Montegray Capital Backs Adbot as AI Reshapes Modern Marketing Teams

Montegray Capital Backs Adbot as AI Reshapes Modern Marketing Teams. The era of large marketing departments is being challenged as artificial intelligence reshapes how campaigns are planned, executed and measured. Former FNB chief executive Michael Jordaan is backing that shift through Montegray Capital, which has announced a strategic investment in Cape Town based Adbot, an AI driven marketing automation platform.

The investment comes at a time when the global marketing technology market is expanding rapidly, growing from an estimated 557.94 billion dollars in 2025 toward a projected 2.86 trillion dollars by 2034. Despite this growth, marketers face tightening realities. Industry data shows that 85 percent of global marketing teams now consist of ten or fewer people, with nearly two thirds operating in teams of one to five, while budgets remain largely flat.

Adbot has positioned its platform around this constraint. The company focuses on helping small marketing teams deliver large scale campaigns without expanding headcount. According to Adbot chief executive and founder Michelle Geere, expectations on marketers continue to rise even as resources shrink, creating pressure on time rather than talent.

Research cited within the sector shows that 83 percent of marketers report productivity improvements from AI, saving more than five hours a week, while 92 percent have reduced the number of tools they use. This consolidation reflects a shift toward technology that replaces manual processes rather than adding complexity.

Adbot currently serves more than 2,000 clients across South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria and the United Kingdom, managing Google advertising campaigns for businesses operating under fixed budgets and lean teams. Examples shared by the company include telecommunications provider Herotel achieving a 24 percent click through rate, and sports retailer Racketlon generating fifteen rand in revenue for every rand spent on advertising.

Traditional agency models, built around large specialist teams and high retainers, are increasingly misaligned with these realities. For marketers managing moderate advertising budgets, agency fees can consume a disproportionate share of spend, limiting overall effectiveness.

Montegray Capital’s investment will allow Adbot to expand beyond advertising technology into a broader marketing technology platform. The company plans to develop automated workflows that span strategy development, creative briefing, media placement, optimisation and reporting.

Geere said the goal is not simply automation, but autonomy, allowing systems to make informed decisions with minimal human input. For Jordaan, the investment aligns with a long held view that technology can unlock productivity by solving specific operational problems. Adbot’s next phase will test whether autonomous marketing workflows.