Brandingmag

What if the reason LLMs go searching on third-party platforms for more about your brand is that your brand isn't giving them enough information? I often pose this question to brand leaders when discussing agentic branding—not because external validation isn't important, but because too much focus on it causes decision-makers to fall prey to the latest tools and miss the long-term opportunities. AI agents are shifting from merely surfacing and recommending your brand to personifying it, speaking for it, and ultimately, rendering it in real time on surfaces we can't even imagine. That means a brand leader's job isn't only to decide how their teams will use AI tools; it's also to make sure AI tools can use their brands. And that starts with what you can control. Look at your brand's own editorial properties, for example: → Your publications and insights hubs → Articles by your company's own experts → Reports and research you publish → Podcasts and video series you've transcribed → Educational, experience-driven case studies All of these contribute to your brand's knowledge graph, the part of the agent-mediated equation you can directly control. That includes the additional expertise—conference talks, sales conversations, internal training, engineering notes—you have yet to package and surface somewhere an agent can find. I'm not talking solely about accurate product and service information; I'm talking about how your brand's unique value and meaning are codified into an editorial standard that LLMs (be they internal or external) can leverage when communicating on behalf of your brand. Nothing will give you more clarity on where you stand than reading your own published expertise side by side, the way an agent would. You'll see where your brand contradicts itself, where it goes quiet on a strategic topic, and where it could be more specific about your experts' approach. Only then can you begin to revise your brand's digital footprint and use those revisions to architect an editorial standard for everything your brand writes moving forward. This digital revolution finally feels like one that forces us to look inward, clean house, and let the best version of our brands emerge. To help brand leaders take quick yet sustainable action, Thomas Marzano and I have condensed what we've studied, discussed, and applied with our respective clients into a two-hour executive briefing for senior marketing, brand, and communications leaders. Live online on Thursday, November 12, 8:00–10:00 a.m. EST (2:00–4:00 p.m. CET, 5:00–7:00 p.m. Dubai time). There are only 20 seats, priced at $875 each, and requests close Tuesday, November 10. You'll leave knowing what to act on now, what can safely wait, and how your team can continue the discovery independently. To request a seat, visit Brandingmag's event page here: https://lnkd.in/d27dvMsf ————————— {· Organic, human-generated content

In all my years running brands from the inside, I have never seen brand leaders carry this much at once. They are asked to make the brand cheaper to run with AI, and they answer for whatever AI says about it. They are expected to sound sure for a team that isn't. And there are two ways to fail: fall behind, or sign off on the wrong thing. Underneath it all sits a question: if agents do more of the work, what exactly am I here to decide? More than it seems. For thirty years we have been the operators of the machine — hand-holding the digital surfaces to unlock their capability. Now the machine understands our intent, and it operates for us. Your customers' agents are starting to compare, shortlist and choose for them. The tools behind that will change every quarter. What must remain true about your brand when an agent acts in its name should not. You will work that out with IT, legal and your agencies, but you can't hand it over: accountability does not delegate to a machine. And if nobody decides, silence does not produce absence. It produces improvisation. Many brand leaders have asked me for time to think this through together. So Flavia Barbat of Brandingmag and I are starting with a paid briefing, small on purpose so everyone in it takes part. 🖥️ Agentic Branding: A Live Briefing 🗓️ Thursday 12 November, 14:00–16:00 CET, live online For CMOs, CBOs and leaders of brand and communications; agency and consultancy leaders welcome. 20 seats, $875 each, by request until Tuesday 10 November. You leave with your own answer, a short list of what to act on now and what can wait, and a discovery guide your team runs without you. Request a seat: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eeXy4PSR #AgenticBranding #CMO #BrandLeadership #AIagents

Why would an AI agent choose your brand if it can’t tell what you stand for? Agents are beginning to act for people rather than simply answer them. They’re moving through websites, comparing options, and completing tasks in their user’s name. This means your brand is increasingly discussed in conversations you’ll never see—conversations in which the agent relies on whatever your brand has made clear and its own conclusions about the rest. Visibility tactics won’t fix that, not least because they change as quickly as the platforms do. What lasts is the foundation underneath: what your organization knows and what your brand means, structured so that agents can use it and governed so that they use it well. Building that foundation is the discipline of agentic branding. On November 12, Thomas Marzano and Flavia Barbat will host an online briefing for senior brand, marketing, communications, and reputation leaders on where agentic branding is headed, what to act on now, and what to safely wait out. → Agentic Branding: A Live Briefing with Thomas Marzano and Flavia Barbat Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 8:00–10:00 a.m. EST (2:00–4:00 p.m. CET, 5:00–7:00 p.m. Dubai time) Seats are $875 per person, and requests close on Tuesday, November 10. Request your seat today: https://lnkd.in/dSyBhZ45 ————————— {· Organic, human-generated content

