WACO, Texas — Bryan Eisenberg, a pioneering marketer and New York Times bestselling author, will deliver the opening keynote at the inaugural YOU x AI Summit on September 12, 2026, at The Performing Arts Community Center (The PACC) in Waco, Texas. His session, titled "Before the Algorithm, There Was Your Story. That Hasn't Changed," will argue that while technology changes how businesses communicate, the fundamental principles of customer trust remain unchanged.
Eisenberg, who with his brother Jeffrey coined the term "conversion rate optimization" and authored numerous bestsellers including Call to Action and Waiting for Your Cat to Bark, has spent three decades proving that technology is merely a delivery mechanism. "In all persuasive momentum, there are two forces you work on: reducing friction and increasing motivation," Eisenberg said. "Today there is zero friction to produce content. You can generate text, images, and video automatically. Which means the only force left is motivation, and motivation is the human connection. That trust only happens between real humans."
Eisenberg's philosophy is rooted in the analogy that AI behaves like a nervous system: it connects everything, carries signals, and speeds up reactions. However, it does not decide where a business is going or what it believes. Those decisions belong to the people running it. "The more you are you, the better the AI is actually going to be," he said. "It's you with the AI, not the AI instead of you."
This principle is not just theoretical for Eisenberg. From his home base in Round Rock, Texas, he chairs the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce Ambassador program, growing it from 21 to 50 ambassadors, and hosts the Rock Solid: Round Rock Business Leaders podcast, which highlights local business stories. He uses AI to streamline production, cutting hours of work each week, while keeping human judgment central to every decision.
Fernando Labastida, founder of Viral Genius Institute and co-host of the summit, praised Eisenberg's selection: "Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg were writing the playbook for digital marketing when most of us were still figuring out email. Having Bryan open the YOU x AI Summit is a statement about what this event is: practitioners who have lived through every technology wave, showing you how to make this one yours."
The YOU x AI Summit, hosted by Rogue Media Network and Viral Genius Institute, is built on the premise that AI should amplify human ingenuity, not replace it. The one-day event features 14 speakers, 8 hands-on workshops, and an AI showcase, and is expected to draw around 200 entrepreneurs, small business owners, creators, educators, nonprofit leaders, and professionals from across Texas.
The summit will take place on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at The Performing Arts Community Center in Waco. Registration and details are available at youxai.live.
