How AI Is Transforming the Marketing Hourglass Framework

How AI Is Reshaping the Marketing Hourglass

Earlier this year, I attended a conference for business owners in Austin, and one of the keynote speakers was John Jantsch. He gave a great talk about how marketing strategy is the most important element of any business, and the importance of differentiating yourself from the competition. He led the business owners through some exercises on developing key differentiators and unique value propositions to make their competitors irrelevant.

I got a chance to speak to him briefly and we talked about the evolution of the sales funnel—or in his version, the Marketing Hourglass framework shown below. Most depictions of the marketing funnel end at the sales stage, and Jantsch’s insight is that the most valuable marketing happens after the first purchase—through retention and referrals.

In his book, The Referral Engine, he expands on the importance of post-sale marketing and building the referral process into the business rather than waiting for them to happen organically.

So it’s valuable to think of marketing funnels as a dynamic hourglass—starting wide with awareness and narrowing through consideration. Ideally, the funnel expands again as customers become repeat customers, advocates and referrers.

With AI reshaping every aspect of marketing, it’s not surprising that AI is opening up new opportunities at every stage. Though some marketers immediately think of how they can use AI to generate more content or reduce acquisition costs, Jantsch often reminds everyone that even the most powerful AI tools aren’t worth much if they are deployed without a solid foundation of strategies and supported by repeatable processes.

As MECLABs AI founder Flint McGlaughlin says, many brands look at AI tools and think about what they can automate to save 20%, but should instead focus on how they can deliver 200% more value. Here is how AI might impact each stage of the Marketing Hourglass framework:

1. KNOW: AI Search & Discovery

AI-driven searches using ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude may still be a small portion of overall search traffic (maybe we can skip the SEO is Dead proclamations) but their growing impact is undeniable.

• ChatGPT visitors convert at a staggering 15.9%, compared to 1.76% for traditional Google organic traffic. Perplexity and Claude also outperform, at 10.5% and 5% respectively. Research from Seer Interactive suggests that these high-intent AI-powered search users may be well beyond the Discovery stage and have high transaction intent.

• High-Value Traffic: The average AI-generated visitor is roughly 4.4× more valuable than a regular search visitor (Semrush).
  

• Even More Dramatic Results: Ahrefs reports 23× higher conversion rates from AI search visitors (Forecast.ing).
  
  

SEO isn’t dead, but a growing number of users are turning to AI-powered searches to educate themselves on products and services. Make your content AI-friendly—not just readable for humans, but structured for answer engines. Optimize for featured snippets, Q&A formats, and clear, authoritative responses. There’s a great post by Orbit Media on how to get AI to mention your brand.

2. LIKE: Personalized Interactions, Powered by AI?

AI isn’t just powering search—it’s also bringing the capability to create personalized experiences on an unprecedented scale..

• Landing Page Precision: AI tools like MarketMuse, Clearscope, and Surfer SEO analyze what competitor pages lack, helping you fill messaging gaps.
  

• Why It Matters: AI personalization tools increase return visits (56%) and set consumer expectations—69% expect Amazon-level personalized suggestions (Big Sur AI).
  

Use AI to test, iterate, and enhance funnels, product pages, and landing pages. This is increasingly possible without a lot of manual rework.

3. TRUST: AI as a Credibility Builder

The online world is brimming with misinformation. Trust matters more than ever.

• For years, SEOs and content marketers have designed content based on Google’s guidance to focus on Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness. Today, AI tools can quickly audit content based on EEAT using sentiment analysis and fact-checking.
  

• Brands that openly disclose when and how they use AI in their content, and cite reputable sources will earn more trust from users.

  
  Though many people distrust the technology and its potential, building trust can be a human process that’s enabled by AI. Always pair AI content with human oversight. Trust is the foundation of effective content marketing and AI can help with transparency and accuracy.
  

4. TRY: Removing Friction with AI Tools

This stage presents one of the clearest opportunities for the strategic use of AI. Building interactive content experiences has traditionally been expensive and time-consuming, but AI makes it faster and easier to let customers “try before they buy.”

• Interactive Experiences: Digital quizzes, product matchers, or AI-powered products and service selectors can reduce decision friction.
  

• Interactive content delivers 52.6% higher engagement than static formats, with users spending an average of 13 minutes interacting versus just 8.5 minutes on static pages (Outgrow)

AI tools can enable marketers to bring customers into the funnel with low-effort, high-value interactions, and simulate human guidance and interaction at less cost.

5. BUY: AI Agents in the Funnel

Your website is one of many potential buying channels.

• ChatGPT plugins and assistants like Amazon’s Rufus can recommend or dissuade product choices, offering word-of-mouth at scale.
  

• At the point of sale, AI agents can work as a digital concierge, analyzing data in real time to offer complementary products, bundles, or discounts that feel intuitive. This potentially boosts average order value but also helps the customer feel understood.

People increasingly have options to buy from AI agents. Brands must consider the potential of a new generation of buyers that starts and ends their purchase journey with AI.

Sales reps report spending 70% of their time on non-selling tasks, according to Salesforce, so AI-enabled sales operations present a great opportunity to free up sales staff for more human interactions. The same research shows higher revenue growth for sales teams adopting AI than those teams without AI.

6. REPEAT: Retention Through Personalization

As the hourglass becomes broader, so do the opportunities to boost post-purchase opportunities with AI.

• Behavioral Precision: AI can predict churn and trigger well-timed upsell offers, much like a skilled salesperson would.
  
  

• Personal Onboarding: AI-powered sequences can streamline adoption and enhance customer satisfaction with personalized follow-up offers.
  
  Beyond acquisition, AI-driven operations can be used to free up time for sales and customer reps to keep customers feeling seen, supported, and invested in your brand.

7. REFER: Scaling Word-of-Mouth with AI

Word-of-mouth doesn’t scale easily—but AI helps.

• AI can be used to help you spot customer advocates using sentiment analysis and social listening to identify your happiest customers. This is one area where marketers should proceed carefully to avoid the creep factor.
  

• AI can help marketers create personalized scripts and shareable referral messages, potentially lowering the friction for advocates to act.
  

• Hybridize your human instincts with AI's efficiency—the best referrals happen when your customers feel both motivated and equipped to help.

AI isn’t replacing the Marketing Hourglass, but it certainly provides marketers opportunities to develop into something smarter, more human, and more efficient. From discovery to advocacy, AI acts as an assistant or collaborator, not a replacement for a human touch.

The real advantages will accrue to brands that apply AI as a lens to better understand human behavior and preferences, and elevate their content strategy accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is AI replacing traditional SEO?
No—AI is expanding search, not replacing it. Optimizing for AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude) means structuring your content for clarity, authority, and snippet-friendly answers.

Q: How can AI improve customer retention?
AI predicts churn, personalizes onboarding, and automates follow-up offers. These tools help brands build long-term relationships and keep customers engaged.

Q: What is the biggest AI opportunity in the Marketing Hourglass?
Removing friction at the “Try” and “Buy” stages. Interactive AI tools and AI agents streamline decision-making and boost conversion rates.

Q: Should businesses disclose when AI is used in content?
Yes—transparency builds trust. Brands that disclose how they use AI, while pairing it with human oversight, will earn more credibility.