As the CEO of Structured, an AI-native channel marketing platform, Stacey Epstein thought it was only natural to use AI agents to help her with her role as chair of her daughter's high school prom committee. But she quickly discovered that in AI business applications, almost any action can come with security risks.

"I woke up to an email warning: 'You are leaking your child's name, parents' names, and their insurance information—this is a major security risk,'" Epstein recalled. She ultimately avoided the incident, but channel marketers in real-world work often encounter various challenges before even touching security and compliance issues. Most are just beginning to use AI to streamline operations, boost efficiency, and save costs for their companies.

Reducing friction: AI's entry point

Partner marketing has historically been chaotic. The obstacles are numerous: inconsistent partner marketing skills, seemingly endless approval processes, and the actual execution of marketing programs is also tricky. Vendors that rely on channel partners believe AI has the potential to reduce friction and get campaigns off the ground with fewer pain points.

"AI can make partner marketing work better, and (experienced marketers) should lead how it's used," Epstein said during a panel discussion last month. She moderated a session on "AI and Driving Partner Engagement" at the Channel Marketing Association (CMA) annual summit.

Workflow management platform ServiceNow began experimenting with AI to improve the partner experience two years ago, starting with content.

"We think about content in a very different way to help partners get to market faster," said Maisa Fernandez, ServiceNow's director of global partner marketing and demand strategy. "We really want to help partners personalize content and bring a unique flavor of joint value proposition to the market."

After initial success, the strategy expanded further. "We asked ourselves: 'How can we create greater value in all the marketing we provide to partners?' We want to simplify and reduce noise, giving partners what they truly want," Fernandez told the CMA audience.

Colleen Tyler, general manager of global partner marketing and go-to-market at Microsoft, noted that go-to-market planning is an area where her channel marketing team has found the best use cases for AI. Tyler mentioned that her team constantly asks itself: How can AI agents help answer specific questions? In this way, they have shortened the time needed to tailor unique plans for individual partners. Tyler said AI has helped cut down on internal back-and-forth and communication time with partners.

The software giant's partners are always asking how to stand out among many competitors. Using AI in marketing might be one way.

"This is a huge challenge and also an opportunity," Tyler said. "But if you can combine your value proposition with your partner's, AI can reduce friction. What is the unique message we can present together to customers? Finding tools that can scale this is the real (advantage)."

Vendor insights: From pilot to full integration

Tyler acknowledged that even Microsoft has not yet fully integrated AI into the partner experience, but every vendor and partner should at least take the first step. Fernandez agreed.

"ServiceNow has many partners that don't even have dedicated marketing teams, so they simply don't know how to do marketing," Fernandez said. "So, you not only need to empower these people, but also give them tools to move the process forward."

She said the long-term goal is to use AI end-to-end across the entire channel marketing process: planning, content production, target identification, and campaign activation. The end result could bring significant cost savings, measurable productivity gains, and opportunities to demonstrate ROI compared to traditional partner marketing approaches.

Another benefit: stronger relationships with partners.

"Nothing can replace human-to-human conversation and the trust you build in forming alliances," Fernandez said. "People don't buy AI; they buy the relationship with you and the peace of mind that if something goes wrong, someone will handle it properly."