HubSpot’s Data Driven Decisions – They know time is short
“WILL YOUR business still exist in 2028?”
The clock is ticking. But for the first time in history, you don’t need to be a giant to win.
Aja Frost stood on stage at HubSpot’s Grow conference this last Nov 13th and delivered a message that should electrify every small business owner on the planet. As Senior Director of Global Growth and Paid Advertising at HubSpot—a company she’s helped transform over nine years—she’s witnessed something extraordinary.
And she’s about to hand you the playbook.
“In 2028, the majority of answer engine traffic is going to come from ChatGPT” {{ … and other AI }}
Aja Frost didn’t whisper this prediction. She declared it with the confidence of someone who’s spent nine years watching data patterns shift and transform at one of the world’s most sophisticated marketing companies.
“Google, the undisputed traffic overlord of the past 20 years,” she told the audience, “is no longer number one.”
Let that sink in. The giant that seemed unstoppable—dethroned.
But here’s where Aja’s story becomes YOUR story: “That’s not a small shift. That is a tectonic plate movement under everything we do in demand gen. And that means that what you do now is going to determine whether your business is winning in 2028.”
When Aja started at HubSpot in 2016, she joined a company already obsessed with data. But what she’s witnessed since then—especially in the past three years—represents the most exciting era she’s ever experienced in marketing.
Why? Because the rules just changed. And for once, they changed in favor of the small, the agile, and the smart.
The David vs. Goliath Story You Need to Hear
Here’s what Aja watched happen inside HubSpot—and why it matters to your three-person team:
Three years ago, HubSpot was massively dependent on Google search traffic. Educational blog content drove the majority of their top-of-funnel demand. They were playing the traditional game: rank in Google, get clicks, convert visitors.
Then Aja and her team started seeing something in their data. Something ominous.
Google’s AI-generated summaries started appearing everywhere. As Aja revealed: “AI Overviews now show up in nearly 6 in 10 searches. And when they do, click-through rate is halved.”
Think about that. Half. Google was keeping people on Google rather than sending them to websites.
For most companies, this would be a death sentence. But HubSpot had something that saved them: comprehensive data showing them exactly what was happening, where it was happening, and—most importantly—where the opportunities were shifting to.
The Pivot That Changed Everything
Because HubSpot tracked everything—every visitor source, every conversion path, every customer journey—Aja’s team could see patterns emerging that most companies missed entirely:
- Educational traffic was declining
- Personality-driven channels were exploding
- Buyer behavior was fundamentally shifting
So they made bold moves:
2021: Acquired The Hustle newsletter
2022: Built out their third-party creator network
2022-2023: Launched multiple YouTube channels
The results? By 2025, as Aja proudly shared: “Human-first content is making up the majority of our demand and we get 35 to 40 million engagements every single month across our media network.”
Their old bread and butter—educational content? Now just 28% of their demand.
And the payoff for reading the data and pivoting fast? As Aja stated with evident pride: “We are now the most visible CRM in answer engines”—beating competitors that rhyme with “Yoho” and “Sales Whales.”
Here’s Where Your Story Gets Exciting
Now, you might be thinking: “That’s great for HubSpot with their massive team and unlimited budget. But I’m running a business with two other people. How does this help me?”
This is the most important part: Everything Aja described doing at HubSpot—you can now do too.
Here’s why the game just changed in your favor:
What Used to Require a Team of 50 Now Takes 3 People
The data infrastructure HubSpot built? You can implement it in days with modern server-side tracking solutions.
The data analysis that used to require analysts with SQL skills? As Aja’s story demonstrates, AI can now analyze data in intricate ways, very fast, using plain English questions.
Ask ChatGPT: “Which traffic sources bring customers who stay longest?”
Ask Claude: “What content do my highest-value customers read before converting?”
Ask Perplexity: “What patterns exist in my most successful customer journeys?”
You get answers in seconds that used to take weeks and teams of analysts.
But—and this is critical—you can only ask these questions if you’re collecting the data NOW.
The New Buyer Reality (And Why It’s Your Biggest Opportunity)
Aja shared data that should make every small business owner sit up and pay attention:
“More than 50% of buyers now say they are using AI to make purchasing decisions.”
Your potential customers aren’t starting with Google searches anymore. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. They’re:
- Watching YouTube videos for validation
- Reading reviews on G2 and Capterra
- Browsing social media comments
- Getting AI-generated shortlists of solutions
And here’s the beautiful part Aja revealed: “By the time they arrive at a vendor’s website, they are far more informed and they have far more conviction in their choices than they’ve ever had before, which is why they convert at more than three times the rate of traditional visitors.”
Three times the conversion rate. In less time. Generating more revenue.
These are dream customers. But they only find you if you’re visible in answer engines.
