Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium, says that as enterprises rush to deploy agentic AI, batch processing and siloed systems won’t cut it: AI strategy lives or dies on the quality — and speed — of your data. In this episode, we explore what a true real-time data layer looks like, why most companies are underutilizing their marketing tech, and how brands must prepare for a world where AI agents — not humans — are initiating customer interactions. From identity tokens and authentication to agent-to-agent negotiation, we look at what’s coming next and what that means for marketers.

For Additional Reading: 

Tealium achieves AWS Generative AI Competency, advancing enterprise AI at scale: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/02/17/3239448/0/en/Tealium-achieves-AWS-Generative-AI-Competency-advancing-enterprise-AI-at-scale.html

Tealium Adds AI Features for Real-Time Customer Engagement: https://www.cmswire.com/customer-data-platforms/tealium-adds-ai-features-for-real-time-customer-engagement/

The secret to happy customers is… your data layer: https://martech.org/the-secret-to-happy-customers-is-your-data-layer/

More about Jeff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefflunsford/

Listen on your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1715735755