Few industries have been rocked harder by AI than marketing. How will AI change marketers’ roles? And how can marketers meet the moment? In this conversation with General Assembly instructors Sharon Lee Thony (Digital Marketing Executive, Founder & Principal of SLT Consulting in New York) and Tom Szekeres, (Digital Consultant and Strategy Director at re~grow in the U.K.) we discuss:
- How marketing firms are harnessing AI to augment their teams’ capabilities
- Why custom Gen AI models are the best for creative applications
- The best approach for marketers to add AI prowess to their skill sets
AI is already making marketers more creative and strategic
Sharon: When people think of working with AI, they imagine using tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to get answers and do work for them. For marketers, however, AI is more than just an automation machine—it’s a powerful tool for enhancing creativity and strategic thinking.
For example, after working extensively with AI, my team has found that the most effective way to leverage these tools is by using them to rapidly generate a large volume of ideas and then establish several creative paths to explore. We input prompts, get our thought starters from the bots, and then expand on the ones that appeal most to us.
Another less sexy—but super efficient—way we use AI is to free our time and our talents from routine administrative work. AI note-takers have been a game-changer for meetings and other tasks.
Tom: Actually, I recently came across a similar example from a consumer brand that’s leveraging generative AI to enhance its marketing function. They began by mapping out around 300 tasks their marketers regularly handled, such as creating briefs, writing copy, and preparing post-campaign reports. From there, they identified about 100 tasks that could be automated or accelerated with generative AI, including concept development and post-campaign media analytics.
The company not only relieved its marketing team of a lot of tedious work, but they also significantly sped up everyday processes. They can now perform post-campaign analyses 90% faster than before—and get better-quality insights as well.
A new crop of AI-centered marketing roles is emerging
Sharon: A lot of the discussion around AI and the future of work is focused around jobs disappearing and workers being replaced. But, the truth is, there’s also a lot of new jobs and roles emerging. More and more companies are hiring people who understand how to work with AI and can help them leverage it to optimize their systems and operations.
For example, at my company, we created a role called Chief AI Officer and gave it to a content strategist who’s been a true visionary in applying generative AI to work faster and more creatively. She’s been using generative AI for tasks like idea generation, headline generation, content strategy development, and data analysis.
Ten years ago, no one would have even thought this was a real job. But, moving forward, I think we’ll see demand for roles similar to our Chief AI Officer quickly grow across sectors.
Tom: Yeah, I agree with Sharon. To follow up on the example I mentioned earlier, that company is actually increasing the headcount in its marketing functions, which goes against the mainstream narrative of AI eliminating jobs.
Customizing AI models is key to securing high-quality outputs
Tom: The most effective way to view AI in marketing today is as a tool for augmentation and efficiency rather than a replacement for creativity. We shouldn’t go overboard in our expectations, and we shouldn’t underestimate the value of human insight or emotional intelligence. As Sharon said, the real value of working with AI comes from quickly generating fifty different headline options, which you can then refine into a few great ones—rather than struggling with a blank page for twice that time to come up with a single one. It’s a great way to overcome creative blocks and get fresh perspectives.
Now, the drawback of using AI in these contexts is that it has a tendency to make everyone sound the same, which can stifle creativity and uniqueness. So it’s important that, when working with it, creatives try to go beyond the defaults and learn how to structure good prompts and refine model outputs. For example, I’ve seen cases where people have customized AI models to their brand by feeding them information like brand guidelines, copy and content examples, and voice-and-tone instructions. It’s helped with issues like generic results or misaligned voice and tone and made the models’ outputs more useful.
Sharon: As Tom says, the key to making these tools work effectively in any context, not just creative, is to train them correctly. One approach that’s helped me and my team avoid many of these pitfalls and integrate AI tools more effectively into our workflows is to think about them as a new hire in our team. If someone shows up on their first day knowing next to nothing about your brand or how you communicate with your audience—how would you get them up to speed? How would you help them get grounded and start producing quality work? Ideally, you’d start by making sure they have a solid grasp of your brand guidelines.
Once that’s established, you move on to more specific details such as key competitors, dos and don’ts, language use, audience context, etc. Well, that’s exactly what we do whenever we’re integrating a new AI technology. And it’s important to remember that, just like training a new hire, that takes time and the work is unlikely to be top quality initially. But, as you provide feedback and more data over time, your model will gain a better understanding of your preferences and generate higher-quality outputs.
A solid marketing foundation will be essential for effectively leveraging the power of AI
Tom: My advice for marketers is twofold: First, don’t wait. Get out, get your hands dirty, and start experimenting with AI as soon as possible. Second, be strategic with your learning. The AI space is quickly getting flooded with niche and emerging models. And, while that’s very exciting, it can also be extremely overwhelming.
The best thing you can do right now is to focus on the big models—think Chat GPT, Gemini, or Llama 3.1. Since they’re the best-known and highest-quality technologies, they’re much likelier to stick around for longer, offer a wider range of practical applications, and attract greater adoption rates from businesses.
Sharon: The most important skills for marketers will be those that will outlast AI. That means understanding fundamentals like creating and executing a marketing strategy, establishing objectives and KPIs, identifying target audiences, and understanding which channels and tactics are best for a given audience or campaign. So it’s really about having the tactical knowledge that then allows you to leverage AI more efficiently and more innovatively.
Moving forward, being an expert in this space means that you understand how to do your job and how to leverage technology to help you achieve your goals. One analogy that I like to use with my students is to think about all these tools—whether it’s Chat GPT, Gemini, Claude, Midjourney, etc.—as colors in a crayon box. Some colors will stay, but others will change over time. And you’ll learn how to combine those colors and make new pictures out of them. But the skill set actually lies in understanding how those tools fit into the bigger picture.
Make it real
At General Assembly, we deliver the goods to keep you ahead of the curve. Our students are thinkers and doers who don’t wait for some imagined future, but build their skills (AI and more) to contribute to the future they want and need. What we offer is a charge-up from the inside out—so change never stops you in your tracks.
Explore our course catalog and move forward with real skills.