15 Best AI Tools for Marketing Automation in 2027

Marketing automation has moved beyond scheduling social media posts and sending newsletters. Businesses now use artificial intelligence to analyze customer behavior, personalize campaigns, identify potential leads, create marketing content, manage customer relationships, and automate repetitive tasks across multiple channels.

For small businesses, this can mean running more organized campaigns without hiring a large marketing team. For established companies, AI-powered automation can help coordinate sales and marketing activities, improve customer segmentation, and make better use of customer data.

However, not every AI marketing tool performs the same job. Some specialize in email marketing, others focus on customer relationship management (CRM), social media, advertising, lead generation, or workflow automation. The right choice depends on the company’s marketing objectives, existing software, budget, and the amount of work it wants to automate.

This guide examines 15 AI tools worth considering for marketing automation in 2027, including their main features, business applications, strengths, and limitations. It focuses on practical uses rather than treating AI as a replacement for marketing strategy or human judgment.

15 best AI tools for marketing automation in 2027

1. HubSpot – Best all-in-one marketing automation platform

HubSpot is a strong option for businesses that want to manage marketing, sales, and customer relationships in one environment. Its CRM provides a central place to organize contacts, track interactions, and coordinate campaigns.

Its AI capabilities, including tools within the Breeze ecosystem, support content creation, customer engagement, and marketing workflows. Businesses can use automation to manage lead nurturing, follow-up tasks, contact segmentation, and campaign activities.

For example, a software company could capture a lead through a landing page, add the contact to its CRM, send an introductory email, and notify a sales representative when the prospect demonstrates buying interest.

Key automation features: CRM-connected workflows, lead management, email campaigns, segmentation, AI-assisted content, and reporting.

Best for: B2B companies, growing businesses, and marketing teams that want connected customer data.

Consideration: Advanced automation and reporting may require higher-priced subscriptions. Compare the cost against your contact volume and required features.

2. ActiveCampaign – Best for behavior-based customer journeys

ActiveCampaign is designed for businesses that want to automate communication based on customer actions. Rather than sending the same message to everyone, companies can create journeys that respond to contact activity, interests, and engagement.

A business might send a welcome email after a subscription, follow up with educational content, and trigger a sales message when a contact visits a pricing page or completes another qualifying action.

Its AI-supported capabilities can assist with campaign creation and optimization, while its automation builder supports more detailed customer journeys.

Key automation features: Behavioral triggers, email sequences, contact segmentation, CRM capabilities, lead scoring, and AI-assisted campaign workflows.

Best for: Small and medium-sized businesses, B2B marketing teams, and companies with established email lists.

Consideration: Complex automation requires planning. Teams should map customer journeys before building numerous overlapping workflows.

3. Klaviyo – Best for ecommerce marketing automation

Klaviyo is particularly useful for online stores that want to personalize marketing using customer and shopping activity. It connects marketing communication with ecommerce data, helping merchants develop automated experiences around browsing, purchases, and customer preferences.

A retailer could send an abandoned-cart reminder, recommend related products after a purchase, or create a campaign for customers who have not ordered in several months.

Its AI and predictive capabilities can support audience segmentation and personalized marketing decisions. This is valuable when a store has enough reliable customer data to make those predictions meaningful.

Key automation features: Email and SMS journeys, predictive analytics, behavioral segmentation, product recommendations, and ecommerce integrations.

Best for: Shopify stores, direct-to-consumer brands, and online retailers.

Consideration: Costs can increase as contact volume and messaging activity grow. Businesses should monitor subscriber quality and campaign performance.

4. Zapier – Best for connecting marketing applications

Zapier helps businesses connect applications and automate tasks between them. It is particularly useful when a company uses separate tools for lead capture, email marketing, customer management, forms, spreadsheets, and project management.

For example, a new lead submitted through a website form could automatically be added to a CRM, assigned to a sales representative, and included in an appropriate follow-up workflow. AI steps can also be incorporated into supported workflows to classify information, summarize submissions, or help prepare content.

Zapier is not a complete marketing platform by itself. Its strength is connecting the software a business already uses.

Key automation features: App integrations, multi-step workflows, conditional logic, AI-assisted workflow steps, and automated data transfer.

Best for: Small businesses, agencies, and teams using multiple marketing applications.

Consideration: Monitor task usage and test workflows carefully. A poorly configured automation can duplicate records or trigger unwanted messages.

5. Brevo – Best for affordable multichannel automation

Brevo combines email marketing, SMS, customer management, and automation features in one platform. It can help businesses coordinate customer communication without maintaining several separate systems.

A business could use Brevo to welcome new subscribers, send a promotional campaign, follow up with inactive contacts, and manage customer interactions. Its automation capabilities make it possible to build communication sequences around defined events and contact behavior.

