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# From building to directing: what K:SGP revealed about marketing's AI shift
- URL: https://www.techstories.co/from-building-to-directing-what-k-sgp-revealed-about-marketings-ai-shift/
- Published: 2026-10-21T09:50:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T04:58:58.000Z
- Description: The marketer's job is changing, but the goal hasn't.
- Author: Paul Mah
- Tags: Events, AI

Did you know that Singapore consumers lead the world in AI-assisted shopping? Which means brands that aren't already targeting AI agents are set to lose out. This nugget was revealed at Klaviyo's inaugural K:SGP in Singapore, which drew more than 150 attendees, including scores who flew into town just for it.

### From building to directing

Marketers have never had it easy. First came the transition to digital, then the shift towards evidence-based decisions built on data and analytics. And now, AI. If one thing was quickly apparent at the conference, it was how the marketer's job is shifting from building to directing.

Klaviyo's CMO, Jamie Domenici, showed what this means in practice. Given a query about beauty trends in Singapore, the AI-powered composer kicked into gear. It built a campaign using external signals and her own data, created collaterals across email, WhatsApp and LINE, and highlighted the compliance rules that apply in Singapore.

Her role in all this? In her words, to provide the taste and, if necessary, to challenge the system.

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-61c546f5ea6fda6d.jpg)

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-da1651169b66d2ae.jpg)

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-c1e132aab33d47b4.jpg)

****Photo Credit**: Paul Mah

### Marketing to machines

Marketers now have two audiences, Jamie noted: the customer, and the customer's AI agent. And the latter is immune to everything marketers are trained to do.

An agent won't be moved by storytelling or aesthetics. It compares price, specs and facts. That means structured product data, clear claims and clean catalogues now matter as much as the creative.

Saturday Club's COO, Ying Tze Her, put it plainly. When AI shopping assistants appeared, the brand's first move wasn't a chatbot. It was cleaning up years of messy product titles so that agents could read them.

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-caca79b5f0044c47.jpg)

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-34c2bdd13ed16cf0.jpg)

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-bc0ed61e753f815a.jpg)

****Photo credits**: Paul Mah

### Two surprises

Beyond the demos, two things caught my attention. The first was an open rate of 70 to 80%. In a market crowded with parallel importers and much cheaper Chinese brands, Saturday Club's open rate was mind-boggling. The 45% I get for my own newsletter looks puny in comparison.

The second was the case for stepping outside the box. It was clear that marketers are already using AI heavily. But the bigger wins will likely require more creative thinking. For example, preferences learned through agents could be captured to shape more targeted offerings in the future.

Ultimately, the tools will keep changing. What marketers are trying to do with them hasn't: understand a customer well enough to offer the right thing at the right time.

Or as Klaviyo co-founder Ed Hallen put it: "The humans haven't changed. We're still excited by great brands, by the shopping experience. \[But\] the way those things happen has certainly changed."

I also had the privilege of moderating a delightful panel with Dermalogica's Tanya Mar, Plaud's Steven Ang and FILA's SangUn Jung. More on that in a separate piece.

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-d2fdd59155b8b42b.jpg)

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-ab585b3d8d8c06e3.jpg)

![](https://www.techstories.co/content/images/2026/10/source-9fba15929ff299fa.jpg)

****Photo credits**: Paul Mah