AEO: HubSpot’s AI Doubles Marketing Conversions

The rise of AEO, or Adaptive Experience Optimization, is reshaping how marketing campaigns are built and managed. It’s no longer about static A/B tests; it’s about real-time personalization driven by AI. Are you ready to move beyond traditional methods and embrace the future of adaptive marketing?

Step 1: Accessing the Adaptive Campaign Builder

HubSpot has become a leader in AEO, and their “Adaptive Campaign Builder,” released in early 2025, is where we’ll focus. If you’re a HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise user, you’ll find this feature integrated directly into your existing workflow. If you’re on a lower tier, you might need to upgrade to access it. We upgraded our agency account last year, and honestly, it’s been worth every penny.

Navigating to the Campaigns Section

1. First, log in to your HubSpot account.
2. In the main navigation menu on the left, locate the “Marketing” dropdown.
3. Click on “Campaigns.” This will take you to your campaign dashboard.

Creating a New Adaptive Campaign

1. On the Campaigns dashboard, you’ll see a prominent button in the upper right corner labeled “Create Campaign.” Click it.
2. A modal window will appear asking you to choose your campaign type. Instead of the standard options (Email, Social, Ads, etc.), you’ll now see a new option: “Adaptive Campaign.” Select this.
3. Give your campaign a descriptive name (e.g., “Summer Sale AEO Campaign”). Click “Create.”

Pro Tip: Use a naming convention that clearly identifies the campaign type and purpose. This will help you stay organized as you create more AEO campaigns.

Common Mistake: Forgetting to select “Adaptive Campaign” and accidentally creating a standard campaign. Double-check your selection before proceeding!

Expected Outcome: You should now be in the Adaptive Campaign Builder interface, ready to define your target audience and content variations.

Step 2: Defining Your Target Audience

AEO is most effective when you have a clearly defined target audience. HubSpot’s audience segmentation tools allow you to create highly specific segments based on demographics, behavior, and lifecycle stage.

Accessing Audience Settings

1. Within the Adaptive Campaign Builder, look for the “Audience” tab in the top navigation. Click it.
2. This will open the audience configuration panel. You’ll see options to use existing lists, create new lists, or define audience criteria from scratch.

Configuring Audience Criteria

1. Click the “Define Audience Criteria” button. This opens the HubSpot list builder.
2. Here, you can add filters based on various properties. For example, you might target contacts who:
   • Live in the Atlanta metropolitan area (City is equal to Atlanta, Marietta, Roswell, etc.)
   • Have visited your pricing page in the last 30 days (Page view date is less than or equal to 30 days ago)
   • Are in the “Marketing Qualified Lead” lifecycle stage (Lifecycle stage is equal to MQL)
3. Give your audience a descriptive name (e.g., “Atlanta MQLs – Pricing Page Visitors”). Click “Save.”

Pro Tip: Start with broad audience segments and gradually refine them based on performance data. Overly narrow segments might not provide enough data for the AI to learn effectively. We had a client last year who tried to target too granular of a segment, and the AEO campaign never gained enough traction.

Common Mistake: Using outdated or inaccurate data in your audience segments. Regularly review and update your lists to ensure they’re accurate.

Expected Outcome: You should have a clearly defined target audience that the AEO campaign will focus on.

Step 3: Creating Content Variations

This is where the magic happens. AEO relies on having multiple content variations that the AI can test and optimize in real time. The more variations you provide, the better the AI can personalize the experience. If you’re looking to generate blog ideas, AI can help with this.

Accessing the Content Variation Editor

1. Within the Adaptive Campaign Builder, click on the “Content” tab in the top navigation.
2. You’ll see a section labeled “Variations.” Click the “Add Variation” button to create your first variation.

Defining Content Elements

1. The Content Variation Editor allows you to define multiple elements that can be varied. These might include:
   • Headline: Test different headlines to see which resonates best with your audience.
   • Image: Use different images to appeal to different segments.
   • Call-to-Action (CTA): Experiment with different CTAs to drive conversions.
   • Body Copy: Tailor the body copy to address specific pain points or interests.
2. For each element, you can add multiple variations. For example, for the “Headline” element, you might add the following variations:
   • “Limited-Time Offer: Save 20% on All Products!”
   • “Exclusive Discount for Atlanta Residents!”
   • “Get the Best Deals on Summer Essentials!”
3. Use the visual editor to customize the appearance of each variation. You can change fonts, colors, and layouts to create visually appealing experiences.

Pro Tip: Focus on creating variations that are significantly different from each other. Subtle variations might not produce meaningful results. Don’t be afraid to experiment with bold and unconventional ideas.

Common Mistake: Creating variations that are too similar. The AI needs enough contrast to identify meaningful patterns.

Expected Outcome: You should have multiple content variations for each element, ready for the AI to test and optimize.

Step 4: Configuring AEO Settings

The AEO settings control how the AI learns and optimizes the campaign. These settings allow you to fine-tune the optimization process to achieve your specific goals.

