Marketing Tech Weekly — 2026-09-13

This week’s MarTech developments center on the rapid integration of AI into advertising and customer data platforms, with major moves from Amazon DSP and Adform enabling ChatGPT ad buying. Google shipped a new "Data Strength Uplift" feature, while the industry grapples with the plateauing of tool counts and a fierce battle for orchestration control among Salesforce, Hightouch, and Databricks. The global AI MarTech market is projected to nearly triple by 2031, driven by agentic AI reshaping marketing technology.

AI Ad Buying & Orchestration Wars Reshape MarTech Landscape

Ad Platform Updates

1 sources

martech.org

martech.org

Amazon DSP & Adform: ChatGPT Ad Buying Integration

• What changed: Amazon DSP and Adform have opened up ad buying capabilities within ChatGPT, marking a significant shift toward conversational AI ad placements.
• Who's affected: Programmatic advertisers and agencies targeting users through generative AI interfaces.
• What to do: Evaluate early access opportunities for conversational ad formats to capture first-mover advantage in AI-native inventory.

1 sources

stape.io

Top 2026 Martech Tools & Trends to Watch

Google Ads: Data Strength Uplift Launch

• What changed: Google has shipped "Data Strength Uplift," a new feature designed to enhance campaign performance through improved data utilization.
• Who's affected: All Google Ads advertisers, particularly those relying on automated bidding and smart strategies.
• What to do: Review account settings to ensure data signals are optimized for the new uplift feature, potentially adjusting conversion tracking if necessary.

IAB: US Ad Growth Forecast Revised

• What changed: The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) lifted its 2026 US ad growth forecast to 12.3%.
• Who's affected: Media planners, budget holders, and ad platform stakeholders across all verticals.
• What to do: Adjust Q4 and 2027 budget allocations to reflect stronger-than-expected market growth, particularly in digital channels.

New Tools & Launches

Agentic CDPs (Salesforce, Hightouch, Databricks)

• Category: Customer Data Platform (CDP) / Orchestration
• What it does: These platforms are pushing "agentic CDPs" that own orchestration and decisioning logic, moving beyond simple data storage to active marketing execution.
• Why it matters: With martech tool counts plateauing at 15,505, the competitive advantage is shifting from having more tools to having better orchestration and AI-driven decision-making capabilities.

Growth Playbook

Email Marketing Benchmarks for 2026

• Insight: With 4.73 billion email accounts worldwide and 392.5 billion emails sent daily in 2026, email remains a critical channel despite saturation. Marketers must focus on response rate benchmarks by industry to cut through the noise.

AI Agents in Consumer Shopping

• Insight: Anthropic has released a blueprint for AI agents capable of shopping and buying for consumers. However, widespread adoption is currently hindered by issues regarding trust, pricing transparency, and accountability frameworks.

Industry Moves

Global AI MarTech Market Forecast

• Development: The global AI MarTech market is forecast to grow from $28.00 billion in 2025 to $74.30 billion by 2031, representing a 17.66% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Software held roughly 73% of the market in 2025, with North America accounting for about 40% of global revenue. This growth is primarily driven by the adoption of agentic AI reshaping marketing technology stacks.

What to Watch Next Week

• Agentic AI Adoption: Monitor how major CDP vendors (Salesforce, Hightouch, Databricks) position their "agentic" features against each other as the orchestration war intensifies.
• Conversational Ad Metrics: Look for initial performance data and case studies emerging from the newly opened ChatGPT ad buying channels via Amazon DSP and Adform.