With users getting answers directly from AI, the incentive to download an eBook or read a blog post to get information disappears. This kills the traditional MQL model. The future is "zero-click marketing," where brands must capture attention through memorable stunts and content, hoping customers remember them when it's time to buy.
Ramp's VP of Growth warns that new technology like AI follows a "J-curve" of productivity. Teams may initially become less efficient as they spend time learning and reorganizing workflows away from old tasks. This dip is a necessary investment before productivity explodes, a crucial expectation for leaders to manage.
Ramp believes marketers now have two jobs: marketing to humans (attention) and to machines (legibility). They're already running experiments offering incentives directly to AI agents and predict agents could drive 20% of growth within two years. This signals a fundamental shift in B2B go-to-market strategy.
When a team member proposed putting an actor in a box in Times Square, Ramp's growth lead thought it would fail. However, he approved it because the team member had immense conviction. The campaign was a success, highlighting a leadership principle: trust and empower team members who have strong conviction, even if you disagree.
Instead of tracking vanity URLs or QR codes, Ramp measures "unmeasurable" channels through incrementality tests. For direct mail, they analyze if sending a mailer to a target list causes a lift in outbound email response rates within a specific timeframe. This "halo effect" approach provides a rigorous way to attribute value to brand-building activities.
Ramp operates without a CMO, embedding marketing functions into other orgs. Growth reports to the CTO for technical resources, Product Marketing is under Product, and Comms reports to the CEO. This structure avoids the "impossible" breadth of a CMO role and aligns teams more closely with their core functions.
Ramp created an internal AI tool that acts as a wrapper around an LLM. It's connected to Notion, Slack, and Snowflake, building a persistent memory of team activities and individual work styles. This "company brain" can diagnose business issues, summarize communications, and draft meeting prep in minutes, not weeks.
Ramp is shifting its marketing org away from specialized roles like "SEO Lead" or "Paid Lead." Instead, they are developing generalist marketers who oversee fleets of specialized AI agents that handle tactical execution. This redefines the marketer's role as a strategist and system operator, not a button-pusher.
Using AI agents, Ramp has automated the process of entering new markets. The system researches a vertical, gathers customer quotes, creates a glossary, and then autonomously kicks off workflows to create landing pages, ads, and direct mail. This shifts the human role from execution to high-level strategy and TAM validation.