UNBOUND 2026 Update: Unlock What 90% of B2Bs Miss

In this October B2B Growth Show, Paul Slack and Lauren Glover are joined by Sheri Otto, a HubSpot Unbound correspondent, former HubSpotter, and three-time Growth Show guest. Together they share their biggest takeaways from HubSpot’s first-ever Unbound and explore what B2B marketers need to do now to win in 2027.

The conversation blends on-the-ground session recaps, live audience input, and fresh data from Vende’s pre-show survey to show how AI is reshaping buyer behavior, and why the marketers who adapt early will be the ones buyers find and trust first.

Key Takeaways:

• With AI, producing marketing is now almost free, which shifts marketers’ value to context and judgment
• Standing out in a flood of “AI slop” means asking what your buyers need from you right now, then leading with trust, curation, and content AI can’t replicate
• Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the new era of search, and your website, emails, and campaigns all need to be “agent ready”
• Original data, like survey results and first-party insights, is becoming one of the most valuable content assets for AI visibility
• Click-based attribution no longer shows the full buyer journey, so marketers need to capture and analyze signals instead
• HubSpot is positioning itself as the “connected context” engine, with new features like the Smart CRM, Context Home, and an upgraded AI chat

Notable Insights Include

HubSpot losing 140 million website visitors last year while its leads grew 20%, as buyers do their research in AI tools and arrive on websites ready to talk to sales. The panel also unpacks survey data showing that while 74% of B2B marketers use AI regularly, only 10% have operationalized it across their workflows. Sheri shares lessons from Marcus Sheridan’s session on building trust, David Meerman Scott’s fandom playbook, and her interview with Kipp Bodnar and Kieran Flanagan about their book Loop and the new operating model for marketing.

The Session Provides Practical Guidance On:

• Making your digital assets agent-ready by being faster, friction-free, and fear-free
• Using AI as a “junior analyst” to surface audience insights based on frequency and intensity of sentiment
• Reverse-engineering your last 10 closed-won deals to find the buying signals that matter
• Building demand with future buyers before they raise their hand
• Turning customers into loyal fans who stick with you even when cheaper options appear

Whether you’re a B2B marketer rethinking your SEO strategy, a HubSpot user looking to get more out of the platform’s AI tools, or a marketing leader planning for 2027, this session offers a clear look at how buyer behavior has changed and actionable steps for keeping your brand visible and trusted.

Catch the next B2B Growth Show live by registering here.