Summary:
Last week I attended WordCamp US 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The sessions were good. The AI content was expected. But something was noticeably missing, and it was not a new tool or a better prompt. It was the human element that has always made events like this worth attending. This post is about that, and about why I believe the brands and agencies that put people first will continue to win long after the ones chasing the next technology have lost the plot.
Who this article is for:
Marketing leaders, agency owners, business founders and anyone working at the intersection of technology and human experience who wants a grounded perspective on where AI fits and where it does not.
Key takeaways:
- Every major marketing shift in history, from mass advertising to the internet to SEO, has been won by the people who focused on the audience rather than the tool
- AI is no different. The best use of it is to free up more time for genuine human connection, not to replace it
- WordCamp US 2026 was heavy on AI content and noticeably lighter on the interpersonal experience that makes a conference worth attending
- The most powerful brands in the world use the latest technology to deliver a simple message: how will humans feel using our solution
- Your product is not the hero. Your audience is
- In a world that is feeling less and less human, putting more emphasis on the humans in your community is not a soft strategy. It is the most durable one available
What’s inside:
- What I noticed at WordCamp US 2026 that nobody was talking about
- Why every technology shift in marketing history has been won by audience-first thinkers
- What the biggest brands in the world understand about human connection that most agencies miss
- How AI fits into this picture and what it is actually for
- What I am carrying back from Phoenix and what I wish the conference had done differently
What technology keeps teaching us about people
Big Red Jelly has been building relationships with clients for years. Many of them come back for new projects. Some of our strongest partnerships have been going for more than a decade. I have thought a lot about why that is, and the answer keeps coming back to the same place: even as technology has changed everything around us, the human element has remained constant.
Last week I attended WordCamp US 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona, a gathering within the WordPress community; like other WordCamps, it is a community-driven event focused on WordPress and rooted in an open source spirit. As expected, there were plenty of strong presentations about how AI and technology are shifting website design and marketing. Writing better prompts, using AI in new ways, keeping up with what is changing. Genuinely helpful content. But nothing that shook the ground.
What I noticed as the event went on was something else entirely.
The thing that was missing at WordCamp US
There was a heavy emphasis on technology and AI throughout the conference, but very little attention to what actually makes the world go around. Humans. Speaker after speaker covered better ways to prompt AI, use AI and understand AI. Almost nobody talked about how we can use AI to better connect with actual audiences.
And the conference itself felt it. The interpersonal energy that used to define WordCamp was noticeably quieter. Fewer networking events than in previous years. A keynote that felt like an afterthought rather than the culmination it was meant to be. A closing event that felt isolated and underpowered. Compare that to even last year’s event, where real opportunities for conversation and connection were built into the structure of the whole thing, and the contrast is hard to ignore.
There were still great conversations. I met good people. But the quantity was down, and the intentionality behind creating those moments was missing. What I noticed as the event went on was something else entirely: Contributor Day still drew 425 participants, including 29 first time contributors. Those contributors formed 26 team groups, showing real contribution activity even if fewer people seemed involved with each other in the room.
An in-person event is one of the clearest expressions of how an organization treats the humans it claims to serve. When the human experience is not the first priority, people feel it. It does not matter how good the information is. What people carry with them long after the speakers have finished is the feeling they had while they were there. This year’s WordCamp left me wanting more.
Every technology shift in marketing has been won by the same type of person
This is not a new pattern. It has played out the same way every time the marketing landscape has changed.
When mass advertising first emerged, the most successful marketers focused on the human behind the ad. When the internet arrived, some focused on the technology. The ones who succeeded focused on the audience. When SEO and content became central, some chased keywords and best practices. The ones who made the leap wrote content that answered the actual questions real people were asking.
I believe AI follows the same pattern. It can generate a first draft in seconds, help teams build pages from Google Docs, and help find security flaws faster than ever across complex sites. The people who will look back on this era as a competitive advantage are not the ones who learned the most prompts. They are the ones who used AI to create more space for genuine human work, faster timelines, tighter budgets, more bandwidth for the moments that actually build relationships; for contributors and developers, that also means helping maintain quality while WordPress contributors develop guidelines for AI work. Human review is still essential for AI-generated content accuracy, and these tools do not remove human judgment.
At the end of the day, we are fairly simple. We want to reduce stress in our lives and make the most of our time here. That is why, regardless of how business evolves, one thing stays constant: we just want to work with people we relate to and like. No amount of technology changes that.
What the biggest brands already know about open source
Look at the marketing strategies of the brands that have lasted. Burger King runs CEO-led social media content. Alcohol brands show the fun you can have with friends. Insurance companies lead with the protection they bring to your family. These companies use the latest and greatest technology. But their messaging asks the same question it always has: how will humans feel using our solution?
That question has not changed. The channels have. The tools have. The question has not.
There is a line worth keeping close: your product is not the hero. Your audience is.
Brands that stay focused on the human element will continue to win. Brands that focus too much on the technology will be left behind by the ones that never forgot why the technology existed in the first place.
