A few days ago, Andrej and I hosted two webinars on HubSpot’s latest announcements from this year’s Inbound. Over 600 sign-ups across two countries—clearly we hit a nerve. After one session, a longtime colleague reached out—we’ve known each other for 20 years, and he’s been a FrodX client for 13:
“Igor, I still remember when you first walked me through the Inbound Funnel. Then you upgraded it with HubSpot’s Flywheel. I bought into both and built them into my business. But this Loop… it feels forced. Conceptually, there’s nothing new here—just another framework so we can say we’ve got something ‘fresh’ again.”
That stuck with me. After 20 years, he still tells it like it is. And he’s not wrong. Loop isn’t some groundbreaking rocket science. The difference this time is that it’s not just a PowerPoint slide for a pep talk. Loop is something you can actually run—end to end, on one platform. And that changes everything.
The SaaS safari
The average company today juggles more than 120 SaaS tools. They call it an ecosystem. I’d call it a safari.
One client had 14 tools just for lead generation. The result? More time spent chasing data than chasing customers. The “integration tax”—waiting, manual transfers, duplicated effort—was chewing up 20% of their budget. That’s the kind of friction that kills the Loop.
So the question is: are the tools slowing us down—or our habits? Usually both. But everyone agrees on one thing—the safari is expensive.
Hybrid teams: people + AI
If you’re looking for what’s truly new, it’s not the Loop as a framework. The real breakthrough is that HubSpot is becoming a platform where hybrid teams can actually work—humans and AI agents, side by side.
AI agents take on the grunt work (routine questions, draft proposals, call summaries). People step in where relationships, judgment, and creativity count. The result? The Loop doesn’t stall waiting for “the next available rep.” Teams move faster, stay in sync, and strip out needless friction.
That’s the leap forward. That’s why Loop isn’t just another diagram on a slide—it’s becoming a real growth engine.
AEO: breakthrough or snake oil?
AEO—AI Engine Optimization—is supposed to be the new SEO. Honestly? Right now it feels closer to digital snake oil. There’s no real proof yet that we can reliably “optimize” LLMs.
But think back to SEO in 2005. The early experimenters are still cashing in today. That’s why I wouldn’t write off AEO. I treat it like a portfolio play: small bet, measurable outcome, no fairy tales.
Risk now or wait for the train?
This is where leadership teams split:
- Jump in now: consolidate your stack into a single platform where the Loop actually runs. Even if AEO fizzles, you still win—fewer tools, less friction, faster cycles.
- Wait it out: no upfront cost, but you pay the opportunity cost of learning. Meanwhile, competitors are building muscle memory. By the time AEO matures, you’ll still be stuck in safari mode.
The biggest risk today? That AEO might flop? No. The biggest risk is that your safari of tools is already strangling the Loop.
If I were in your shoes…
- Run an audit: how many tools do you really need, and where are you paying the integration tax?
- Build one data stream—one source of truth about your customer, from first signal to repeat purchase.
- Set the rhythm. Loop only works when it flows: hypothesis → execution → measurement → decision. This isn’t a quarterly initiative.
Bottom line
Loop isn’t magic. It’s only as valuable as your ability to run it end to end on a single platform with a team that knows how to iterate. If AEO explodes tomorrow—great. If not, you’ll still be faster, leaner, and better aligned.
Let’s be blunt: the biggest growth hack of 2025 isn’t AEO, generative content, or the next shiny CRM. The real hack is cutting out the integration tax. And you could start tomorrow.
Curious how Loop could actually work in your team—not on a slide, but in practice? Let’s grab a coffee and I’ll walk you through our first hands-on experience with HubSpot’s Prospecting Agent at FrodX.
📧 igor.pauletic@frodx.com
