Merkle, a dentsu company

Six Flags Case Study

Creating Next-level Fun With Reimagined Data, Tech, and CX. Six Flags needed to consolidate tech stacks and adapt to guest needs after merging with Cedar Fair. See how Merkle helped them reduce tech costs and engineer guest experiences that fuel long-term growth.

AI Scales B2B Sales, But Humans Build Trust

The article argues that while AI and automation can scale three of four B2B selling relationship types, only human-to-human selling reliably builds trust and closes complex deals. It defines four selling relationship categories—machine-to-machine, machine-to-human, human-to-machine, and human-to-human—explaining the strengths and limits of each. Automated systems excel at efficient, transactional interactions (renewals, replenishment) and at shaping early impressions, but they cannot capture buyers' hidden motivations, personalities or personal risk. The author, Scott Gillum (Founder & CEO, Carbon Design), urges sales organizations to preserve and invest in human-to-human interactions as a sustainable competitive advantage in the age of AI. The piece is adapted from the upcoming book “The Hidden Buyer Journey.”

Customer Experience Beats Brand in AI Shopping

A MarTech analysis by Shiv Gupta (Principal, Quantum Sight) published May 19, 2026 argues that AI-assisted recommendation engines prioritize consistent customer experience (CX) signals—such as reviews, comparisons, forums and editorial coverage—over marketing narratives when deciding which brands to recommend. While SEO and structured data remain useful, the article warns they are insufficient alone: AI assistants synthesize answers and compress brands into shorthand based on repeated external signals, so inconsistent CX can lead models to hedge or exclude a brand. The piece frames CX as a primary sales lever in AI-driven discovery and cautions that poor CX can accelerate brand erosion by reducing future recommendation-driven acquisition.