By: Alex Brown
“AI is increasingly replacing Google search, at least in my daily life.” With that straightforward line, Perry Sheraw of Duma Marketing set the tone on Prompt to Market with host Mukund Mohan. The longtime marketer discussed practical AI that could potentially strengthen teams and enhance customer journeys.
From Print Journalism to Data-Driven Marketing
Perry began in newspapers. “I started in print journalism in the nineties.” Reporting helped her communicate clearly through a one-way medium, a discipline she carried into digital roles connecting marketing and sales.
She later ran CRM and marketing inside a national M&A firm and went on to launch and sell a marketing automation agency. Along the way, she became a beta user of HubSpot and a partner across Shopify, Klaviyo, and HubSpot. Today, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Duma Marketing, she focuses on building end-to-end journeys for e-commerce and medical device brands.
Perry’s portfolio spans enterprise, mid-market, and growth brands. For Foundation Medicine, Duma delivered multi-client HubSpot and HTML email campaigns that helped improve consistency and brand alignment. With Sunland RV Resorts, her team built 30 automated journeys across nine properties in ActiveCampaign, aiming to improve segmentation and property-level engagement. For Pureboost, Duma nurtured 7,000+ Facebook leads through Klaviyo and Shopify workflows, resulting in open rates above 20% and supporting scalable growth.
What AI Changes Next in Automation
Asked how automation will shift over the next five years, Perry was direct: “It’ll likely become more relevant. It’ll have more triggers and touch points that are based on consumer behavior that’s more meaningful.” She believes AI could enable true personalization at scale – journeys might potentially branch intelligently, with offers and sequences adapting to real behavior.
Perry also mentioned AI could help marketers justify investment. Better data may make the business case clearer for enterprise upgrades and tool expansion. In short, the business case could become more apparent.
Practical AI: Analytics, Content, and Controls
Perry uses AI for research, analytics, and creative variation. It helps her consolidate market data for presentations and test subject lines and SMS options at speed. “We utilize prompts, we test the prompts.” She compares outputs across models and versions to maintain quality.
She is realistic about hallucinations. Her approach is simple and human. “We read it.” That means checking claims, triangulating sources, and keeping teams accountable for accuracy.
AI also helps reduce production time on repeating deliverables. “I can remember spending an entire three to four hours on a kickoff deck.” Now she trains models to generate structure and drafts, then polishes the final. The goal is to free minds for strategy and customer impact.
Jobs, Teams, and Why the Human Layer Still Matters
Perry rejects the idea that AI should replace people. “I have found that rather than looking at it as something that’s going to remove a lot of jobs, I’m looking at it more as just a way to elevate the existing jobs.” She expects higher expectations for small teams but does not foresee a near-term collapse in hiring across marketing.
She is more cautious about junior data roles that rely on repeatable analysis. Those jobs may evolve faster. Still, she believes customer expectations will likely keep rising as best-in-class experiences spread. That pressure will likely demand skilled humans who can set strategy, judge nuance, and guide AI with context.
Privacy, Memory, and the Next Guardrails
Perry sees promise in persistent profiles and agent memory, yet she points to unresolved legal and privacy questions when teams upload consumer data to AI systems. Controls will likely matter. Secure stores and tight permissions could be the path forward for responsible personalization.
Why This Matters Now
Perry’s career arc mirrors the shift from mass messaging to measurable, personal journeys. Her outcomes at Foundation Medicine, Sunland RV Resorts, and Pureboost show how disciplined automation can compound revenue. Her viewpoint on AI is pragmatic: use it to expand options, speed analysis, and personalize at scale, but keep people in the loop for insight, ethics, and the last mile of quality.
For brands with gaps between email, SMS, and sales, her advice is implicit: start with the customer experience. Use AI to branch smarter and measure faster. Protect data. And keep the message human.
