AI in Marketing: Breaking Down Salesforce and HubSpot’s Latest Tools

AI has been a hot topic in marketing for a while now. Everyone talks about how it’s going to revolutionize everything from content creation to customer service, but are we there yet? Two big players, Salesforce and HubSpot, have made new AI announcements—Salesforce’s Agentforce and HubSpot’s Breeze AI—and they sound impressive. But let’s dig in and ask the real questions: what do these developments actually mean for marketing teams and customer experience, and is the hype justified?

AI: More Than Just Automation?

We’ve been hearing for years that AI is going to save us all time, boost personalization, and deliver the holy grail of "right message, right time." But in practice, how much of that has really happened? Sure, we’ve seen incremental improvements, but for many marketers, AI has felt more like an aspirational buzzword than an everyday reality. That’s why it’s worth asking: are these latest updates from Salesforce and HubSpot going to change that?

Let’s start with Salesforce.

Salesforce's Agentforce Launch Zone: AI to the Rescue for Customer Support?

Salesforce is no stranger to AI. They’ve been touting their AI-driven capabilities for a while now, and with the Agentforce, they’re doubling down on how AI can support customer service teams. According to Salesforce, this new tool will give customer support agents real-time insights, suggestions, and even predictive information to help solve problems before they get worse.

But here’s the thing: for all the talk about AI improving customer service, does it actually deliver a better user experience, or does it just streamline things for the business?

1. Proactive Support Sounds Great, But… Sure, the idea of addressing issues before they blow up sounds fantastic, but in reality, it depends on the data. If you’re pulling in messy data (which a lot of companies are), those predictive insights aren’t going to be all that reliable. So, while Agentforce promises to be proactive, it could just as easily leave you with a lot of false positives or unnecessary interventions.

2. Data-Driven Personalization? We’ve heard this one before. AI will analyze customer data and magically give agents the perfect responses, right? Well, that’s the theory, but it still relies heavily on good data and good implementation. If your marketing, sales, and support teams aren’t aligned—or if your data is scattered across different systems—you’re not going to get the hyper-personalized experiences AI is supposed to deliver.

So, while Agentforce could be a game-changer for support teams, its effectiveness hinges on the quality of your data and how well you’ve set up your systems to feed the AI meaningful information. And let’s face it, not every company is quite there yet.

HubSpot's Breeze AI: Making AI Simple—But Is It Too Simple?

Then there’s HubSpot’s Breeze AI, which is positioned as a tool to bring AI to the masses. HubSpot is all about making advanced tools accessible to smaller businesses that might not have an IT department or a ton of AI expertise. Breeze is supposed to simplify AI for content creation, customer insights, and automating marketing workflows.

On paper, that sounds awesome. HubSpot is saying, "Hey, you don’t need to be a tech wizard to use AI—just let Breeze do the heavy lifting for you." But here’s where we need to pump the brakes a bit.

1. Automating Content Creation? Be Careful. Breeze AI claims to automate content creation for blogs, emails, and social media. But the real question is: how good is that content? AI-generated content can often come across as generic or formulaic, and the last thing you want is to send your audience something that feels like it came from a machine. Sure, you might save time, but at what cost to quality?

2. Too Much Automation? There’s also the danger of leaning too heavily on automation. AI tools like Breeze can help with customer insights and workflow automation, but marketing is still a deeply human activity. If you’re using AI to cut corners on understanding your audience or crafting authentic messages, you’re missing the point. Automating everything can lead to marketing that feels mechanical and disconnected.

What’s Really Changing for User Experience?

Both Salesforce and HubSpot claim their AI tools will drastically improve the user experience by making interactions more personalized and timely. But here’s the skeptical take: we’ve heard this promise for years, and while we’ve seen improvements, many brands still struggle with delivering true personalization. The reality is, for these AI tools to make a difference, you need a solid foundation:

1. Clean, Integrated Data: AI is only as good as the data it works with. If your data is incomplete or siloed across different platforms, you’re going to have a hard time making AI work for you. Both Salesforce and HubSpot offer integrations, but those integrations need to be set up correctly, which takes time and expertise.

2. Strategic Implementation: Simply having AI isn’t enough—you need to know how to use it strategically. It’s tempting to think that AI will do the thinking for you, but you still need a marketing strategy behind it. AI can’t define your brand voice, and it won’t replace the creative process. It’s a tool, not a replacement.

How Should Marketing Teams Approach AI?

So, with all this in mind, how should marketing teams actually approach these new AI offerings from Salesforce and HubSpot? Here’s the pragmatic take:

1. Use AI to Enhance, Not Replace: AI should be seen as a tool to enhance what you’re already doing, not a silver bullet that’s going to solve all your problems. It’s great for automating certain tasks and providing insights, but it won’t make up for a lack of strategy or creativity.

2. Don’t Skip the Human Element: Marketing is still about people. Even with AI-generated insights or automated content, you need a human touch to ensure your messaging resonates and feels authentic. Be wary of relying too heavily on AI to drive all your decisions—your gut and experience still matter.

3. Start Small and Test: If you’re new to AI or these tools, start small. Test a few automated workflows, run some AI-driven content, and see how it performs. Don’t dive in headfirst with the expectation that AI will transform your entire strategy overnight.

4. Evaluate the ROI: Keep an eye on the return you’re getting from AI tools. If they’re genuinely helping you improve efficiency and deliver better experiences, great. If not, it might be time to re-evaluate how you're using them or whether they’re worth the investment.

The Future of AI in Marketing: Cautious Optimism

At the end of the day, AI isn’t going anywhere. The announcements from Salesforce and HubSpot represent steps forward, but they aren’t the final word on how AI will reshape marketing. There’s still a lot to figure out, from how well these tools will integrate with existing systems to how they’ll evolve over time.

For now, the best approach is cautious optimism. Yes, AI can deliver real value, but it’s not a cure-all. The tools are getting better, but they’re only as good as the strategy and data behind them. Marketers who take a thoughtful, measured approach to AI adoption are the ones who will benefit the most in the long run.

In short: AI has the potential to change marketing, but it’s not going to solve all our problems overnight. Keep experimenting, stay curious, and don’t get swept up in the hype. At the end of the day, marketing is still about connecting with people—and no machine can replace that.