to AI Frequently Asked Questions About AI and SEO How AI is Impacting SEO This topic is a complicated one. AI is transforming SEO practices. It hasn’t just changed how marketers optimize to get found in search engines; it’s changed consumer search behaviors and even the search engines themselves. It was all a chain reaction, really. AI changed consumer search behavior, so search engines adopted AI-powered features, and now marketers are turning to new strategies to appeal...
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Where to Start with AI: A Practical Guide for GTM Teams

Artificial Intelligence
March 4, 2026/by
Where to Start with AI: A Practical Guide for GTM Teams Over the past year, I‘ve had hundreds of conversations with business leaders about AI. The pattern is always the same. They’re not short on tools or ambition. They're struggling with where to get started and how to get value. The pressure to adopt AI is real. But pressure without direction leads to experiments that don‘t stick, tools that don’t get used, and teams that grow more skeptical. Why? Because AI output didn't lead to actual outcomes. Here‘s what I’ve learned from watching teams that succeed with AI: they don't start with AI. They start with a problem. A specific, painful, time-consuming part of their work that they want to fix. Then, they find the right AI use case to achieve that goal. As they see results, their confidence grows, and they explore other AI capabilities – again, tied to a clear goal. That‘s the approach I want to share. Not an exhaustive list of everything AI can do, but a practical guide to where marketing, sales, and service teams can get started and see real value with AI. For transparency, we’ve organized use cases by how ready the technology is today. At HubSpot, we are building and improving these capabilities every day. Let’s start with simple definitions: Established: These are use cases where AI works reliably. Implementation is straightforward. Results are repeatable. If you're wondering where to start, it’s here! Emerging: These use cases are...
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Claude vs. ChatGPT: A marketer’s guide to choosing AI

Artificial Intelligence
March 2, 2026/by
Claude vs. ChatGPT: A marketer’s guide to choosing AI “What’s better: Claude or ChatGPT?” is the mind-boggling question every marketer is asking right now. As AI tools become essential to content workflows, understanding the differences between Claude and ChatGPT for marketing can mean the difference between a streamlined operation and a frustrating bottleneck. In my opinion, both tools have legitimate strengths. ChatGPT – which you can train on your specific needs – excels at rapid ideation, email copy, and social content. However, Claude shines at long-form editing, brand voice consistency, and handling large context windows. The question isn't really “is Claude better than ChatGPT?” It’s about which LLM you should use for each specific task. In this guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know, including: Claude AI versus ChatGPT for writing ChatGPT versus Claude for email Claude versus ChatGPT pricing Claude versus ChatGPT integrations with your existing stack Plus, my (very smart) colleagues have tested writing blog posts with ChatGPT, explored ChatGPT for SEO, evaluated ChatGPT alternatives, including Claude, and even used both for AI-powered spreadsheet tasks. Now I’m putting in my two cents, sharing what I’ve learned so you can make confident decisions about ChatGPT versus Claude for coding, content creation, and everything in between. Let’s get into the good stuff. Table of contents: Claude vs. ChatGPT: Which is better? Which is better for common marketing workflows, Claude or ChatGPT? Claude vs. ChatGPT for SEO briefs...
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AI marketing predictions that will shape 2026

Artificial Intelligence
March 2, 2026/by
AI marketing predictions that will shape 2026 Marketing is set for its most transformative year in decades, according to major AI predictions for 2026. Currently, marketers struggle with fragmented customer journeys, declining attention spans, rising acquisition costs, and failed campaigns. Using AI in marketing will redefine how brands connect with consumers by using real-time data processing and predictive analytics. According to the HubSpot 2026 State of Marketing report, over 64% of organizations currently use AI. The growth of AI in marketing is predicted to increase drastically over the next year, given the rise of AI-driven content, AI agents, hyperpersonalized campaigns, and more. Marketers will need to evolve to take on more strategic and analytical roles while delegating routine tasks to AI tools. This article will cover the top AI predictions for 2026 and the AI marketing predictions beyond 2026. For teams looking to stay ahead and implement AI, the HubSpot AI Agent Playbook provides step-by-step frameworks for automating marketing workflows and deploying AI agents across campaigns. Table of Contents AI Marketing Predictions for 2026 How Marketers Should Prepare for 2026 AI Predictions AI Predictions Beyond 2026 Frequently Asked Questions About AI Predictions Current AI Capabilities Future AI Capabilities Basic AI summaries AI search engine-powered conversational answers ...
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Marketing experiments every growth team should run

Marketing Experiments
February 25, 2026/by
Marketing experiments every growth team should run Every reliable tactic marketers now love, from video content to email marketing and blogging, was once a new experiment that early adopters tested and developed. Creating new marketing strategies is foundational to marketing, helping brands reach new customers and gather data that helps facilitate smarter business decisions. While experimentation isn‘t new, digital marketing offers brands greater flexibility and potential. Let’s look at experiment types, which metrics to track, and how to design experiments across marketing channels to achieve maximum success. Table of Contents What are marketing experiments, and how do they work? The Elements Every Marketing Experiment Needs A/B vs. Multivariate Marketing Experiments Steps to Design and Run Marketing Experiments Common Pitfalls That Break Marketing Experiments Tools to Plan, Run, and Analyze Marketing Experiments Real‑World Marketing Experiment Examples Marketing Experiment Examples by Funnel Stage Frequently Asked Questions About Marketing Experiments What are marketing experiments, and how do they work? Marketing experiments are controlled changes to a marketing message or campaign to improve reach or conversion rates. These tests can be a small, single tweak or a campaign-wide experiment. Successful marketing experiments assess both quantitative data and qualitative factors, and the campaign results directly feed the next iteration of marketing materials. Experiments are a part of step four in the Loop Marketing cycle: evolve in real-time. Here are quick examples of marketing experiments feeding the loop: ...
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What We’re Building with Starter Story

