---
title: 9 Innovative Tech Sessions to Check Out at INBOUND 2018
description: If you're heading to INBOUND 2018 in September, you won't want to miss these innovative sessions exploring cutting edge technologies.
image: https://www.hq-digital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/INBOUND-sign-at-INBOUND-conference-302133-edited-230256-edited.jpg?t=1534646267490&width=1199&name=INBOUND-sign-at-INBOUND-conference-302133-edited-230256-edited.jpg
---

[![HQdigital](https://www.hq-digital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HQ-logo-white.png?width=1018&height=260&name=HQ-logo-white.png "HQdigital")](http://hq-digital.com)

## Blog

# [9 Innovative Tech Sessions to Check Out at INBOUND 2018](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/9-innovative-tech-sessions-to-check-out-at-inbound-2018)

** Jul 18, 2018 / by [Meghan Hultquist](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/author/meghan-hultquist) | **5-Minute Read**

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![9 Innovative Tech Sessions to Check Out at INBOUND 2018](https://www.hq-digital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/INBOUND-sign-at-INBOUND-conference-302133-edited-230256-edited.jpg?t=1534646267490&width=1199&name=INBOUND-sign-at-INBOUND-conference-302133-edited-230256-edited.jpg)

INBOUND is HubSpot’s annual user conference and a community celebration of all things inbound marketing and sales. [This year’s event](http://inbound.com) is September 4-7 in Boston.

INBOUND is always full of interesting educational sessions on the future of tech in marketing and sales, and this year is no exception. In fact, this year’s agenda is more packed with new technologies than ever before. From sessions featuring AI and machine learning to blockchain, it feels like the only thing missing from the INBOUND 2018 agenda is a lesson in quantum computing.

Read on to learn our top picks for INBOUND 2018 sessions featuring emerging technology to check out in Boston this fall.

### ****Automate Your Sales Funnel with AI to Beat Your Competitors****

**Wednesday, 9/5  
11:45 am - 12:45 pm  
Dennis Mortensen, CEO, Co-Founder, x.ai**

AI is a central theme at INBOUND this year as well as in the larger marketing and sales landscape. This session, one of several on AI, centers on the sales funnel, which is ripe for AI-powered automation.

Dennis Mortensen, the CEO and Co-Founder of x.ai, will walk session attendees through AI agents that can help businesses replace outdated sales team rituals and replace them with AI technology to scale productivity and drive more revenue.

### H**ow to Get Started with Artificial Intelligence in Inbound Marketing**

**Wednesday, 9/5  
11:45 am - 12:30 pm  
Paul Roetzer, CEO, PR 20/20**

This session, presented by Paul Roetzer, CEO of PR 20/20, promises to go beyond splashy headlines to explore a framework that makes AI approachable and actionable for all marketers. Roetzer will walk attendees through the "5Ps" of the AI model and will present a collection of use cases and technologies to make your marketing more powerful with AI.

### ****Transforming your Workplace with Alexa for Business****

**Wednesday, 9/5  
11:45 am - 12:15 pm  
Sam Eniojukan, Partner Solutions Architect, Alexa for Business, Amazon Web Services, Amazon**

Many people know Amazon’s Alexa at home, but did you know that this technology also has the potential to transform your business? In this session, Sam Eniojukan of Amazon will explore Alexa for Business, a service that makes it easy for organizations to use Alexa as a tool to increase employee productivity, simplify interaction with enterprise applications, control conference calls and meeting rooms with voice commands, and more.

### ****Breaking Down Blockchain: Understanding the Basics of this Revolutionary Technology for Business****

**Wednesday, 9/5  
1:00 - 1:45 pm  
Lex Hultquist, Founder, CEO, HQdigital**

Blockchain is the technology that underlies cryptocurrencies, but its future holds so much more. Hailed as having disruption potential comparable to the internet, blockchain is one of the most innovative technologies of our time.

In this session, Lex Hultquist, CEO and founder of HQdigital, will break down the basics of blockchain and provide attendees with an understanding of real-world applications for businesses and industry verticals.

