Unless you’re living your most peaceful Luddite life, you’ve probably noticed that we seem to be settling into “trough of disillusionment” status on the AI hype cycle. From enterprises telling employees to slow down “tokenmaxxing” to the markets letting out a collective sigh of disappointment earlier this week, AI is no longer getting the benefit of the doubt.

However, there are revenue organizations that have found ways to use AI as a growth engine, and Navan says it is one of those still beaming about the technology. The corporate travel and expense management platform said it has infused AI into many of its functions, and it’s already seeing the results.

Revenue Brew spoke with two Navan executives about how it’s using the technology during its growth push.

AI on the inside: Rev orgs eager to find margins are often on the front lines of AI, and Navan is no different. Grant McGrail, CRO at Navan, told Revenue Brew that his team is using the technology for myriad things.

“We’re always looking for systems that give us better indicators on how we find the right people, how we make sure those people sitting in our business are actually engaged,” McGrail said.

He said his team uses AI in recruiting new sales professionals, generating demand, building out accounts, and account research.

• The company has even created 75 custom Gemini agents that specialize in a trove of rev org duties.

“The sales team has traditionally had [to] engage the right customers, get those customers to believe in our vision and our mission, and then get those customers onboarded,” McGrail said. “So we’re looking at ways that we can drive more efficiency into those workflows.”

AI on the outside: As Navan has grown, reeling in a reported $700 million in revenue last year, AI-driven products have also served as external revenue drivers. President Michael Sindicich told us that implementing AI into products has helped optimize usage for customers. Primarily, this comes down to data and how products can use it to make bookings easier.

Dive into Navan’s growth strategy.—BS

If you’ve ever found yourself surrendering to the thick and stubborn air of South Florida, you’d never guess that same air is being turned into a luxury experience.

• A1R water—founded in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2018 and relocating to South Florida in 2025—uses atmospheric water generation (AWG) technology to pluck water out of thick air.
• The company uses AWG to capture ambient humidity, cool air into condensation, and collect, filter, and finally package the water.

A1R has used their manufacturing process as a broader marketing strategy to break into an increasingly crowded luxury water market.

Building a strategy that flows: Pete Carr, chief executive of A1R water, is a 35-year veteran of the beverage industry. In an email to Revenue Brew, Carr said that the brand’s priority is using connections and experience to get its products into as many hands as possible.

• This includes stocking at brands and hotels like Conrad (Hilton) Abu Dhabi, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Le Meridien.

“The more we can build awareness, the better able we’ll be to drive credibility and commercial traction, which in turn attracts investment and fuels continued innovation,” Carr wrote.

Making a splash: If you ask COO Ryan Bibbo, water hasn’t changed “since Moses was a baby.” The executive said his team is working to market A1R as an innovator. Of course, essential to that is the humid air of South Florida, thus, Bibbo and his team have worked to ink deals with sports teams in the area to drive that association home: It is now the official water of the Miami Heat and Inter Miami CG.

“The ability to actually be a true disrupter in this space—and I think that’s what’s gotten people quite excited, including ourselves—is we are a completely unidentified source of water,” Bibbo told Revenue Brew.

According to research firm Grand View, the global bottled water market is projected to reach $611 billion by 2033.—BS

Consumers around the world aren’t happy about AI use in advertising.

According to new research from The Harris Poll, 4As, and Infillion, more than two-thirds of global consumers view AI as largely a “marketing ploy”—one that could nonetheless make them think less of the companies loudly touting it.

• The new research, shared exclusively with Marketing Brew at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, found that 78% of consumers believe AI makes ads “feel less authentic”; the same amount said they find brands “cringey” when over-using AI.

That sentiment carries into AI-generated advertising: Around two-thirds (63%) said they would be “less likely to purchase from a brand that uses AI-generated ads,” while 73% said they would be “less likely to trust an ad” they suspected was made using AI.

The results reflect broad consumer fatigue about AI in general. More than half (54%) agreed that they hear so much about AI that “it’s starting to annoy [them],” while around two-thirds (65%) of consumers said they would “love if brands would never mention meaningless AI marketing again.”

Keep reading about consumer sentiment for AI.—KS