#787: Tray.ai's Stephen Stouffer on AI adoption and why marketers should care about the integration layer

The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®: Expert Mode Marketing Technology, AI, & CX

The Agile Brand

Business, Marketing

4.9 • 113 Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why are so many companies spending billions on AI, only to see their most ambitious projects stall out before they ever impact the customer experience? Agility requires more than just a fast-moving marketing team. It requires the foundational ability to connect disparate systems and data sources, allowing new technologies like AI to be implemented and scaled, not just piloted.Today, we're going to talk about the single biggest, and often overlooked, blocker to enterprise AI adoption: the integration layer. While everyone is focused on the models and the applications, the legacy infrastructure underneath is preventing companies from moving beyond small-scale experiments. We'll explore why a modern, integration-first approach is no longer a 'nice-to-have' for IT, but a strategic imperative for any brand that wants to turn AI hype into a real competitive advantage. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Stephen Stouffer, Director of Automation Solutions at Tray.ai. About Stephen Stouffer Stephen Stouffer is Director of Automation Solutions at Tray.ai, bringing over a decade of experience in markops, revops, and digital transformation. Starting his career as a web developer, Stephen has grown through various marketing technology roles, both in-house and in-agency, and he’s particularly known for his work in marketing automation and AI implementation.,Yes,This will be completed shortly Stephen Stouffer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenstouffer/ Resources Tray.ai: tray.ai The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://ratethispodcast.com/agileConnect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Agile brand.
0:03.0	Welcome to Season 7 of the Agile brand, where we discuss the trends and topics marketing leaders need to know.
0:15.0	Stay curious, stay agile, and join the top enterprise brands and MARTEC platforms as we explore marketing technology, AI, e-commerce, and join the top enterprise brands and Martec platforms as we explore marketing technology,
0:23.1	AI, e-commerce, and whatever's next for the Omnichannel customer experience.
0:27.9	Together we'll discover what it takes to create an agile brand, built for today and tomorrow,
0:32.1	and built for customers, employees, and continued business growth. I'm your host, Greg Kilstrom, advising Fortune 1000 brands on Martec, AI, and marketing operations.
0:43.3	The Agile Brand Podcast is brought to you by Tech Systems, an industry leader in full-stack technology services,
0:49.3	talent services, and real-world application. For more information, go to teK systems.com.
0:56.1	To make sure you always get the latest episodes, please hit subscribe on the app you listen to
1:00.1	podcasts on, and leave us a rating so others can find us as well. And now on to the show.
1:07.7	Why are so many companies spending billions on AI only to see their most ambitious projects
1:13.3	stall out before they ever impact the customer experience? Agility requires more than just a
1:18.9	fast-moving marketing team. It requires the foundational ability to connect disparate systems and
1:24.4	data sources, allowing new technologies like AI to be implemented and scaled,
1:29.0	not just piloted. Today we're going to talk about the single biggest and often overlooked
1:33.5	blocker to enterprise AI adoption, the integration layer. While everyone is focused on the models
1:39.8	and the applications, the legacy infrastructure underneath is preventing companies from moving beyond
1:44.6	small-scale experiments. We're going to explore why a modern integration-first approach is no longer
1:50.0	a nice to have for IT, but a strategic imperative for any brand that wants to turn AI hype
1:55.3	into a real competitive advantage. Tell me to discuss this topic. I'd like to welcome
1:59.9	Steven Stouffer, Director of Automation Solutions at tray.a.I.
2:04.3	Steven, welcome to the show. Hey, thank you for having me. Yeah, looking forward to talking about this topic.
	...

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