I’m supposed to be writing about what 2026 holds for marketing technology. The problem? I can barely tell you what next Tuesday will look like. And frankly, that should excite and terrify in equal measure.

I’ve spent more years than I care to admit in this martech business, and I’ve never witnessed anything quite like the past six months. If you blinked during the summer of 2025, you missed about three industrial revolutions. Yes, AI is the culprit. No, I won’t apologise for mentioning it. It’s here..

The Great Code Extinction Event

Here’s where things get weird. Throughout 2025, I’ve been working alongside developers building SaaS and web apps using low-code and no-code platforms. The speed is genuinely unhinged. An MVP that would have taken weeks? Now it’s an afternoon’s work. I watched someone spin up a functional prototype before lunch. They also had time for a proper lunch, not the sad desk sandwich that used to accompany development sprints.

This leads me to what I’m calling the New Rules of Engagement.

Rule One: Stop Talking, Start Building

Remember the good old days of client presentations? Those glorious 80-page documents that could double as doorstops? The slide decks that required their own table of contents? All those hours spent crafting the perfect proposal, only to hear “interesting, but what it would actually look like?”

We recently threw that entire playbook in the bin. For one project, we skipped straight to building a working prototype. No deck. No document. Just, “Here, play with it.” The client could click buttons, test flows, and actually understand what they were buying. The discussions went from theoretical to practical overnight. We built that prototype in under two days, and we didn’t write a single line of code.

Don’t tell, show. Don’t propose, prototype. The old advertising adage just got a turbo boost.

The Identity Crisis Is Real

The people landscape in martech is shapeshifting faster than a Marvel character. We used to have a clear profile: part marketer, part technologist, probably learned to code on the job because we had to. I spent early 2025 learning n8n automation like it was the future. Then a colleague looked at me with genuine pity and said, “Why? Next year nobody will be using code.”

Extreme? Perhaps. Directionally accurate? Absolutely.

The new breed arriving in martech doesn’t follow the old path. They’re goal-focused, platform-agnostic, and they see code the way some see algebra: technically useful but hopefully avoidable.

When Everyone’s a Builder, Who Needs Builders?

Here’s where I need to pour one out for the micro-agencies and solo consultants. For years, we’ve watched SMBs convince themselves they could handle everything in-house. ChatGPT writes copy! Canva does design! CapCut edits video! Social media solves everything! (Narrator: It doesn’t.)

We nodded along, believing they’d eventually need professionals. But what happens when those same SMBs discover they can build their own websites in an afternoon using Lovable or Replit? When they can create booking systems in hours? When they realise a CRM isn’t mystical technology but something they can cobble together over a long weekend?

I’m connected with nearly 100 solo suppliers and small agencies in this space. They are busy and optimistic. When I ask about their roadmaps, I get a lot of thoughtful pauses. Nobody wants to plan for a landscape that’s redrawing itself weekly.

The Big Beasts Are Getting Nervous

Now for the really entertaining part: watching the giants respond. Adobe, Salesforce, Microsoft, Mailchimp—the subscription royalty who’ve built empires on monthly recurring revenue. They’re looking at a market that’s increasingly thinking, “Or I could just build it myself.”

Am I starting to see cracks in the subscription armour? Suddenly, “lifetime access” deals are popping up like daisies. One-time payments for tools that used to cost you in perpetuity. Even free offers. Is this panic? Strategy? A bit of both? My money’s on the latter. These aren’t desperate moves—they’re tactical retreats while the big players figure out where the new battlefield actually is.

The smart money seems to be shifting from “our software is valuable” to “your data and audience are valuable.” It’s not the IP, it’s the subscriber list. Watch this space.

(Today’s) Conclusion

I set out to write a forward-looking piece about 2026. But the truth is, predicting martech trends right now is like forecasting weather patterns inside a tornado. The best I can offer is this: hold onto something sturdy and enjoy the chaos.

The destination? Who knows. But the journey? It’s absolutely exhilarating—provided you’re paying attention and willing to unlearn everything you thought you knew about how this industry works.

For everyone in martech right now, my advice is simple: build your crows-nest into a daily habit. Check your coordinates constantly. The map is being redrawn as we sail, and the only real mistake would be assuming it’ll look the same tomorrow as it does today.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to learn whatever replaces no-code by next month.

What’s your take? Are you building, buying, or just trying to keep up? Let’s commiserate in the comments.