What AI is actually for
I want to be direct here because this is not an anti-AI argument. You need to understand AI to prepare for what is happening today and what comes next. You can still choose a beginner-friendly path at WordCamp, where workshops required no prior WordPress experience to help newcomers hone practical skills. Participants left those beginner workshops with a year of hosting. That is not optional.
But the best use of AI is to free up more time for human moments. Timelines are getting shorter. Budgets are getting tighter. AI is the tool that makes it possible to keep up with the pace of a fast-changing world. Just like every other tool, though, it is the mind and the strategy behind it that makes it actually useful.
A regular person with a hammer can make a chair. A master carpenter can make a beautiful rocking chair that lasts for decades. The hammer is the same. What the person brings to it is not.
What I am bringing back from Phoenix showcase day
I left WordCamp wanting more. More conversations with peers. More opportunities to meet people doing great work. More of the feeling that the community cares about and supports each other.
Maybe the absence of that was intentional. Maybe an experience like that is meant to motivate people to reach out to each other and rebuild the connection themselves. If so, it worked on me. Session recordings from WordCamp US 2026 are available on the official site, and WordCamp Central is the place to check active schedules and upcoming WordCamp events. Speaker applications for major WordCamps usually open early and close a couple of months before the event, while registration for flagship events typically opens a few months prior. Sheraton Phoenix Downtown is the official hotel for WordCamp US, and it is a 5-minute walk from the convention center. Thanks to the organizers, volunteers, and sponsors who make those gatherings possible, and if you took photos or notes, share them while the experience is still fresh.
What I know for certain is this: in a world that is feeling less and less human, we need to put more emphasis on the humans who are here to experience it. That is true for conferences. It is true for agencies. It is true for every brand trying to build something that lasts.
At Big Red Jelly, the relationships we have built over the years are the reason we are still here. That does not happen by accident. It happens because we have never stopped treating the people we work with as the most important part of the work. Our Brand, Build, Grow framework is built around that belief: before you market to anyone, you have to understand who they are and what actually matters to them. If you want to talk about what that looks like for your business, we would love to have that conversation.
Key takeaways
- WordCamp US 2026 was rich in AI content and noticeably lighter on the human experience that has historically made the event worth attending
- Every major marketing shift in history has been won by people who focused on the audience rather than the technology
- The best brands in the world use the latest tools to deliver the same message: how will humans feel using our solution
- Your product is not the hero. Your audience is. That principle does not age
- AI is genuinely important and genuinely necessary. Its highest and best use is to create more space for authentic human connection, not to replace it
- In a world that is feeling less human, the brands and agencies that prioritize the human element are not being sentimental. They are being strategic
Frequently asked questions about the human element in marketing
What does "the human element" mean in marketing?
The human element in marketing refers to the focus on genuine emotional connection, audience understanding and interpersonal trust rather than purely technical execution. It is the difference between a campaign optimized for click-through rates and one built around what a real person actually needs to feel before they trust a brand enough to act. The human element has never been the opposite of technology. It is the reason technology in marketing exists at all.
Is AI a threat to human connection in marketing?
Not inherently. AI becomes a threat to human connection when it is used to replace the thinking and relationship-building that good marketing requires, rather than to accelerate it. When used well, AI handles repetitive and time-consuming work so that marketers have more bandwidth for the moments that actually require human judgment, creativity and genuine engagement; for example, it can help creators and developers publish faster without removing the need for editorial review and decision-making. The risk is not the tool. It is the mindset that treats the tool as a substitute for the strategy, because AI should support people across the wordpress ecosystem rather than replace them.
Why do the biggest brands still lead with emotion despite having sophisticated technology?
Because emotion is what drives decisions. The neuroscience of purchasing behavior has been consistent for decades: people make decisions emotionally and then justify them rationally. The brands that have lasted, from insurance companies to fast food chains to luxury goods, understand that the question their marketing has to answer is always “how will humans feel using our solution.” Technology changes how that message is delivered. It does not change the message itself.
What made WordCamp US 2026 different from previous years?
The 2026 event in Phoenix was heavily weighted toward AI and technology content, which was expected and largely useful. It also spanned four days of learning, with WordCamp US 2026 including Contributor Day and Showcase Day as part of the broader structure. What was different was the reduction in networking events, a keynote that felt underpowered relative to previous years and a closing event that lacked the community energy the conference has historically been known for. The information was good. The interpersonal experience that makes an in-person event irreplaceable was less present than in prior days.
What does "your product is not the hero, your audience is" mean in practice?
The most useful frame is to ask what AI is freeing you up to do rather than what it is replacing. If AI is handling research, drafting, reporting and repetitive execution, the question is whether you are using that freed capacity to do better human work: deeper client relationships, more thoughtful strategy, more genuine creative thinking, and stronger judgment in hiring and agency team development. The agencies that will win are the ones that use AI to become more human in their work, not less, with cross-functional input from developers and designers rather than automation alone.
