# Paul Roetzer

> Paul Roetzer is the Cleveland-based founder and CEO of SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute, creator and co-host of The Artificial Intelligence Show, author, and creator of MAICON. A former agency founder and Ohio University journalism graduate, he began researching AI in 2011 and now focuses on accessible AI education and human-centered organizational change.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at SmarterX and Marketing AI Institute; creator and co-host of The Artificial Intelligence Show
- **Organizations:** SmarterX, Marketing AI Institute, The Artificial Intelligence Show, Marketing AI Conference (MAICON), PR 20/20 (now Ready North)
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Ohio University, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism
- **Known for:** Founded HubSpot’s first partner agency, PR 20/20, and sold it in 2021., Created Marketing AI Institute, MAICON, and AI Academy., Co-authored Marketing Artificial Intelligence with Mike Kaput in 2022.

## Career timeline

- **2000** — Graduated from Ohio University with a journalism degree.
- **2005** — Founded PR 20/20 in November, aged 27.
- **2007** — PR 20/20 became HubSpot’s first partner agency.
- **2011** — Began studying AI after IBM Watson’s Jeopardy! performance.
- **2012** — Published The Marketing Agency Blueprint.
- **2014** — Published The Marketing Performance Blueprint.
- **2016** — Started Marketing AI Institute as an internal agency research and publishing project.
- **2019** — Created the inaugural Marketing AI Conference (MAICON).
- **2021** — Sold PR 20/20 and launched the free Intro to AI class.
- **2022** — Published Marketing Artificial Intelligence with Mike Kaput; the podcast relaunched.
- **2025** — Announced the AI Literacy Project in January.
- **2026** — Announced The AI Transformation Blueprint and AI Score; created SmarterX Labs.

## Achievements

- Founded HubSpot’s first partner agency, PR 20/20, and sold it in 2021.
- Created Marketing AI Institute, MAICON, and AI Academy.
- Co-authored Marketing Artificial Intelligence with Mike Kaput in 2022.
- Official biography reports more than 40,000 registrations for the free monthly Intro to AI class since its 2021 launch.
- Built dozens of AI Score prototypes with Claude, according to a September 2026 account.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — In an October 19 recap, reported that MAICON 2026 drew nearly 2,000 attendees to Cleveland on October 13–15, with sessions from Kevin Roose, Andrew Yang, and Karen Hao.
- **2026-09** — Announced The AI Transformation Blueprint and companion AI Score assessment, with an October launch planned; the September announcement alone does not establish completed public release.
- **2026-09** — A September 29 company article described his estimated 300–400 hours developing AI Score assessments and prototypes using Claude.
- **2026-05** — Wrote about difficulty keeping up with AI and the creation of SmarterX Labs for practical building sessions.

## Links

- Website: https://www.paulroetzer.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulroetzer/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/paulroetzer
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/paulroetzer.bsky.social
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRoetzer

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paul-roetzer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23