As we move deeper into 2026, one thing is clear: go-to-market teams are standing at an inflection point.

AI is no longer shiny or scary. The hype has cooled. The tools are everywhere. And yet, most B2B organizations are still not getting real value from it.

In a recent conversation, I sat down with Andrea Schiavone to unpack what we’re actually seeing across sales, marketing, and RevOps teams and what that tells us about where GTM is heading next.

This post distills the trends, patterns, and predictions emerging across dozens of client conversations and in-market examples. Less theory. More signal.

Trend #1: AI Is Happening to Companies, Not for Them

Most organizations can say they are “using AI.”

Very few can say they are leading with it.

What we consistently see is AI adoption being dictated by tools rather than strategy:

• CRM-recommended features get turned on.
• Marketing automation adds AI-driven copy suggestions.
• Sales teams experiment with summaries, scoring, or chatbots.

What’s missing is the pause.

High-performing teams are starting to step back and ask:

• Where does scale actually break down today?
• Where are humans still doing repetitive, low-leverage work?
• If this worked perfectly, how much revenue would it move?

In 2026, the gap will widen between companies that follow AI features and those that deliberately design AI around revenue impact.

Prediction:
AI pilots that are not tied to measurable pipeline or revenue outcomes will increasingly be deprioritized or quietly killed.

Trend #2: GTM Teams Are Under-Investing in AI (Not Over-Investing)

There’s a growing narrative that companies may have gone “too far” with AI.

From the outside, the opposite appears to be true.

Across sales, marketing, and RevOps teams:

• Pilots are siloed.
• Experiments aren’t promoted to production.
• Teams lack ownership, governance, and measurement.

Meanwhile, leadership still expects productivity gains.

The result? Teams look expensive instead of empowered.

The companies pulling ahead are the ones investing intentionally:

• Fewer initiatives
• Clear owners
• Strong data foundations
• Explicit expectations around value

Prediction:
By the end of 2026, underperforming GTM teams will be challenged not on headcount but on why AI hasn’t made each role meaningfully more productive.

Trend #3: Personalization Is Shifting From Personas to People

For years, personalization meant:

• Industry-specific landing pages
• Persona-based nurture tracks
• Account-based marketing by segment

That model is breaking.

What’s emerging instead is conversation-level personalization.

Sales transcripts, CRM activity, marketing engagement, and intent data are being combined to answer a much more powerful question:

“What should we say to this person, right now?”

Examples we’re seeing tested:

• AI extracting key themes from sales calls and generating follow-up messaging
• Marketing automation that adapts based on actual sales conversations
• Website experiences dynamically generated for known visitors in real time

This flips the traditional funnel on its head. Marketing no longer guesses what matters, sales conversations become the source of truth.

Prediction:
In 2026, the best demand gen teams won’t be measured by volume of content, but by how precisely they reflect what prospects are already telling sales.

Trend #4: Sales and Marketing Are Finally Becoming One System

For years, alignment meant better handoffs.

Now, we’re seeing early signs of true integration.

One example gaining traction: Marketing workflows that intentionally end in sales engagement tools, triggering outreach only when signals, behavior, and context align.

At the same time, sales activity is flowing back into marketing systems:

• Call transcripts inform follow-up sequences
• Objections trigger content recommendations
  Conversations drive future campaign logic

This isn’t “throw it over the wall” alignment. It’s a shared operating system.

Prediction:
Organizations that still treat sales and marketing as sequential stages, rather than a continuous loop will struggle to compete on speed and relevance.

Trend #5: RevOps Is Becoming the Backbone of AI-Driven GTM

Weak RevOps becomes painfully obvious in an AI-first world.

Without clean data, shared definitions, and centralized ownership:

• AI insights are unreliable
• Attribution is meaningless
• Personalization breaks down

We’re seeing stronger organizations move toward:

• Centralized RevOps teams
• Shared accountability across sales and marketing
• Clear executive ownership of revenue measurement

In many cases, RevOps is shifting closer to the COO to ensure balance, standards, and scale.

Prediction:
By late 2026, strong RevOps will be table stakes not a competitive advantage and weak RevOps will be a visible growth limiter.

Trend #6: Attribution Is Being Rebuilt From the Ground Up

Almost every organization we speak with has some form of attribution.

Very few trust it.

What’s changing is not just the model but the flexibility:

• AI-native attribution tools allow multiple views instantly
• Leaders can compare models without rebuilding dashboards
• Marketing impact is increasingly discussed in revenue terms

This unlocks better decisions, faster iteration, and more credibility for GTM leaders.

Prediction:
Static, legacy attribution models will disappear. Dynamic, scenario-based attribution will become the norm for modern GTM teams.

The Big Picture: 2026 Is About Intentional AI

The throughline across all of these trends is simple:

AI is no longer optional but how you adopt it matters more than whether you do.

The companies that win in 2026 will:

• Prioritize fewer, higher-impact AI initiatives
• Tie AI directly to revenue outcomes
• Design systems, not experiments
• Invest in RevOps and data foundations
• Let real customer conversations drive GTM strategy

The rest will keep dabbling and wonder why progress feels slow.

Want the full conversation?

This post captures the highlights, but there’s much more nuance, real-world context, and candid discussion in the full recording.

???? Listen to the full podcast conversation to hear the complete discussion on AI, GTM strategy, org design, and what’s next for B2B teams in 2026.