For smaller organizations, having several marketing functions in one platform can simplify operations.

Key automation features: Email automation, SMS campaigns, contact segmentation, CRM functions, transactional messaging, and AI-assisted content features where available.

Best for: Small businesses, startups, and companies seeking an accessible multichannel platform.

Consideration: Review sending limits, contact policies, and the availability of specific automation features under each subscription.

6. Mailchimp – Best for small business campaign automation

Mailchimp is widely used for email marketing and customer engagement. Its campaign tools help businesses create newsletters, promotional messages, and automated communication sequences.

AI-supported capabilities can assist with marketing content and campaign preparation. Businesses can also organize audiences and create automated messages for activities such as welcoming new subscribers or following up with customers.

A small retailer, for instance, could use Mailchimp to send a welcome sequence, announce seasonal offers, and share updates with different customer groups.

Key automation features: Email campaigns, audience segmentation, customer journeys, campaign reporting, and AI-assisted marketing content.

Best for: Small businesses, nonprofits, creators, and companies beginning with email automation.

Consideration: Compare contact-based pricing and feature limits. Businesses with complex customer journeys may eventually need a more advanced platform.

7. Omnisend – Best for ecommerce email and SMS workflows

Omnisend is designed for online retailers that want to coordinate email and SMS marketing. Its automation features help businesses communicate with shoppers throughout the customer lifecycle.

Common workflows include abandoned-cart reminders, welcome messages, order-related communication, and post-purchase campaigns. Product information and shopping behavior can help merchants make messages more relevant.

For example, a clothing retailer could send a reminder to a shopper who leaves items in a cart and later share product recommendations based on the customer’s interests.

Key automation features: Email and SMS automation, ecommerce segmentation, prebuilt workflows, campaign analytics, and AI-assisted content capabilities.

Best for: Ecommerce stores and direct-to-consumer businesses.

Consideration: Make sure SMS campaigns comply with consent requirements and that the business has a clear strategy for coordinating email and text messages.

8. Customer.io – Best for SaaS and product-led businesses

Customer.io helps companies automate messages based on customer behavior and events within digital products. It is particularly relevant to software businesses that want to communicate with users at different stages of their experience.

A SaaS company could send an onboarding sequence when someone creates an account, provide guidance when a user fails to complete setup, and introduce paid features when usage patterns indicate interest.

Its event-driven approach allows teams to build more contextual communication than a simple schedule-based email sequence.

Key automation features: Behavioral messaging, event-based workflows, audience segmentation, multichannel communication, and campaign analytics.

Best for: SaaS companies, subscription services, and product-led businesses.

Consideration: It is more useful when a company can reliably collect and organize product usage data. Technical setup may be necessary for advanced workflows.

9. Adobe Marketo Engage – Best for enterprise B2B marketing

Adobe Marketo Engage is built for organizations managing sophisticated B2B marketing operations. It supports lead management, campaign automation, nurturing, and coordination between marketing and sales.

A large technology company could use it to manage prospects across multiple campaigns, score leads based on engagement, and coordinate follow-up with its sales department.

AI-supported capabilities across enterprise marketing software can help teams improve content workflows and make better use of customer data. Marketo’s strongest appeal, however, is its established marketing automation and lead management infrastructure.

Key automation features: Lead nurturing, scoring, campaign management, segmentation, analytics, and CRM integration.

Best for: Large B2B companies, enterprise marketing departments, and organizations with complex sales cycles.

Consideration: Implementation and administration can be demanding. Smaller businesses may find a simpler platform more economical.

10. Salesforce Marketing Cloud – Best for large-scale customer journeys

Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides tools for coordinating customer engagement across multiple channels. It is designed for businesses that need to manage complex campaigns and use customer data to support personalized communication.

Depending on the product and configuration, businesses can coordinate email, mobile messaging, customer journeys, and other marketing activities. Salesforce’s AI capabilities can support personalization, content workflows, and customer engagement.

For example, a financial services company could develop separate communication journeys for new customers, existing customers, and people who have shown interest in a particular service.

Key automation features: Customer journey orchestration, audience management, multichannel campaigns, personalization, and analytics.

Best for: Large organizations, multinational businesses, and companies with sophisticated customer data requirements.

Consideration: Salesforce offers multiple products and editions. Businesses should identify the specific Marketing Cloud product they need before comparing licensing and implementation costs.

11. Zoho Marketing Automation – Best for businesses using Zoho applications

Zoho Marketing Automation is useful for businesses that want to connect marketing activities with the wider Zoho software ecosystem. It supports campaign management, customer segmentation, lead nurturing, and automated communication.

