YOUR 2026 MARKETING BUDGET HAS A HOLE IN IT — AND IT'S CALLED TOKENS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

AI token costs are a fast-growing gap in 2026 marketing budgets because usage scales quickly and is hard to predict. Traditional B2B budget splits of about 45% headcount, 45% programs, and 10% technology are shifting as tech spend rises by 2% to 3% due to AI tools and data needs. Headcount is flat at many SaaS companies, but expectations are higher. AI-native companies are hiring as revenue grows faster than staff. Program spend is steady but faces pressure to lower cost-per-outcome with the help of AI. The biggest challenge is forecasting token usage for both internal AI work and vendor pricing, since even providers lack clear benchmarks.