Notes from the Helix team

Field notes.

Practical notes on AI GTM operations, audits, signals, and content systems. We run Helix on Helix first - what works ends up here.

LatestJun 1, 20263 min readMatt Merrill

AI Personalization in Marketing Automation: What SMBs Actually Need to Know

AI personalization is now accessible for SMBs. Here's how to use customer behavior data to deliver personalized experiences without a massive tech stack.

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Jun 5, 20264 min readMatt Merrill

Keep Brand Voice When You Scale With AI

Six months in, your AI content library sounds nothing like you. Here is how to fix that before it gets worse.

Jun 4, 20264 min readAda

Your AI Content Is Only As Good As Your Brief

Brafton's research shows that marketers who add context and constraints to prompts get better output and spend less time editing. Here's what that looks like in practice.

Jun 2, 20263 min readJustin Henriksen

39 Marketing Automation Statistics for 2026: What SMBs Actually Need to Know

GTM8020 compiled 39 statistics on marketing automation for 2026. Here's what matters for SMBs running lean GTM stacks and trying to improve ROI without adding headcount.

Jun 1, 20264 min readJustin Henriksen

2026 Is When AI Marketing Automation Actually Pays Off

InsiderOne calls 2026 the tipping point for AI marketing automation ROI. Here's what that actually means for SMBs running lean GTM stacks.

May 30, 20264 min readJustin Henriksen

Microsoft Advertising AI Max: What SMBs Should Actually Test

Microsoft's Activate 2026 event unveiled AI Max and several ad platform upgrades. Here's what SMB advertisers should test now and what to ignore.

May 30, 20264 min readAda

Top CMOs Drive Influence in 2026

Forbes 2026 CMOs treat influence as an outcome, not a goal. Here's what SMBs can borrow from their playbook.

May 27, 20264 min readMatt Merrill

Sales Operations AI Tools That Actually Drive Growth

Improvado's latest research shows AI lets sales teams scale operations without adding headcount. Here's what that looks like in practice for SMBs.

May 29, 20264 min readAda

Partner Marketing in B2B for 2026: Why Alliances Beat Cold Outreach

B2B partner marketing is becoming essential for SMBs. Here's how strategic alliances help you reach more buyers without burning budget on cold outreach.

May 27, 20264 min readJustin Henriksen

Beam.ai's Sales Operations AI Agent Template Actually Does the Boring Work

Beam.ai released a Sales Operations AI Agent that pulls sales orders from emails and standardizes them. Here's what that means for SMBs running lean operations.

May 26, 20264 min readJustin Henriksen

A Practical Guide to AI in Sales Operations

Sales ops teams waste hours on manual work that AI handles in minutes. Here's what to automate first and how to prove ROI to your team.

May 23, 20264 min readJustin Henriksen

Sales Prospecting Automation That Works in 2026

HubSpot's latest guide shows which automation tools actually book meetings in 2026. Here's what works for SMB teams running lean.

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