This is INBOUND’s only session on blockchain, so be sure not to miss it.

### Blockchain Breakdown

Get the slides from our INBOUND 2018 session covering the basics of blockchain, its history, and real-world applications.

[![Download the Slides](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/4518221/c27b9923-9f98-4f0a-82b4-31cb66a4130a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/4518221/c27b9923-9f98-4f0a-82b4-31cb66a4130a)

![blockchain breakdown slides agenda](https://www.hq-digital.com/hubfs/1.0%20Offers/blockchain-breakdown-slides-agenda.jpg)

### ****How to Ensure AI Doesn’t Make Your Customers Hate You****

**Wednesday, 9/5  
4:15 - 5:30 pm  
Nick Worth, CMO and Chief Storyteller, Selligent Marketing Cloud**

What happens when AI goes wrong? This INBOUND session focuses on the potential dark-side of this emerging technology. Nick Worth, CMO and Chief Storyteller of Selligent Marketing Cloud, will help attendees understand the potential downsides of AI to ensure that marketers don’t alienate customers.

Attendees will also gain an understanding of:

- The current state of AI in marketing
- Capabilities of AI
- Thoughtful applications of AI
- AI fails

### **Workflows, Sequences, and Bots, Oh My!: Leveraging Intelligent Automation For Customer Success**

**Thursday, 9/6  
10:30 - 11:15 am  
Aditya Shah, Premier Inbound Consultant, HubSpot**

This session, presented by Aditya Shah of HubSpot, will dive into new technologies that allow businesses to delight customers at all lifecycle stages while simultaneously reducing waste and increasing customer satisfaction. The session will focus on specific scenarios in which using intelligent automation addressed key business problems for HubSpot customers, and how these lessons can benefit everyone regardless of industry and geography.

### ****How Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Can Turbocharge Your Marketing****

**Thursday, 9/6  
1:00 - 1:45 pm  
Matthew Cooney, Senior Director, Emerging Technologies and Interactive Campaigns ****iMediaAudiences**

According to Matthew Cooney of iMediaAudiences, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) may be the most dramatic evolution of online interaction since the debut of social media. In Cooney’s session, attendees will learn how to harness the power of AR and VR as powerful differentiators.

Attendees will learn:

- The difference between AR and VR
- The different types of AR and VR
- How these technologies are used today
- How to use AR and VR to take your marketing to the next level

### ****As Far as AI Can See: Exploring the AI-Powered Future of Search****

**Thursday, September 6, 2018  
4:45 - 5:30 pm  
Purna Virji, Senior Manager of Global Engagement, Microsoft**

In the era of AI, search engines no longer wait for human users to tell them what they need. Instead, search is progressing to predict what a human needs before a search is ever conducted.

To keep up, savvy marketers need to adapt their strategies to utilize advances in AI. This session, presented by Purna Virji, Senior Manager of Global Engagement for Microsoft, promises to explain just how to do that.

What innovative technologies are you most excited to learn about at INBOUND 2018?

 Topics: [technology](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/topic/technology), [marketing](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/topic/marketing), [HubSpot](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/topic/hubspot)

![Meghan Hultquist](https://www.hq-digital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/meghan.jpg?width=100&height=100&name=meghan.jpg)

#### Written by [Meghan Hultquist](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/author/meghan-hultquist)

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- [HubSpot (31)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/hubspot)
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- [marketing automation (14)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/marketing-automation)
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- [analytics (10)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/analytics)
- [websites (8)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/websites)
- [inbound marketing (7)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/inbound-marketing)
- [optimization (7)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/optimization)
- [HubSpot AI (6)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/hubspot-ai)
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- [lead conversion (6)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/lead-conversion)
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- [HubSpot reporting (4)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/hubspot-reporting)
- [Revenue Operations (4)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/revenue-operations)
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- [Google Analytics (2)](https://www.hq-digital.com/blog/tag/google-analytics)
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