Speed, Creativity, and Context: The 2026 AI Playbook for Modern Marketers
Is your marketing really ready for 2026, or are you just slapping “AI-powered” on top of a shaky brand foundation?
In this episode of Good Marketing with Stephanie, Stephanie Pryor sits down with Lisa Zwikl, Chief Strategy Officer at SmartAcre, to talk about what it actually takes for marketers and PR leaders to win in an AI-driven world.
They dig into why brand = context (especially for AI), how to think about AI engine optimization (AEO) beyond traditional SEO, and what smart teams are doing now to prepare for 2026.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why your brand foundation matters more than ever in the age of AI
What “training an AI model” really means for marketers (in practical, non-scary terms)
How to use tools like ChatGPT projects to scale safely and on-brand
What AEO (AI / Answer / Action Engine Optimization) is and how it changes content strategy
Why long-form gated ebooks are fading—and what to replace them with
How to repurpose existing content into more channels and formats without burning out your team
The metrics and KPIs that will matter more in 2026 as the buyer’s journey changes
Why speed + creativity will separate the winning teams from everyone else
Key themes:
Brand as context for AI
From SEO to AEO
Doing more with less (without burning out your team)
Embracing experimentation and imperfect-but-innovative marketing
How smaller and mid-sized businesses can close the gap with enterprise brands
About Our Guest
Lisa Zwikl – Chief Strategy Officer at SmartAcre, a B2B marketing agency helping companies modernize demand engines, strengthen brand signals, and adopt AI with purpose. She brings a unique blend of PR, strategic communications, and demand operations to her work.
Connect with Lisa
https://www.getsmartacre.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lzwikl/
Connect with Stephanie
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieapryor/
Show Notes
Lisa suggests checking out HubSpot’s Marketing Against the Grain podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bMqKPfI45OmTK5hENtIOk?si=e3cfacaff1d84560
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934
Listen On the Go
You can catch Good Marketing with Stephanie on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
If this episode helped you rethink how you’re planning for 2026, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share it with a fellow marketer or communicator who needs to hear it.