A company using Zoho CRM could build workflows that move prospects through different stages based on their interactions. Marketing teams can also use automation to coordinate campaigns and track engagement.

The wider Zoho ecosystem is an advantage for companies that already use its CRM, sales, or business applications.

Key automation features: Lead nurturing, customer journeys, campaign management, segmentation, analytics, and integrations with Zoho applications.

Best for: Small and medium-sized businesses already using Zoho products.

Consideration: Businesses should evaluate how well the platform fits their existing systems and whether they need additional integrations.

12. Make – Best for customized marketing workflows

Make allows users to connect applications and build visual automation scenarios. It is useful when a business needs to automate processes that involve several marketing tools or require more detailed conditions than a basic integration.

For example, a company could collect form submissions, use an AI service to classify the inquiry, add the lead to a CRM, and notify the appropriate sales team. Other workflows might organize campaign reports or transfer data between advertising and analytics tools.

Make can also support AI-connected workflows through compatible services and integrations.

Key automation features: Visual workflow builder, conditional routing, application integrations, data transformation, and AI-connected scenarios.

Best for: Marketing agencies, operations teams, and businesses with customized automation needs.

Consideration: Complex scenarios require testing and maintenance. Teams should document their workflows so that changes do not disrupt important marketing processes.

13. Buffer – Best for social media marketing workflows

Buffer helps businesses plan, create, schedule, and publish social media content. Its AI-assisted features can help generate post ideas, adapt copy for different platforms, and refine captions.

For a small marketing team, this can reduce the time spent preparing routine social media updates. A blog article, for example, could be repurposed into several social posts with different introductions and calls to action.

Buffer is primarily a social media management tool rather than a full CRM or email automation platform. It is most valuable when social publishing is a major part of a company’s marketing activity.

Key automation features: Social scheduling, content planning, AI-assisted writing, publishing workflows, and performance analytics.

Best for: Small businesses, creators, and marketing agencies.

Consideration: Social media automation should not eliminate real engagement. Teams still need to respond to comments, questions, and customer concerns.

14. Hootsuite – Best for managing social media at scale

Hootsuite supports social media publishing, monitoring, team collaboration, and performance reporting. Its AI-assisted capabilities can help marketers prepare content and manage aspects of their social media workflows.

Businesses managing multiple brands or social accounts can use a centralized platform to plan content and coordinate publishing. Social monitoring can also help teams identify conversations that deserve attention.

For example, a marketing agency managing several clients could organize publishing schedules, review content, and monitor engagement from a shared workspace.

Key automation features: Social scheduling, content assistance, analytics, monitoring, and team collaboration.

Best for: Marketing agencies, larger businesses, and organizations managing multiple social accounts.

Consideration: Evaluate the number of accounts, users, approval workflows, and reporting features included in the subscription.

15. Jasper – Best for automating marketing content production

Jasper focuses on AI-assisted marketing content. While it is not a complete marketing automation platform in the same sense as HubSpot or ActiveCampaign, it can support the content-production side of marketing workflows.

Marketing teams can use it to develop campaign messages, advertising copy, product descriptions, landing-page text, and email content. Brand voice and reusable content guidance can help teams maintain consistency across campaigns.

For example, a company launching a new service could use Jasper to prepare several versions of its promotional message for email, advertising, and social media.

Key automation features: AI content generation, brand voice guidance, campaign copy, content workflows, and reusable marketing templates.

Best for: Marketing departments, agencies, and businesses producing large volumes of promotional content.

Consideration: Jasper does not replace the need for a CRM, email delivery platform, or workflow engine. It works best as part of a broader marketing technology stack.

How to choose the best AI marketing automation software

The best platform is not necessarily the one with the largest number of features. It is the one that addresses a real marketing problem without introducing unnecessary complexity.

Before choosing a subscription, consider these five factors.

1. Identify the marketing activities you want to automate

Start by identifying repetitive activities that consume time or create delays.

Examples include:

• Sending welcome emails to new subscribers.

• Following up with leads who have requested information.

• Sending abandoned-cart reminders to online shoppers.

• Scheduling social media posts.

• Organizing contacts based on their interests.

• Assigning new leads to sales representatives.

• Preparing campaign reports.

• Sending customer education and onboarding messages.

Choose software that directly supports the activities you want to improve.

2. Check integration with your existing software

Marketing automation works best when customer information can move between applications without constant manual intervention.

For example, a business might use a website form to collect leads, HubSpot to manage contacts, and Brevo to send email campaigns. The systems need to exchange relevant information reliably.

Platforms such as Zapier and Make are particularly useful when a company needs to connect applications that do not have a direct integration.

3. Evaluate AI capabilities carefully

Not every feature described as AI automation performs the same function.

