Observed Signal · Feb 24, 2026 · Interview · Source: https://martechseries.com/feed/ · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
AI Revolutionizes Marketing: Insights from Infobip's Ethan Gustav
Ethan Gustav, Group President North America at Infobip, discusses trends in AI-powered marketing and multichannel messaging. He says AI moved from novelty to business essential during the prior holiday season, predicting widespread use of conversational and agentic AI for routine customer tasks and forecasting AI agents could handle up to 95% of customer engagements. Gustav distinguishes conversational AI (human-like dialogue) from agentic AI (outcome-driven automation), and highlights demand for smaller domain-specific models to enable hyper-personalization while preserving privacy. He advocates blending AI with omnichannel messaging — including RCS and WhatsApp — to deliver personalized promos, in-app shopping, and 24/7 support. Infobip positions itself as an AI-native cloud communications platform that uses chatbots (Answers), generative AI for marketing at scale, and predictive analytics for lead scoring and churn identification.
Executive interview signals vendor positioning and practical use-cases for conversational and agentic AI, and emphasizes messaging channels (RCS/WhatsApp) and AI-native platforms — useful but not industry‑shifting on its own.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Ethan Gustav is Group President, North America at Infobip.
- Infobip describes itself as a global cloud communications platform established in 2006, led by co-founders CEO Silvio Kutić and Izabel Jelenić.
- Infobip states its technology can reach over seven billion mobile devices, connected via more than 10,000 connections including 800+ direct operator connections.
- Infobip uses AI chatbots (including on its Answers platform), generative AI to create tailored marketing messages, and AI-driven analytics for lead scoring and churn/upsell prediction.
- Gustav forecasts that AI agents will increasingly handle routine customer engagements, estimating they could manage up to 95% of customer interactions in the near future.
Connected Companies & Entities
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Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Conversational AI Emerges as Retail Imperative
A Business Wire piece published on MarTech Series (July 20, 2026) reports that insights from Infobip and Retail Economics indicate retail engagement is shifting from one-way “broadcast” messaging to a conversational, AI-driven relationship model. The article cites high WhatsApp open rates (85–95%) versus email (32.7% in e-commerce), notes 24% of Gen Z prefer WhatsApp and SMS for deliveries/returns, and highlights a readiness gap: 88% of retailers are exploring conversational AI while 0% report full integration. Retail Economics CEO Richard Lim and Infobip retail specialist Kim Johal comment on personalization, channel preferences, and AI-driven automation that can handle routine queries and demonstrate ROI in as little as 60 days.
Attentive VP Jema Birkmeyer Discusses AI's Role in Lifecycle Marketing
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AI Revolutionizes Online Shopping: Brands vs. Consumers
The MarTech article summarizes a Conversations with MarTech episode with Doug Straton, CMO of Bazaarvoice, on how AI is reshaping online retail. It notes that more than half of shoppers use AI as a research supplement and nearly 20% rely on AI-powered large language models for most or all search. Brands, however, are emphasizing AI for chat and customer experiences, creating an adoption gap between consumers and marketers. The episode covers implications for visibility, discovery, research, purchasing, SEO vs. AEO, geographic targeting, and emerging ad formats such as ChatGPT ads. The piece is published on MarTech (owned by Semrush Inc.) and includes commentary by Mike Pastore of Third Door Media.
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