Why Small Teams Can Win Now (The Secret Aja’s Data Reveals)
Here’s what HubSpot learned that levels the playing field for you:
Answer engines don’t care about your company size. They care about:
- Quality, specific content that answers real questions
- Authentic reviews and social proof
- Personality-driven content (videos, podcasts, social media)
- Being cited and referenced across the web
A three-person team creating authentic YouTube content, answering specific customer questions, and building genuine relationships can outrank a faceless corporation with a massive ad budget.
Why? Because as Aja’s data showed, human-first content is what’s winning. And small teams are often MORE authentic, MORE connected to customers, and MORE agile than big corporations.
You can pivot in a day. HubSpot needs months.
You can test new content formats this week. They need approval committees.
You can be real and authentic. They have brand guidelines and legal reviews.
Your size is now your advantage, not your limitation.
The Data Trees You Must Plant Today
But here’s where Aja’s story contains a critical warning for you:
HubSpot won because they had data infrastructure in place BEFORE the shift happened. When AI Overviews started crushing traditional SEO, they could:
- See the trend immediately (because they tracked everything)
- Quantify the exact impact (because they measured all traffic sources)
- Test alternatives rapidly (because they could measure what worked)
- Scale what succeeded (because data proved ROI)
- Prove strategic pivots (because evidence convinced leadership)
They had data trees planted and growing.
Without data, you’re guessing. With data and AI, you’re operating like HubSpot—making million-dollar decisions with confidence.
What Aja’s Nine-Year Journey Teaches Us
When Aja joined HubSpot in 2016, she stepped into a data-driven culture. Nine years later, she calls this “the most exciting era of the company and marketing yet.”
Why? Because AI didn’t make data people obsolete—it made data accessible to everyone.
You don’t need to be a data scientist anymore. You need to:
- Collect comprehensive data (track every customer touchpoint)
- Ask AI the right questions (plain English, no SQL required)
- Act on insights fast (your small team is your advantage)
As Aja emphasized: “What you do now is going to determine whether your business is winning in 2028.”
Not what you do in six months when you feel “ready.”
Not what you do after you’ve grown bigger.
What you do RIGHT NOW.
The Miracle of Modern Small Business
Here’s the truth that should electrify you:
A two-person team with the right data infrastructure and AI tools can now compete with companies that have 200-person marketing departments.
You can:
- Track customer journeys like HubSpot (with server-side tracking)
- Analyze data like HubSpot (with AI asking questions for you)
- Pivot faster than HubSpot (because you’re small and agile)
- Create authentic content HubSpot can’t match (because you’re real, not corporate)
- Optimize for answer engines (where authority beats ad spend)
The playing field just leveled. Actually, it tilted in YOUR favor.
The Urgency Aja Won’t Say (But Her Data Screams)
Aja’s presentation was optimistic and exciting. But look at what her data actually reveals:
- 6 in 10 searches now show AI Overviews (and it’s growing)
- Click-through rates cut in half when AI answers appear
- 50%+ of buyers using AI for purchasing decisions (and accelerating)
- 3x conversion rates for answer-engine-informed visitors
- 2028 is the tipping point (that’s barely two years away)
Every month you wait to start collecting data is a month you’ll never get back.
Every week without tracking is customer insights permanently lost.
Every day you postpone is another day your competitors’ data trees are growing while yours haven’t been planted.
Your Aja Frost Moment Starts Today
Aja Frost spent nine years building expertise at one of the world’s best marketing companies. She watched the tectonic plates shift. She saw the data reveal the future before it arrived.
And now she’s telling you: “What you do now is going to determine whether your business is winning in 2028.”
You have everything you need:
- AI tools that democratize data analysis
- Tracking infrastructure that’s affordable for small businesses
- Answer engines that reward authenticity over ad budgets
- Customer behavior that favors informed, high-intent buyers
You just need one thing: DATA.
Not someday data. Not eventually data. Data trees planted TODAY.
Because in 2028, when half your competitors have disappeared—when answer engines dominate traffic—when AI-informed buyers expect 3x better experiences—you’ll either have years of data to work with, or you’ll have nothing.
The Two-Year Choice
Aja didn’t say this explicitly, but her data reveals it clearly:
Companies that start collecting comprehensive data today will thrive in 2028.
Companies that wait will wonder what happened.
It’s really that simple.
Your three-person team can do miracles now. You can track like an enterprise. You can analyze like a data science team. You can optimize for the future while your competitors are stuck in 2020.
But miracles require foundations. And your foundation is data.
The clock Aja’s watching? It’s ticking for all of us.
The difference is, she planted her data trees years ago.
When did you plant yours?
Ready to plant your data tree and compete like HubSpot? The Transmute Engine gives small teams enterprise-level tracking infrastructure at startup prices. Because as Aja Frost’s story proves: in 2028, it won’t matter how big you were. It’ll matter how smart you were with your data.
The tectonic plates are moving. The answer engines are choosing winners. Your customers are using AI to find solutions right now. The question isn’t whether you’ll adapt—it’s whether you’ll do it in time.
What you do now determines whether your business wins in 2028 (or even exists!) What will you choose?
