AI Could Make Marketing Less Annoying

A customer abandons a shopping cart. A hotel guest books a room. Someone purchases a product and needs help getting started.

Each represents an opportunity for a business to communicate with a customer at a moment when the information might actually be useful.

On Tuesday, Salesforce announced a $5.66 billion agreement to acquire Braze, a company specializing in responding to customer behavior in real time.

The acquisition offers an interesting look at where AI-powered marketing is heading, and why businesses may need to rethink some familiar practices.

From Marketing Campaigns to Individual Decisions

Braze helps companies communicate with customers across email, text messages, websites and mobile applications.

Its technology monitors customer interactions and uses that information to determine what communication might be appropriate next.

For example, a customer who recently purchased a product might benefit from instructions or recommendations for complementary items. Someone who has repeatedly considered a purchase might respond to additional product information.

The system can adjust its approach based on what the customer actually does.

Braze already serves approximately 2,770 customers, including Canva, Equinox, Instacart and Venmo.

Salesforce is paying a substantial premium to acquire that capability. The proposed transaction represents roughly 58% above Braze’s closing share price on Monday.

The acquisition remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, with closing expected during Salesforce’s fiscal 2028.

AI Is Changing How Marketing Decisions Get Made

Braze’s recent product releases help explain the acquisition.

In September, the company introduced Decisioning Studio Go, an AI system designed to continuously test and adjust marketing messages for individual customers.

Traditional marketing campaigns often rely on predetermined customer segments and scheduled communications.

AI makes it increasingly practical to adjust the content, timing and frequency of messages based on individual behavior.

Braze is also developing tools that allow marketers to work with its platform through AI assistants, including ChatGPT and Claude.

Some of these capabilities were introduced in beta, so businesses should distinguish what is available today from what vendors are promising.

Still, the direction is significant.

Marketing is becoming more responsive to what customers do, rather than relying entirely on what businesses planned to tell them.

Consider a ski resort that knows a guest has booked a lesson. A timely message about rental equipment or where to meet the instructor could improve the experience and potentially generate additional revenue.

That communication has more immediate relevance than another generic promotional email.

The same principle applies to retailers, professional services firms and businesses with recurring customer relationships.

The Opportunity for Smaller Businesses

Most businesses won’t need Salesforce or Braze to begin applying this approach.

Many already have useful customer information in their booking systems, point-of-sale software or customer relationship management platforms.

The opportunity is to use that information more intelligently.

A useful starting point is identifying one customer action that suggests a clear need, then evaluating whether a timely response improves the experience.

That might involve helping someone complete a purchase, preparing a customer for an upcoming appointment or following up after a service.

The results should be measurable. More purchases, fewer cancellations or better customer retention would provide evidence that the communication is working.

And there’s an important distinction between being helpful and becoming intrusive.

AI makes it easier to communicate frequently. That doesn’t mean customers want to hear from us more often.

Strategic Perspective

Sunday’s Brief examined AI assistants increasingly participating in the shopping process on behalf of customers.

Salesforce’s acquisition of Braze illustrates another side of that development.

Businesses are gaining the ability to recognize customer needs and respond with increasingly personalized communication.

For smaller operators, the technology is becoming accessible through software they may already own.

I think the opportunity deserves attention because it connects AI directly to customer experience and revenue generation.

A business that understands when a customer needs information, assistance or a relevant offer has an advantage over one that simply sends more messages.

And perhaps that’s a useful measure of progress in marketing technology.

Customers shouldn’t need to become better at ignoring us.

We should become better at knowing when we can actually help.

Salesforce’s acquisition reflects a broader change in the economics of business software. AI is making it possible to adapt customer interactions continuously, with less dependence on fixed campaigns and manually defined customer segments.

The practical opportunity is to identify where your business already receives meaningful signals from customers and whether you’re responding appropriately.

Better timing can improve the customer experience while creating additional revenue opportunities.

For many businesses, that’s a more immediate application of AI than building an elaborate autonomous agent.