AI Adoption in Healthtech Marketing: What the 2026 Benchmark Reveals

Your team probably uses AI every day now. Can you show leadership what it’s actually getting you? For most healthtech marketing teams, the honest answer is no.

In this episode I share the results of the third wave of our AI benchmark survey of in-house healthtech marketers. In one year, the share of teams with integrated AI workflows or a strategic roadmap went from under a third to about two thirds, and nobody in the latest wave said they weren’t using AI at all. The data also shows three gaps. Only about 1 in 10 teams has AI fully connected to their CRM, CMS, or analytics. Four in 10 still aren’t measuring the return on AI. And 85 percent have no formal training budget.

My colleague Mark Erwich, Chief Strategy Officer at Health Launchpad, joins me to talk about what this means for you. We cover why “we use AI” no longer sets you apart and how to measure AI in a way that wins resources, not just one that justifies cost cuts. We also talk about how to think about the risk of connecting AI to your core systems. We share what happened when we presented the findings to the HealthTech Marketing Network, and we close with five practical takeaways you can act on this quarter.

Download the full report here.

Key Topics Covered

• "(00:00)" Introduction
• "(02:45)" Finding 1: AI maturity jumps from dabbling to building in one year
• "(04:15)" Finding 2: Workflow integration vs. data integration with CRM, CMS, and analytics
• "(06:00)" Finding 3: Measurement is the biggest blind spot
• "(07:00)" Finding 4: Paid licenses are common, but training budgets and headcount are rare
• "(08:15)" Finding 5: IT and engineering hold the keys to high-value use cases
• "(09:00)" Why the measurement gap and the IT gap are two sides of the same coin
• "(09:45)" Voices from the field
• "(12:45)" The three phases of AI adoption
• "(14:15)" Where differentiation comes from now
• "(16:15)" Mark’s top recommendation
• "(17:30)" Measuring AI by capability and quality first, efficiency last
• "(21:15)" Why connecting AI to your data changes how you work
• "(23:15)" What healthtech marketing leaders shared in the network session
• "(25:00)" The risk question
• "(27:45)" Other ways to connect AI to your systems besides APIs
• "(28:15)" What marketing’s role looks like a year from now
• "(30:30)" Mark’s one piece of advice
• "(31:30)" Adam’s five takeaways from the survey

If you are interested in discussing this or any other topic, let's have a chat.  Reach out to me directly to schedule a no-obligation discussion. This isn't a sales call, but rather an opportunity to talk through your questions and challenges.

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