Intuit’s Thomas Ranese says the funnel isn’t dead. It just won’t sit still

That thinking also underpins Intuit’s partnership with OpenAI. “Now you don’t even need to discover our product on our platform,” Ranese said. “You can be in chat and get the functionality, the trust and the confidence of Intuit from where you’re already using the product.” Discovery, in other words, no longer belongs to a single destination.

From DIY software to ‘done-for-you’

Ranese described Intuit as an AI company long before AI became a headline obsession. “It’s something we’ve invested in over the last decade, so we were sort of ready for this moment.” That investment is now pushing the company beyond its roots in do-it-yourself software and into what he called a “done-for-you” category.

“We were a legacy leading player defining DIY software. Now we believe we’re the leading player defining done-for-you solutions, where AI is actually able to drive those solutions across your financial life.” That includes consumers managing credit and wealth, as well as small businesses moving from lead to cash with less friction.

That evolution has also changed how Intuit presents itself. “On the marketing side, it means going from a house of brands to a branded house,” Ranese said. The intention is to connect products that once felt separate into a single platform story, rather than marketing each one in isolation.

Automation is easy. Judgment is not

As AI becomes part of everyday workflows, Ranese stressed that speed alone is not the win. “Marketing has always been an art and a science,” he said. “AI is really about balancing bots and humans.” At Intuit, automation is handling tasks like asset production, keyword analysis and content optimization. But he is wary of what happens when everyone relies on the same systems.

“There is a risk that AI can homogenize everything. It’s all feeding off similar data.” To counter that, Intuit has been “doubling down on the creative craft,” particularly through in-house teams focused on insight and originality. “What we need to do is make sure we’re bringing human insight and emotion to the moment.”

From search visibility to generative authority

One of Ranese’s sharper observations was about how discoverability is changing. “We’re going from a place where search played such a dominant role to becoming much more focused on generative authority.” The question now is whether a brand is seen as a credible expert when people ask questions of large language models.

That creates new pressure. “We can’t rest on our laurels,” he said, noting that even established leaders have to keep optimizing how their expertise surfaces in AI-driven environments. Metrics are still forming and no single platform has settled on answers. “I don’t think the platforms yet know how that’s done,” Ranese said. “We’re all figuring that out in real time.”

To keep pace, Intuit has launched strike teams and is building dedicated marketing AI expertise, even as it pushes toward a future where “every marketer should be an AI marketer.”

Branding in a conversational future

Looking ahead, Ranese expects AI to become invisible through ubiquity. “In 10 years, it will be fully embedded in everything we do,” he said, much like digital is today. That raises new questions for brand building as interfaces become more conversational and less visual.

“What does it mean to be a brand in that age?” he asked. “How are you recognized by your tone of voice, maybe even more than your logo?” For Ranese, that is where some of the humanity of branding can reassert itself, if marketers are intentional about how those interactions are designed.

Despite the scale of change, his outlook remains grounded. Customers, especially small business owners, are embracing AI because it saves time and puts money back in their pockets. But there are limits. “Technology can’t do everything. People still want the expertise or, frankly, the empathy and confidence that comes from another individual who walks in their shoes.”