2026: The Year the GTM Stack Collapses

2026: The Year the GTM Stack Collapses

We've been talking to revenue leaders for months now, over 100 interviews for our Voice of the Revenue Creator study, and one pattern keeps surfacing: the traditional GTM stack is breaking under its own weight.

Not slowly. Fast.

The CRM Is Dead (It Just Doesn't Know It Yet)

The CRM was built in a pre-automation, pre-AI world. We used to need it for workflow, for process, for collaboration. Now? It's where data goes to die in fields nobody looks at.

If nobody's actually working in the CRM anymore, why are we paying enterprise prices for what's essentially a database with a heavy UI nobody uses? There's probably a lighter, more purpose-built solution that could handle the record-keeping function at a fraction of the cost. It might not exist yet, but it's coming.

The AI Market Is Compressing Fast

We spoke with an early-stage founder who previously exited for an estimated 9 figures. He's predicting half the AI companies raising right now will be features in someone else's platform by 2026.

Look at what just happened: HubSpot acquired an 8-month-old AEO startup. They didn't buy traction. They bought six months of R&D time. Why spend 18 months building when you can acquire for less than two engineering salaries?

If your AI capability can be replicated in six months, nobody's paying a premium for your company. The survivors will be companies reimagining buyer journeys, not just improving them. Companies where AI isn't a feature, it's the entire category. Everyone else is practicing for their acquihire.

Orchestration Over Automation

Most GTM teams are obsessed with individual automations. Everyone's celebrating their Zapier wins, posting about their latest Clay table. But automations without orchestration are just sophisticated busywork.

Orchestration is how all these systems work together toward a collective GTM goal. This is where GTM engineers become critical. They're looking at the complete system and asking: how does this all actually work together to generate revenue?

RevOps: The Most Undervalued Team

If you're still treating RevOps as systems managers, you're leaving money on the table. RevOps teams are the number one growth driver in a revenue organization, or they should be.

When you free RevOps from pure systems management and empower them to actually drive growth, everything changes. The systems RevOps builds in AI give them more leverage, which creates more capacity, which unlocks more growth. It's a flywheel most companies haven't started spinning yet.

Data Quality Matters More Than Ever

Everyone's racing to implement the newest AI tool while their data is garbage.

You can't build a reliable AI system on unreliable data. Improving data quality isn't sexy, but it's foundational to any AI system that actually works. And we need more that work. 95% of AI pilots failed this year. In 2026, that number needs to drop dramatically. Outcomes earn retention. Pilots don't.

The "System of Action" Will Eat Everything

These new "systems of action" already have data, signals, and ICP flowing through them. What are they missing? Reports. Pipeline features. The connective tissue CRMs currently own.

Those gaps will close fast. Legacy categories like sales engagement and sales intelligence will be absorbed into complete GTM solutions. The stack is too complex, too expensive, and too fragmented.

De-Siloing Is Finally Possible

For years, GTM tech kept departments siloed. AI is changing this, allowing for true de-silofication through intelligent orchestration that bridges systems.

I'm already seeing enterprise organizations consolidate. Different departments using different tools that do similar things? That's ending. As soon as ops teams have faith in one comprehensive solution, they're going all in.

The Real Differentiator Isn't in Your Stack

Here's the uncomfortable truth: AI and new tooling haven't solved GTM problems. They've commoditized them.

Everyone has access to the same signals, research, and automation. We're all building workflows at scale, sending "personalized" outbound, tracking the same buying intent. The result? More noise than ever.

The teams winning in 2026 won't have the best workflows or the most sophisticated tech stack. They'll be building actual relationships and movements around their products.

This means vocalizing what's broken about the status quo. Building community around why things need to change. Showing up at dinners, micro-events, and city meetups.

Door-to-door selling was the most potent form of sales 15 years ago. It still is. We just convinced ourselves digital at scale could replace human connection. It can't.

The future of GTM isn't more tools. It's fewer, better-orchestrated systems that work together. And it's getting back to what's always worked: real human connection.

What are we missing? What did we get wrong?