Uncategorized
February 25, 2026/by
What We're Building with Starter Story   We have some big news: HubSpot Media is acquiring Starter Story, one of the most trusted and beloved media brands in the entrepreneurship space. If you've spent any time in the world of bootstrapped businesses, online startups, or the indie founder community, you already know what Starter Story is. But if this is your first introduction, buckle up, because this brand has a story worth telling. Table of Contents What Is Starter Story? Why HubSpot Media Acquired It HubSpot Media: A Track Record Worth Talking About A Note on Why This Matters What Is Starter Story? Back in 2017, a software engineer named Pat Walls was burning the candle at both ends. His first startup had just failed to get into Y Combinator. He was spending his days at work and his nights trying to build something that would stick—a story most entrepreneurs know all too well. Refusing to give up entrepreneurship, Pat started a side project — something low-cost, scrappy, and built from genuine curiosity. He wanted to know how real founders actually built their businesses from the ground up. So he started calling them up and asking. He built the first version of Starter Story from a Starbucks, posting his early founder interviews to Reddit and Hacker News to see what would happen. People loved it. He kept going. By October 2017, Starter Story was live, and it grew from there in...
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Profound vs Scrunch AI for AEO: Which tool delivers better ROI?

Uncategorized
February 23, 2026/by
Profound vs Scrunch AI for AEO: Which tool delivers better ROI? As businesses adjust to the new AEO landscape, marketers are seeing increasing convergence with marketing automation—HubSpot's recent acquisition of Xfunnel signals this shift, bringing AI search optimization directly into the CRM ecosystem where attribution and revenue tracking happen. As a result, Marketers need the right AEO tools to reach their audience, who are flocking to AI search engines in droves. Two platforms gaining traction are Profound and Scrunch for AEO. Both platforms boast useful tools meant to boost discoverability and reach, but which between the two is best for your business? Keep reading for a breakdown of Profound vs Scrunch for AEO and to see which would work best for you. Table of Contents What is Profound? What is Scrunch? Profound vs Scrunch for AEO: Comparison at a glance Profound vs Scrunch compared Which should you choose for AEO: Profound or Scrunch? Frequently Asked Questions about Profound vs Scrunch for AEO What is Profound? Profound is an enterprise-grade Answer Engine Optimization platform that helps brands boost discoverability across AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews Profound combines comprehensive monitoring across 9+ AI engines with powerful content creation tools called Agents that enable teams to produce AI-optimized content at scale. My research shows Profound is particularly known for its Prompt Volumes feature—the first tool to reveal actual search volume data for AI conversations—and its specialized ChatGPT...
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8 generative engine optimization best practices your strategy needs

Uncategorized
February 20, 2026/by
8 generative engine optimization best practices your strategy needs Despite what the headlines would have you believe, artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t new. The term and early technology date back to the 1950s, but generative AI (which emerged in the 2010s) is undeniably new terrain. With both leaving their mark on consumer search behavior, marketing strategies like generative engine optimization (GEO) are not just becoming popular but essential. But that doesn’t mean generative trauma ensues. Let’s unpack how your business and marketing team can navigate the changes, unknowns, and competition with generative AI SEO best practices. Table of Contents What is Generative Engine Optimization? Why generative engine optimization matters now Generative engine optimization best practices you can implement today Common generative engine optimization pitfalls to avoid Frequently asked questions about generative engine optimization best practices Generating Generative Success What is generative engine optimization? Generative engine optimization (GEO) is about making your website and content easy for AI-powered search tools (like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) to find, understand, and cite. When someone asks one of these tools a question, the AI systems scan content across the web to create an answer. It doesn’t give you a list of resources that could be helpful, like search engine optimization, but it aims to directly answer your question while citing websites it thinks are reliable. GEO helps your content get chosen as one of those lucky resources. TLDR: SEO gets you on the party guest list (SERP)....
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Content amplification: How to amplify content across every marketing channel

Content Marketing
February 20, 2026/by
Content amplification: How to amplify content across every marketing channel Sharing content across channels is a top 5 marketing trend in 2026, according to HubSpot’s State of Marketing report. The brands that will do this successfully with the best ROI will focus on amplification, not just copy/paste repurposing. Learn how to get the most mileage from your brand‘s owned media, earned media, and user-generated content with smart content amplification. These strategies and tools teach the exact frameworks, tools, and tips that help brands scale smarter. Let’s go! Table of Contents What is content amplification? Benefits of Content Amplification Pain Points of Content Amplification Content Amplification Strategies Social Amplification and Brand Amplification Tactics Content Amplification Tools and Platforms to Consider How to Measure and Optimize Content Amplification Content Amplification Templates You Can Use Now Content Amplification Examples You Can Steal Frequently Asked Questions About Content Amplification. What is content amplification? Content amplification is the process of distributing content across channels (social media, website content, email marketing, paid advertising) to extend reach, generate engagement, and make content discoverable. Unlike content repurposing, which changes a piece of content's format, content amplification focuses on scaling distribution and impact, creating a data-led feedback loop. In HubSpot’s Loop Marketing model, amplification is the third stage: content performance data (clicks, shares, and conversions) feeds future content creation, personalization, and redistribution. Amplification is more important than ever as discovery moves beyond Google to include...
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