I’ve been thinking about the MQL lately.

For years, we've used it as one of the primary ways to measure marketing performance.

More MQLs meant more activity. More activity meant marketing was working.

But the further down the funnel you look, the more complicated that story becomes.

A recent 2026 revenue marketing benchmark from The Pedowitz Group puts much more emphasis on pipeline sourced by marketing, MQL-to-sales conversion, and ultimately marketing's contribution to revenue.

Their benchmark shows that marketing sources roughly 20–30% of total B2B pipeline on average, while more mature organizations can reach 40–55%.

That got me thinking: What matters more, how many leads we generate, or how much qualified pipeline we create? 

AI makes that question even more important. It can help us create more content, campaigns, and outreach at scale.But more activity doesn’t necessarily mean more demand, and more demand doesn’t always translate into revenue.

At the end of the day, the MQL was never the goal. Growth was.

There’s another shift happening that I think every CMO should be watching.

B2B buyers are increasingly using AI as part of the research process.

According to Gartner research published earlier this year, 60% of B2B buyers are turning to GenAI in some form to shape purchase decisions.

And in a separate Gartner survey, 45% of B2B buyers said they used GenAI during a recent purchase, primarily to gather information about vendors and products. (Gartner)

But here's the part I find especially interesting: AI isn't necessarily replacing the human part of the buying process. It's changing when humans enter it.

Gartner found that 69% of B2B buyers prefer to validate AI-generated insights with sales representatives. It’s a pretty significant change.

Your sales team may be entering the conversation later.  Your brand may be evaluated before you ever know the account is in-market. And the information buyers see about you before they talk to your team becomes even more important.

Here’s a B2B GTM move worth watching.

New Demand Gen Report research shows demand-gen teams are looking beyond lead generation and using AI to better identify buying signals, understand accounts, and activate demand.

Why does this matter? Because the advantage isn't having more data. It's knowing which signals matter and what to do with them.

That's where AI can make a real difference: helping GTM teams move from simply finding demand to acting on it.

If you missed last week’s Ascend: Stories of Scale episode, this is one I’d put on your list.

I sat down with Wael Elsahhar of MidLyr to talk about a question a lot of financial services leaders are wrestling with right now: How do you move from experimenting with AI to actually putting it to work, without compromising the controls that matter?

We got into where organizations should start, what readiness really looks like, and how to automate complex workflows while keeping the oversight and accountability that regulated industries require.

If you're thinking about AI adoption in banking, fintech, or another regulated industry, this is one you don't want to miss.

One event I’m especially looking forward to this fall is FTW: San Francisco, happening September 29–October 1.

I’ll be joining an incredible group of fintech leaders, founders, operators, and investors for three days of conversations around AI, growth, GTM, leadership, and the future of financial services.

What I’m most excited about is the opportunity to get beyond the headlines and talk about where fintech is headed next.

If you’ll be in San Francisco, I’d love to see you there! 

Come find me, say hello, and let’s talk about what you’re building.

Learn more about FTW: San Francisco →

Join me alongside Catalyst Bay, AScaleX, and Brex on Thursday, October 1 for AI GTM Night—an intimate evening for the people building and growing AI companies.

Hear directly from GTM leaders, founders, early marketing and sales hires, and investors about what is actually moving the needle: finding demand before a product is fully built, positioning in a contested category, and choosing early customers who unlock distribution.

Expect a practical panel, startup demos, and a happy hour designed for useful conversations with a curated group of AI leaders and builders.

Register here →

There’s no shortage of new AI tools, new ways to reach buyers, and new metrics to track.

And honestly, a lot of it is exciting.

But every now and then, I think it’s worth stepping back and asking a simpler question:

Is this actually helping the business grow?

Because more leads, more content, and more technology don't automatically mean better results.

The real opportunity is knowing what matters, focusing on the right things, and using the tools that help move the business forward. Less noise. Better outcomes.

- Angelique