Generative AI didn’t just disrupt your marketing funnel—it devoured it. In this episode of Misadventures in Marketing, Peter Farago and Steve Haney revisit the classic debate—cast wide nets or throw sharp spears—but this time through the lens of AI-powered marketing. The rise of LLMs and generative search summaries has rewritten the rules for go-to-market teams, especially in early to mid-stage tech startups.

As Peter puts it, “Your content isn’t just for humans anymore. It’s for models. And they’re picky.”

Lead Generation and ABM haven’t disappeared—but they’re now often judged by a machine. And if that machine doesn’t understand your value proposition or recall your brand when a buyer asks a question, you’re out of the game before it begins.

So how do marketers adapt their mix—balancing reach and precision—when AI is the gatekeeper?

What Steve and Peter Are Seeing in the Field

• AI Has Flattened the Funnel: Summaries now skip the funnel stages. Peter describes how the classic journey of awareness → consideration → decision is now disrupted by AI summaries that can collapse that flow into a single conversation. Your content must show up at every level—and must be structured to survive the summarization layer.
• Nets vs. Spears vs. Bots: SEO and ABM now compete with scrapers and summaries. Only the best content makes the cut. Steve makes the case that your traditional net-casting (broad SEO and top-funnel plays) is now competing with algorithmic scrapers. Meanwhile, ABM content must be good enough to make it into the conversation—not just into the inbox.
• GEO as the Great Equalizer: AI rewards clear, helpful, and structured content—not marketing fluff. Generative Engine Optimization isn’t about keywords—it’s about clarity, authority, and completeness. Peter calls out that long form pages with neutral tone, comparative analysis, and proprietary insights tend to get quoted. AI prefers helpful, not hype.
• LLMs as Gatekeepers: If your brand isn’t in the AI’s answer, it’s not in the buyer’s journey. Steve highlights how LLMs are becoming the front door for buyer research. If a CRO at your ABM target account asks ChatGPT (or any LLM) about solutions in your space, you’d better show up.
• Content That Serves Both: The strongest assets attract AI and convince humans. Aim for double duty. Thought leadership reports, customer stories, and structured comparisons not only attract organic AI mentions but also work in spear-fishing campaigns.

What to Measure When the Funnel’s Gone

Peter and Steve both stress that CTRs, MQLs, and page views aren’t enough anymore. Success today is about:

• Are we being cited in AI summaries or industry answer engines?
• Are our ABM targets engaging off the campaign trail (e.g. dark social, brand recall)?
• Is our content fueling the right AI answers and the right human conversations?

It’s not just lead quantity. It’s lead intelligence. As Steve puts it, “We’re not measuring pipeline. We’re measuring presence.”

According to a 2024 DemandGen Report, 79% of B2B buyers say they consume 3-7 pieces of content before speaking with a sales rep, and increasingly, that content is surfaced through AI-powered summaries and search assistants. Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that by 2026, 60% of B2B sales interactions will occur in digital channels mediated by AI or automation.

This makes the case clear: Whether you’re net-casting or spear-throwing, your content must not just be available—it must be AI-visible.

So… What’s a Marketer to Do?

Start by assuming your next buyer’s first touch will be through an LLM. Then ask:

• Is my content structured enough to be summarized without losing context?
• Are we creating things worth quoting?
• Can our ABM content survive a cut-and-paste into ChatGPT?

If AI already ate your funnel, your job now is feeding it the right content—and knowing when to switch from feeding the model to speaking to a human.

🎧 Listen to Peter and Steve navigate the modern buyer journey in Season 2, Episode 3 Nets vs. Spears in the Age of LLMs

👉 Listen to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

📚 Check out summaries from other episodes:

• Will the AI Remember You? Markeitng in the Age of GenAI
• How We AI: Turning Generative Tools into a Marketing Advantage
• Marketing Acronym Hell: Welcome to the Funnel

Misadventures in Marketing is a weekly podcast by the AMA San Francisco chapter. Veteran Silicon Valley marketing execs Peter Farago and Steve Haney explore the messy, rewarding, and occasionally absurd world of high-tech marketing — especially in early-stage startups. Each episode covers real-world challenges, trends, and lessons from the front lines.