Better Together Agency Founder and CEO Catharine Montgomery has been recognized in the AI and Innovation Leaders category of Ragan's Top Women in Marketing Awards 2026, highlighting the growing influence of responsible artificial intelligence in marketing and communications. The recognition follows the launch of TogetherAI, a private AI platform designed to help nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and startups generate secure, brand-consistent communications while addressing concerns around AI bias, governance, and data privacy.

The increasing focus on trustworthy artificial intelligence in enterprise communications has earned Better Together Agency Founder and CEO Catharine Montgomery recognition as one of Ragan's Top Women in Marketing Awards 2026 honorees in the AI and Innovation Leaders category.

The annual awards recognize marketing professionals whose leadership and innovation have advanced the marketing industry across brands, agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Montgomery's selection reflects her work in developing TogetherAI, an AI-powered communications platform introduced earlier this year to address a growing need for privacy-first, organization-specific generative AI tools.

Unlike general-purpose AI assistants that rely primarily on publicly available information, TogetherAI is designed to work exclusively with an organization's approved messaging, internal reports, and proprietary data. The platform enables users to generate communications using their established brand voice without requiring complex prompt engineering, while keeping organizational information private.

The launch reflects a broader shift in enterprise AI adoption, where businesses and nonprofit organizations are increasingly seeking specialized AI solutions tailored to their operational requirements rather than relying solely on consumer-focused generative AI platforms.

One of TogetherAI's distinguishing features is its emphasis on responsible AI. According to Better Together Agency, every generated response is evaluated for potential bias across multiple dimensions, including race, gender, age, disability, income, and geography. This approach aims to improve both the consistency and inclusiveness of AI-generated communications while reducing the need for extensive manual editing.

The platform was developed following two years of research led by Montgomery into bias in generative AI systems. That research continues to inform the product roadmap, with the agency planning to publish its third annual study on AI bias later this year.

Responsible AI has become an increasingly important priority across industries as organizations seek to balance automation with governance and regulatory compliance. Enterprise buyers are placing greater emphasis on explainability, transparency, privacy, and ethical AI practices when evaluating new technology platforms.

Beyond product development, Montgomery has also contributed to AI policy discussions through academic and industry initiatives. In 2026, she completed the Center for AI and Digital Policy's AI Policy Clinic, where her work focused on major international AI governance frameworks, including the EU AI Act, the Council of Europe AI Treaty, and UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.

Her industry engagement extends to conferences focused on AI governance and enterprise communications, including events featuring organizations such as Google DeepMind. These activities reflect the growing convergence of AI technology, public policy, and enterprise marketing as organizations adapt to evolving regulatory expectations.

The recognition also illustrates a wider trend within the MarTech landscape. As generative AI becomes embedded in marketing operations, organizations are increasingly moving beyond content generation toward AI platforms capable of preserving brand consistency, protecting proprietary information, and supporting organizational governance.

Research supports this direction. According to Gartner, responsible AI governance is becoming a strategic priority for enterprises deploying generative AI at scale. Meanwhile, McKinsey & Company reports that marketing and sales remain among the business functions realizing the greatest measurable value from generative AI adoption, provided organizations establish appropriate governance frameworks and quality controls.

Better Together Agency reports that organizations using TogetherAI have reduced the time required for policy-related communications by approximately 15%, enabling staff to devote more attention to strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and creative initiatives rather than repetitive drafting tasks.

Competition in the enterprise AI communications market continues to intensify, with technology providers including Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Adobe integrating generative AI into productivity and marketing platforms. Rather than competing directly as a broad AI assistant, TogetherAI differentiates itself by focusing on nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and mission-driven enterprises while emphasizing privacy, bias mitigation, and communications governance.

For enterprise marketing leaders, Montgomery's recognition highlights a broader evolution in AI adoption. Success is increasingly measured not only by automation capabilities but also by how effectively AI aligns with organizational values, regulatory requirements, and trusted communications practices.

Montgomery will be formally recognized during Ragan's Top Women in Marketing Awards Luncheon scheduled for October 22, 2026, in New York City.

Market Landscape

Generative AI is rapidly transforming enterprise marketing and communications, but organizations are placing increasing emphasis on governance, privacy, and ethical AI deployment. According to Gartner, responsible AI has become a strategic priority as businesses scale AI adoption, while McKinsey & Company identifies marketing and communications as leading beneficiaries of enterprise generative AI investments. Industry demand is shifting toward domain-specific AI platforms capable of protecting proprietary data while maintaining brand consistency and regulatory compliance.

Strategic Outlook

The next phase of enterprise AI will likely be defined by specialized platforms designed around organizational workflows rather than general-purpose AI assistants. Solutions that combine secure data handling, explainable AI, governance controls, and brand-specific knowledge are expected to become increasingly important for enterprises, nonprofits, and public sector organizations navigating evolving AI regulations and customer trust expectations.

Top Insights

• Catharine Montgomery's recognition reflects growing industry demand for responsible AI platforms that prioritize privacy, governance, and brand consistency alongside productivity improvements.
• TogetherAI differentiates itself by using proprietary organizational knowledge instead of relying solely on publicly available AI training data, improving communication accuracy.
• Bias detection across race, gender, age, disability, income, and geography addresses a growing enterprise requirement for ethical AI deployment and inclusive communications.
• The platform demonstrates how vertical AI solutions are evolving beyond content generation toward secure enterprise communications and governance applications.
• Responsible AI practices are becoming a competitive differentiator as organizations evaluate enterprise AI investments alongside regulatory compliance and trust requirements.

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