Why marketing automation platforms are becoming decision engines | MarTech

"Marketing automation used to mean one thing: set up some email workflows, automate the busywork and call it a day. It made sense when campaigns were predictable and rule-based. That's not the world we're in anymore. Thanks to AI - especially agentic AI - marketing automation platforms are evolving into decision engines that adapt in real time. According to research I conducted for the latest MarTech Intelligence Report on marketing automation platforms, the category has crossed a structural threshold."

"Traditional automation assumes predictability. Marketers design linear journeys, define rules in advance and push prospects through predefined paths. That model breaks down in today's environment, where buyers move across channels, devices and identities, often as part of buying groups rather than individuals. Static workflows can't keep up with that complexity. The result is what many teams experience today: sophisticated platforms being used as little more than email engines, while personalization and orchestration happen elsewhere in the stack."

Marketing automation platforms have shifted from predictable, rule-based email workflows toward real-time orchestration driven by AI. Modern MAPs orchestrate data, content and decisions across channels using AI as a core operating layer rather than an optional add-on. Traditional linear journeys and predefined rules fail when buyers move across devices, channels and group identities, creating complexity static workflows cannot manage. As a result, many platforms function mainly as email engines while personalization and orchestration occur elsewhere. The new emphasis is on continuous decisioning and strategic outcomes rather than executing predesigned steps.

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