Some tools generate marketing copy, while others predict customer behavior, recommend audience segments, classify leads, or help coordinate multistep workflows.

Businesses should distinguish between:

• Generative AI: Creates email copy, advertisements, social posts, and other content.

• Predictive AI: Uses available data to estimate customer behavior or identify likely opportunities.

• Workflow automation: Executes predefined actions when specific conditions are met.

• AI agents: Can perform more complex tasks through supported tools and permissions, sometimes with human approval.

A company may need all four capabilities eventually, but it does not necessarily need to purchase them from one provider.

4. Consider pricing and scalability

Marketing automation costs can depend on the number of contacts, users, emails, monthly tasks, channels, and advanced features.

A small business may find a basic email automation plan sufficient. A larger organization may need advanced segmentation, CRM integration, multiple user permissions, and detailed reporting.

Do not compare platforms using their advertised entry-level prices alone. Estimate the actual cost at your expected usage level and consider how that cost might change as your audience grows.

5. Review data security and compliance

Automation often involves personal information, including email addresses, purchase histories, website activity, and customer preferences.

Businesses should examine data access controls, retention policies, integration permissions, and applicable privacy obligations. They should also ensure that marketing messages follow relevant consent and unsubscribe requirements.

AI-generated personalization should never rely on information that a company has no legitimate reason to collect or use.

Practical marketing automation workflows businesses can implement

Understanding how automation works is often more useful than simply comparing software features.

Here are four workflows that businesses can build using the tools covered in this guide.

Workflow 1: New subscriber welcome sequence

Workflow 2: Ecommerce abandoned-cart recovery

Workflow 3: B2B lead qualification

Workflow 4: Social media content distribution

These workflows should be tested before being applied to an entire customer database. In particular, businesses should build safeguards that prevent duplicate messages, incorrect customer assignments, and follow-ups after a purchase or unsubscribe.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is the best AI tool for marketing automation in 2027?

HubSpot is a strong choice for businesses seeking an integrated CRM and marketing platform. ActiveCampaign is worth considering for behavior-based email automation, Klaviyo for ecommerce, and Zapier for connecting different applications. The best choice depends on the company’s marketing requirements.

2. Can AI automate an entire marketing campaign?

AI can assist with many campaign activities, including content generation, segmentation, scheduling, lead qualification, and reporting. However, human oversight remains important for campaign strategy, budget decisions, factual accuracy, customer relationships, and regulatory compliance.

3. Are AI marketing automation tools suitable for small businesses?

Yes. Small businesses can use platforms such as Brevo, Mailchimp, Buffer, and Zapier to automate repetitive marketing activities. They do not need to implement an enterprise platform to benefit from automation.

4. What is the difference between AI marketing and marketing automation?

Marketing automation uses software to perform predefined activities, such as sending emails when a subscriber joins a list. AI marketing uses artificial intelligence to assist with tasks such as generating content, analyzing data, predicting customer behavior, and personalizing campaigns.

Modern platforms increasingly combine both approaches.

5. Can AI marketing automation improve lead generation?

It can help businesses capture, organize, qualify, and nurture potential customers. For example, an automated workflow can respond to a new inquiry, assign the contact to a salesperson, and deliver relevant educational information.

However, automation cannot compensate for an unattractive offer, poor targeting, or a product that does not meet customer needs.

6. Which AI marketing automation tool is best for ecommerce?

Klaviyo and Omnisend are particularly relevant to ecommerce businesses because they support customer lifecycle marketing and shopping-related communication. Their capabilities can help merchants automate abandoned-cart messages, post-purchase campaigns, and customer segmentation.

7. Do AI marketing automation tools replace marketing employees?

No. These tools can reduce repetitive work and help marketing employees manage campaigns more efficiently. However, businesses still need people to develop strategy, understand customers, approve content, manage budgets, and evaluate results.

Conclusion

AI marketing automation is becoming an important part of how businesses attract prospects, communicate with customers, and manage marketing operations. The 15 platforms in this guide address different areas of the marketing process, from CRM-connected campaigns and ecommerce personalization to social media publishing and customized workflow automation.

For businesses seeking an all-in-one solution, HubSpot is worth evaluating. ActiveCampaign is suitable for more advanced customer journeys, Klaviyo and Omnisend are strong ecommerce options, while Zapier and Make help connect different marketing applications. Companies with enterprise requirements may also consider Adobe Marketo Engage and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

The most effective approach is to start with one important workflow, measure its performance, and expand automation as the business grows. AI should help a company deliver more relevant communication and improve its marketing operations—not simply increase the number of automated messages it sends.

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Editorial note: This guide is intended for 2027 planning and reflects products and capabilities documented in 2026. Features, integrations, availability, and subscription prices may change. Confirm current details with each provider before purchasing.