When Marketing Becomes Product: Inside Intercom’s AI Bet (w/ Paul Adams)
Sat Jan 17 2026
Marketing isn’t just changing — it’s collapsing into product.
Anthony Kennada sits down with Paul Adams, Chief Product Officer and Interim CMO at Intercom, to unpack what it actually means to build, market, and lead in an AI-native world. Drawing from Intercom’s bold decision to bet the company on Fin — its AI support agent — Paul shares a rare, inside look at how founder conviction, product obsession, and radically human marketing converged to fuel one of the most consequential pivots in SaaS history .
Together, they explore why the old SaaS playbook broke, why marketing calendars had to be deleted, and why the future belongs to full-stack marketers who understand AI as deeply as they understand people. From anthropomorphizing agents to rethinking launches, speed, education, and even how hard we should work, this conversation challenges nearly every assumption about modern marketing leadership.
Topics we cover:
– Why AI is collapsing the boundary between product and marketing
– How Intercom bet the company — and culture — on Fin
– The shift from polished marketing to radically human communication
– What “full-stack marketing” looks like in an AI-native company
– Why education is becoming marketing’s most important job
– Launching without Hollywood demos — and why authenticity wins
– Founder mode, speed, and knowing when to burn the calendar
– Why tired leaders make bad decisions (and how creativity actually emerges)
If you’re a CMO, founder, or product-led leader navigating the AI transition, this episode offers a clear signal through the noise — and a reminder that in the intelligence era, the most durable advantage is still deeply human.
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Marketing isn’t just changing — it’s collapsing into product. Anthony Kennada sits down with Paul Adams, Chief Product Officer and Interim CMO at Intercom, to unpack what it actually means to build, market, and lead in an AI-native world. Drawing from Intercom’s bold decision to bet the company on Fin — its AI support agent — Paul shares a rare, inside look at how founder conviction, product obsession, and radically human marketing converged to fuel one of the most consequential pivots in SaaS history . Together, they explore why the old SaaS playbook broke, why marketing calendars had to be deleted, and why the future belongs to full-stack marketers who understand AI as deeply as they understand people. From anthropomorphizing agents to rethinking launches, speed, education, and even how hard we should work, this conversation challenges nearly every assumption about modern marketing leadership. Topics we cover: – Why AI is collapsing the boundary between product and marketing – How Intercom bet the company — and culture — on Fin – The shift from polished marketing to radically human communication – What “full-stack marketing” looks like in an AI-native company – Why education is becoming marketing’s most important job – Launching without Hollywood demos — and why authenticity wins – Founder mode, speed, and knowing when to burn the calendar – Why tired leaders make bad decisions (and how creativity actually emerges) If you’re a CMO, founder, or product-led leader navigating the AI transition, this episode offers a clear signal through the noise — and a reminder that in the intelligence era, the most durable advantage is still deeply human.