UNBOUND 2026: What We Learned in Boston, and Where to Start

In the latest episode of our Podcast, I sat down with our Operations Manager and HubSpot CRM Specialist, Anna Drogon, live from UNBOUND 2026 in Boston. HubSpot’s flagship conference, known for fifteen years as INBOUND, took place from 16 to 18 September under its new name.

We recorded as the event was wrapping up, with the conference floor still buzzing around us. Our conversation covered the biggest changes to Breeze Assistant and Marketing Studio, but the main point was simple: with so much new in HubSpot, the businesses that benefit most will be the ones that resist trying to do everything at once.

You can listen to the full episode below, or read on for the highlights:

  • 5 min

Ep 33: UNBOUND 2026: What We Learned in Boston, and Where to Start

H2H Sales Automation Podcast

Play

Change is the only constant

One of Anna’s biggest takeaways was the pace of change. The features HubSpot introduced last year have not just stayed put. They’ve moved on quickly, especially around AI and agents.

“Change is constant, and there are so many new things being introduced this year. Things that were new last year are now even bigger and more intense.”

For me, this year’s announcements were really a story of refinement. Most of what we saw was familiar, but it now works better. Breeze is a good example. Teams were encouraged to use it before, but the results were often underwhelming. The same was true of campaigns. This year, both feel much more practical.

Breeze Assistant grows up

The first change Anna is already putting to work is Breeze Assistant. Last year, you might have asked it for your top three companies in a region, or three more prospects in London. Useful, yes. Limited, definitely.

Now it can do far more, as long as the groundwork is in place. If your portal data is clean and enriched, and you record your sales and delivery calls, the assistant can draw on all of that without you leaving HubSpot. There’s no need to copy information into a separate AI tool. It can draft a follow-up email after a delivery call. It can also turn several sales conversations into a detailed, well-structured proposal.

I’d think of it less as a search bar and more as a colleague who has sat in on every call and read every record.

“It’s your best supporter and helper. It will find all the information for you and help you structure the answers.”

One point is worth underlining. The assistant is only as good as the data behind it. Clean, well-captured CRM data is what makes this work, so it’s worth getting that right first.

Marketing Studio brings campaigns into one place

Anna’s second highlight was HubSpot’s reworked campaign tool, Marketing Studio. The whole campaign is now built in one place. You add your inputs step by step: segments, guardrails, key messages and assets. Once that’s done, the campaign is ready to launch and measure.

“Literally sit down, do all the input, and as you build it, you do a little bit more. Then it’s ready to go and measure the results.”

The overwhelm is real, so pick one thing

With so much new, I raised the question many HubSpot users will be asking. What should a business actually change? Where should it start? And what should it decide not to do?

Anna’s answer was simple: don’t try to do everything at once.

“Rather than jumping on five different things, don’t do that. It’s not going to work. Everyone will be overwhelmed, and everyone will just doubt the results.”

Her approach is a sensible one:

- Spend half an hour as a team reviewing the new features that look most useful

- Choose the one that will have the biggest immediate impact and focus on the outcome you want

- Deploy it properly, then move on to the next one

It’s a bit like renovating a house. Finishing one room at a time gets you somewhere liveable far sooner than stripping every room at once.

The buzz in Boston

As the conference drew to a close, I was struck by how much energy was still in the room. People were still exploring the spaces set up for testing new features. My estimate was around 12,000 attendees, mainly from marketing, along with sales and revenue leaders.

For us at AutomateNow, the trip was about understanding what is changing and seeing how other teams are putting it into practice, so our clients can benefit.

Not sure where to start? Join our webinar

If UNBOUND has left you with more questions than answers, join us for our upcoming webinar, *What’s New in HubSpot*, on Tuesday 29 September 2026.

Ready to scale your sales automation the smart way?
Book a call with Bart Kowalczyk or listen to the full episode on
🎧 Spotify |  Apple Podcasts