AI agents are everywhere in marketing conversations, but what does real adoption actually look like?
In this AI Insiders session from AI Marketers Guild, David Berkowitz sits down with Tom Riordan, founder of wordPower and AI curriculum lead for U of Digital, to unpack what he heard at Marketecture Live III and how marketers should think about agents beyond the hype.
Tom shares where AI conversations are heading across the industry, how to tell the difference between basic AI assistance and truly agentic workflows, and why the biggest opportunities may come from enabling the broad middle of an organization, not just technical power users.
The conversation covers:
What marketers mean when they say “AI agents.”
How tools like Manus, Claude CoWork, Base44, and Perplexity Comet are changing workflows
What makes an AI system feel truly agentic, including planning, execution, and course correction
Real examples such as Meta ad account audits, SEO workflows, Google Search Console monitoring, and scheduled task automation
The four levels of AI adoption Tom sees across organizations
Why time savings is only the starting point for measuring AI ROI
How to think about AI value in terms of new capabilities, output, and business impact
This session is especially useful for senior marketers, founders, and operators trying to separate experimentation from meaningful implementation.
Featuring:
David Berkowitz, AI Marketers Guild
Tom Riordan, WordPower, and U of Digital
Watch for practical examples, sharp debate, and a grounded view of where agentic AI is actually creating value in marketing.