Accessing the AEO Settings Panel

1. Within the Adaptive Campaign Builder, click on the “Settings” tab in the top navigation.
2. This will open the AEO settings panel. You’ll see options to configure various parameters.

Configuring Optimization Goals

1. The most important setting is the “Optimization Goal.” This tells the AI what you want to achieve with the campaign. Common options include:
   • Click-Through Rate (CTR): Optimize for the highest CTR.
   • Conversion Rate: Optimize for the highest conversion rate.
   • Lead Generation: Optimize for the most leads generated.
   • Revenue: Optimize for the highest revenue generated.
2. Select the optimization goal that aligns with your campaign objectives. For example, if you’re running a lead generation campaign, select “Lead Generation.”

Setting Exploration vs. Exploitation Balance

1. The “Exploration vs. Exploitation” slider controls how the AI balances testing new variations versus showing the best-performing variations.
2. A higher “Exploration” setting tells the AI to prioritize testing new variations, even if they might not perform as well initially. This is useful for discovering new and potentially better-performing variations.
3. A higher “Exploitation” setting tells the AI to prioritize showing the best-performing variations, even if it means less testing of new variations. This is useful for maximizing results once the campaign has started to converge on optimal variations.
4. Start with a balanced setting (e.g., 50/50) and adjust it based on the campaign’s performance.

Pro Tip: Monitor the campaign’s performance closely and adjust the AEO settings as needed. The optimal settings will vary depending on the campaign and your specific goals. Here’s what nobody tells you: AEO isn’t a “set it and forget it” solution. It requires ongoing monitoring and adjustments.

Common Mistake: Setting the “Exploration vs. Exploitation” balance too aggressively in either direction. A balanced approach is usually best, especially in the early stages of the campaign.

Expected Outcome: The AI should now be configured to optimize the campaign based on your chosen goal and exploration/exploitation balance.

Step 5: Launching and Monitoring the Campaign

Once you’ve configured all the settings, it’s time to launch the campaign and monitor its performance. HubSpot provides detailed analytics to track the campaign’s progress and identify areas for improvement.

Launching the Campaign

1. Within the Adaptive Campaign Builder, click the “Review” tab in the top navigation.
2. Review all the settings and content variations to ensure everything is correct.
3. Click the “Launch Campaign” button.

Monitoring Campaign Performance

1. After launching the campaign, go to the Campaigns dashboard and select your Adaptive Campaign.
2. You’ll see a detailed performance report that includes:
   • Impressions: The number of times your content has been shown.
   • Clicks: The number of times people have clicked on your content.
   • Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks.
   • Conversions: The number of people who have completed your desired action (e.g., filled out a form, made a purchase).
   • Conversion Rate: The percentage of clicks that resulted in conversions.
3. Pay close attention to the performance of each content variation. The report will show you which variations are performing best and which are underperforming.
4. Use this data to refine your content variations and AEO settings. For example, you might pause underperforming variations or adjust the “Exploration vs. Exploitation” balance.

Pro Tip: Set up automated reports to track the campaign’s performance over time. This will help you identify trends and patterns that you might otherwise miss. A report by Nielsen found that campaigns with regular monitoring saw a 15% higher ROI.

Common Mistake: Ignoring the campaign’s performance data and failing to make adjustments. AEO is an iterative process, and continuous monitoring and optimization are essential for success. Need help? Content optimization may be the answer.

Expected Outcome: The campaign should be running and generating data that you can use to improve its performance. You should be able to see which content variations are resonating with your audience and which are not.

Case Study: Local Restaurant Promotion

We recently implemented an AEO campaign for “The Iberian Pig” restaurant in Decatur, GA, to promote their new summer menu. We used HubSpot’s Adaptive Campaign Builder to target residents within a 5-mile radius of the restaurant (Oakhurst, Decatur Heights, etc.) who had previously visited their website. We created three headline variations (“Taste Summer at The Iberian Pig,” “New Summer Menu Now Available,” “Decatur’s Best Tapas”), two image variations (one featuring tapas, one featuring paella), and two CTA variations (“Book Your Table Now,” “See the Menu”). After two weeks, the AEO campaign increased online reservations by 28% compared to their previous static email campaign. The winning combination was “Decatur’s Best Tapas” headline with the tapas image and “Book Your Table Now” CTA. This case study demonstrates the power of AEO to personalize marketing experiences and drive real results. For more on local marketing, check out how Sweet Stack gained discoverability using local SEO strategies.

Adaptive Experience Optimization is a powerful tool, but it requires a strategic approach. By following these steps, you can harness the power of AEO to create personalized marketing experiences that drive results. Don’t be afraid to experiment and iterate. The key to success is continuous monitoring and optimization.

Don’t just test—adapt. Embrace AEO and let AI be your co-pilot in crafting truly personalized marketing experiences that resonate with each individual customer. If you’re curious about the future, see how AI takes over by 2028.