Level Up with AI: The Biggest Insights from Thryv’s Marketing + AI Summit Recap

The Thryv Marketing + AI Virtual Summit brought together industry leaders, trendsetters, and small business innovators for a high-impact day focused on one theme: how AI is transforming the way SMBs market, sell, and grow. From practical tools to cutting-edge strategies, every session delivered immediately applicable value. Here’s your full recap.

Welcome Remarks: A New Era for SMB AI Adoption

Thryv President, Grant Freeman, kicked off the summit with an eye-opening look at how small businesses are rapidly embracing AI.

“AI adoption by small business owners surged by 41% over the last year.”

This set the tone for a day packed with actionable insights on how SMBs can leverage the momentum to drive real results.

How SMBs Can Use AI to Win in the New Age

Keynote speaker Ross Simmonds, Founder of Foundation Marketing, shared a powerful blueprint for building a scalable content distribution engine – one that blends traditional tactics with modern AI tools to ensure your content reaches the right audience at the right time.

Top Ways to Win with AI

• Reverse-engineer top-performing content, then adapt it to your niche with your own unique POV.
• Follow a proven growth framework: Research → Create → Distribute → Optimize.
• Identify essential channels for your brand, then build your presence on each over time.
  

His message was clear: businesses that master the full content lifecycle — and use AI to accelerate it — will dominate their markets.

Real World AI: Marketing Shortcuts Every SMB Needs Now

Third Comma AI Marketing Strategist, Marilyn Gil, delivered one of the most practical sessions of the day: a no-fluff, real-world walkthrough of AI prompts, workflows, and tools SMBs can use immediately.

Marketing Shortcuts to Save Time

• Instant Content: Turn one idea into a month of posts, blogs, and emails.
• Automated Tasks: Let AI workflows handle routine tasks while you sleep.
• CMO Insight: Analyze competitors and sharpen your strategy with AI — no agency required.
• Ethical Guardrails: Use AI responsibly by knowing the key dos and don’ts.

She provided busy business owners with a plug-and-play AI toolkit that saves them hours each week.

Visibility Is the New Currency

Lisa Landsman, Google’s Head of Industry Engagement & SMB Success, outlined how small businesses can improve their visibility in a crowded digital space — especially on Google — by controlling what customers see and where they see it.

“You help power the content that brings local discovery on Google to life!”

Her advice centered on three core priorities:

• Keep your Google Business Profile updated with accurate hours, fresh photos, and high-quality reviews.
• Pair local SEO + paid ads to maximize search presence.

Focus on conversions, not clicks — every visit should lead to action.

AI in Action: How Thryv Helps Your Business Market, Sell & Grow

Caleb Bauers, Thryv Product Marketing Leader, delivered a full walkthrough of how Thryv’s AI capabilities directly solve the most pressing challenges small businesses face today. He highlighted the real-world impact of AI on visibility, lead generation, customer engagement, and growth efficiency.

Challenges such as low visibility, growth bottlenecks, scattered customer management, and manual task overload are not just frustrating — they’re preventing SMBs from growing at the speed they should in 2026.

The Solutions: How Thryv Uses AI to Fuel Growth

Thryv’s platform was built to solve these issues head-on with automation, intelligence, and ease of use:

• Get Found Faster: Boost visibility with fresh listings, compelling AI-powered websites, automated social posting, and SEO that actually works.
• Grow Efficiently: Attract, capture, and nurture leads through simplified, AI-driven marketing and sales tools.
• Seamless Customer Engagement: Manage the entire customer journey — texts, emails, appointments, payments — all in one automation-first CRM.
• Automate Workflows: Say goodbye to repetitive tasks with automated sales, marketing, and operations workflows.
  

Bauers previewed Thryv’s most powerful AI upgrades – AI website builder, AI call Analysis + Automation Integration, and AI Automation Assistant + AI Content Assistant – that will help SMBs compete – and win – against bigger brands.

7 Easy, Quick Ways to Increase Opens & Clicks

Nancy Harhut, Chief Creative Officer at HBT Marketing, outlined seven proven, psychology-backed tactics to boost email opens and clicks.

Her core message: people use mental shortcuts — not reason — to make decisions, and marketers should leverage these behaviors for better results.

Top techniques covered:

• Emotion: Tap into feelings—since 80% of decisions are emotional, emotional hooks increase opens and engagement.
• Cognitive Fluency: Make messages simple and easy to process; use rhyme, repetition, and alliteration to make content stickier and more credible.
• Input Bias: Highlight the time, effort, or popularity behind your offering (like “22,000 reviews”) to imply quality and trust.
• Autonomy Bias: Provide choices or options to make people feel in control, which increases action.
• Motivating Uncertainty Effect: Introduce elements of mystery or chance (e.g., “You could win!”) to boost participation.
• Price Order Effect: Lead with higher prices before your actual offer to make the real price seem like a great deal.
• Magnitude Encoding Effect: Present numbers and prices intentionally, as even formatting changes how value is perceived.

Harhut’s practical, brain-based strategies stand out for their speed and simplicity—helping marketers quickly improve email engagement and sales.

Do This, Not That!

Jay Schwedelson, Founder, GURU Media Hub wrapped the summit with a rapid-fire list of practical do-this-not-that tips every SMB should take into the new year.

Do This:

• Use AI browsers
• Tell AI everything
• Ask AI how to do things
• Understand that nobody has a clue — we’re all learning in real time

Not That:

• Don’t expect to be an AI expert
• Don’t ignore AI
• Don’t assume today’s truths will still be true tomorrow

His closing message encouraged SMBs to embrace AI with curiosity, experimentation, and speed.

Where SMBs Go from Here: The AI-Powered Path Forward

The Thryv Marketing + AI Virtual Summit delivered one clear message: AI isn’t the future — it’s the now. Small businesses that adopt AI early, experiment boldly, and prioritize visibility and automation will gain a massive competitive edge heading into the new year.