S7E17 - How PLG Will Change in 2026: AI Agents, Onboarding & Hybrid GTM With Roelof Otten

In this special live episode from SaaS Summit Benelux in Amsterdam, Joran sits down with Roelof Otten, founder of SaaSmeister, to explore How PLG Will Change in 2026: AI Agents, Onboarding & Hybrid GTM. Together, they break down the biggest shifts coming to B2B SaaS go-to-market—from the rise of hybrid motions and the evolution of sales roles to the transformative impact of AI-powered demos, agents, and conversational interfaces.

Roelof shares actionable, stage-specific insights for founders at every level. You’ll hear why PLG is becoming a company-wide strategy instead of a product feature, how onboarding is expanding beyond the UI, why freemium is harder for AI-native products, and what it really takes to build data tracking that supports growth instead of slowing it down.

Whether you’re moving from sales-led to product-led, building a hybrid GTM, or preparing your SaaS product for an AI-first future, this episode offers a clear roadmap for navigating the changes ahead and meeting buyers where they want to be in 2026.

Tune in to learn how to implement PLG effectively, empower your sales team in a consultative model, integrate AI responsibly, and build growth loops that compound over time.

Key Timecodes

• (0:00) – B2B SaaS, PLG, AI onboarding, AI demos, product-qualified pipeline, GTM 2026, SaaS Summit

• (0:52) – B2B SaaS podcast

• (0:58) – Roelof Otten, SaaSmeister, PLG

• (1:07) – GTM 2026, PLG trends

• (1:42) – Hybrid GTM, PLG, sales-led

• (2:36) – AI GTM, AI agents, AI demos

• (3:12) – Interactive demos, AI sales assistant

• (3:50) – Buyer enablement, AI demo

• (4:20) – In-product AI, trial support

• (4:36) – PLG transformation, sales alignment

• (5:21) – Consultative sales, upsell, PQLs

• (5:43) – PLG funnel, activation, expansion

• (6:00) – Conversational UI, AI UX

• (6:52) – UX transition

• (7:25) – AI platform, data layer, models

• (7:37) – MCP, AI integrations, ChatGPT, Claude

• (8:10) – AI privacy, security, compliance

• (8:46) – Build vs buy AI, LLMs

• (9:22) – PLG first, SaaS trial

• (9:38) – Reditus, SaaS affiliate

• (10:22) – AI costs, freemium

• (10:35) – Freemium strategy, CAC, churn

• (11:39) – Referrals, partnerships, affiliate growth

• (12:33) – In-app referrals, incentives

• (13:06) – Onboarding, nurture, reactivation

• (13:57) – Signup friction, JTBD, ICP

• (14:57) – Personalized onboarding

• (15:14) – Founder-led sales, JTBD, messaging

• (15:45) – ICP focus, activation metrics

• (16:39) – Product analytics, event tracking

• (17:01) – Roelof Otten, SaaSmeister

• (17:15) – Podcast outro, sponsor, Reditus