Why would an AI agent choose your brand if it can’t tell what you stand for? Agents are beginning to act for people rather than simply answer them. They’re moving through websites, comparing options, and completing tasks in their user’s name. This means your brand is increasingly discussed in conversations you’ll never see—conversations in which the agent relies on whatever your brand has made clear and its own conclusions about the rest. Visibility tactics won’t fix that, not least because they change as quickly as the platforms do. What lasts is the foundation underneath: what your organization knows and what your brand means, structured so that agents can use it and governed so that they use it well. Building that foundation is the discipline of agentic branding. On November 12, Thomas Marzano and Flavia Barbat will host an online briefing for senior brand, marketing, communications, and reputation leaders on where agentic branding is headed, what to act on now, and what to safely wait out. → Agentic Branding: A Live Briefing with Thomas Marzano and Flavia Barbat Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 5:00–7:00 p.m. Dubai time (That’s 1:00–3:00 p.m. GMT, 2:00–4:00 p.m. CET, and 8:00–10:00 a.m. EST.) Seats are $875 per person, and requests close on Tuesday, November 10. Request your seat today: https://lnkd.in/dSyBhZ45 ————————— {· Organic, human-generated content

In all my years running brands from the inside, I have never seen brand leaders carry this much at once. They are asked to make the brand cheaper to run with AI, and they answer for whatever AI says about it. They are expected to sound sure for a team that isn't. And there are two ways to fail: fall behind, or sign off on the wrong thing. Underneath it all sits a question: if agents do more of the work, what exactly am I here to decide? More than it seems. For thirty years we have been the operators of the machine — hand-holding the digital surfaces to unlock their capability. Now the machine understands our intent, and it operates for us. Your customers' agents are starting to compare, shortlist and choose for them. The tools behind that will change every quarter. What must remain true about your brand when an agent acts in its name should not. You will work that out with IT, legal and your agencies, but you can't hand it over: accountability does not delegate to a machine. And if nobody decides, silence does not produce absence. It produces improvisation. Many brand leaders have asked me for time to think this through together. So Flavia Barbat of Brandingmag and I are starting with a paid briefing, small on purpose so everyone in it takes part. 🖥️ Agentic Branding: A Live Briefing 🗓️ Thursday 12 November, 14:00–16:00 CET, live online For CMOs, CBOs and leaders of brand and communications; agency and consultancy leaders welcome. 25 seats, $875 each, by request until Tuesday 10 November. You leave with your own answer, a short list of what to act on now and what can wait, and a discovery guide your team runs without you. Request a seat: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eeXy4PSR #AgenticBranding #CMO #BrandLeadership #AIagents

What if the reason LLMs go searching on third-party platforms for more about your brand is that your brand isn't giving them enough information? I often pose this question to brand leaders when discussing agentic branding—not because external validation isn't important, but because too much focus on it causes decision-makers to fall prey to the latest tools and miss the long-term opportunities. AI agents are shifting from merely surfacing and recommending your brand to personifying it, speaking for it, and ultimately, rendering it in real time on surfaces we can't even imagine. That means a brand leader's job isn't only to decide how their teams will use AI tools; it's also to make sure AI tools can use their brands. And that starts with what you can control. Look at your brand's own editorial properties, for example: → Your publications and insights hubs → Articles by your company's own experts → Reports and research you publish → Podcasts and video series you've transcribed → Educational, experience-driven case studies All of these contribute to your brand's knowledge graph, the part of the agent-mediated equation you can directly control. That includes the additional expertise—conference talks, sales conversations, internal training, engineering notes—you have yet to package and surface somewhere an agent can find. I'm not talking solely about accurate product and service information; I'm talking about how your brand's unique value and meaning are codified into an editorial standard that LLMs (be they internal or external) can leverage when communicating on behalf of your brand. Nothing will give you more clarity on where you stand than reading your own published expertise side by side, the way an agent would. You'll see where your brand contradicts itself, where it goes quiet on a strategic topic, and where it could be more specific about your experts' approach. Only then can you begin to revise your brand's digital footprint and use those revisions to architect an editorial standard for everything your brand writes moving forward. This digital revolution finally feels like one that forces us to look inward, clean house, and let the best version of our brands emerge. To help brand leaders take quick yet sustainable action, Thomas Marzano and I have condensed what we've studied, discussed, and applied with our respective clients into a two-hour executive briefing for senior marketing, brand, and communications leaders. Live online on Thursday, November 12, 5:00–7:00 p.m. Dubai time (2:00–4:00 p.m. CET). There are only 25 seats, priced at $875 each, and requests close Tuesday, November 10. You'll leave knowing what to act on now, what can safely wait, and how your team can continue the discovery independently. To request a seat, visit Brandingmag's event page here: https://lnkd.in/d27dvMsf ————————— {· Organic, human-generated content