AI is two things at once: overhyped and genuinely game-changing, especially for marketing. 66% of marketers believe AI could replace their jobs within five years, while 61% already use it daily. But what’s real, and what’s just noise?
To help us on this journey, I chatted to experts like Tim Sharp and Nadia Ellis while also taking insights from Section, the AI upskilling school, particularly from Amit Rawal at Apple and Section’s Greg Shove and Taylor Malmsheimer.
Overhyped AI: what’s not so hot
1. Copyright infringement
Tim Sharp, founder of GEN8, lecturer and thought leader of the “AI for Marketers” course at Section, and an award-winning leader in growing global brands like Meta across Asia Pacific, doesn’t hold back regarding AI and copyright issues. He notes,
“Forward-thinking AI companies are licensing their datasets, offering a transparent supply chain. Many are simply throwing questions of fair use to the courts. As an over-impacted function, marketers need to truly understand what their AI tools were trained on, how they recognise copyright and what ‘commercial usage’ actually means.”
Marketers must balance AI’s generative power with a careful eye on the datasets on which the tools are based and the laws surrounding them.
2. Fully automated AI content creation
There’s been a lot of chatter about AI replacing copywriters. But the idea that we’ll no longer need skilled human writers is, as Mark Twain might say, “greatly exaggerated.” AI can churn out gems and garbage; the trick is knowing the difference. Discernment is rapidly becoming the critical attribute of the AI age.
Creative narratives are still the domain of an expert copywriter or creative. One major opportunity is that AI is allowing them more time to craft these narratives by reducing and removing time-consuming tasks like keyword optimisation, alongside the thought partner and creator capabilities of AI that we’ll talk about later in this article.
3. AI Chatbots for all customer interactions
Chatbots are improving, but they still stumble when facing more complex or emotional customer queries. Sometimes, they even create problems—like in the case of Air Canada’s chatbot, which caused such a mess that the airline tried to blame the bot for its own mistakes. For now, there are plenty of situations where only humans will do.
Fractional CMO Nadia Ellis, a digital and AI marketing expert, had this to say:
“It strikes me that people (not just marketers) feel like AI is overblown because it makes mistakes without zooming out and considering where this tech is on its ultimate evolution. We’ve gone from primary school to PhD level reasoning in a few years. I’m unsure if AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is feasible, but as soon as AI starts acting as agents, the world will shift radically.”
AI that’s transforming marketing
1. Copilot for Excel is finally here
Tim says, “A high-stakes update for Copilot, but one of the most consequential; allowing marketers ‘talk to their spreadsheets’ via an LLM/Python. If you’ve ever struggled for data science capability, identifying customer insights just got a whole lot easier. And more secure.”
This could be huge for marketers who aren’t data science experts. Having a conversation with your spreadsheet opens the door to uncovering insights faster and more securely than ever.
2. AI for Data analysis
I recently attended a workshop led by Amit Rawal from Apple as part of Section’s AI for Data Analysis course. It was a total eye-opener. Before AI, I spent more time hunting for data and crunching numbers than drawing out real insights.
Now, AI does the heavy lifting, but you still have to watch out for errors—widely known as “hallucinations.” These are times when AI makes things up or delivers wrong results. Yet, if you can overcome these hurdles, AI doesn’t just speed up the process from data to insight; it improves the quality of your findings and how you share them with others.
One thing that stuck with me from Amit’s session was how he used AI as a “coach,” helping to think through the analysis before diving into the task. It wasn’t just about getting the job done and using AI as a thought partner.
3. AI as thought leader and partner
Greg Shove (CEO) and Taylor Malmsheimer (CCO) from Section are the authors of the fantastic Personal Math newsletter. If you’re into tech and executive leadership, I highly recommend subscribing.
Greg has noticed a surprising trend: “Very few people are using AI to ‘think.’ When I talk to those who do, they share that use case almost like a secret. They’re amazed AI can act as a trusted adviser — and reliably gut-check decisions, pre-empt the boss’s feedback, or outline options.”
Nadia adds an example of a practical application of AI’s thought leadership “persona” for marketers.
“For example,” says Nadia, “I’ve been out of the SEO loop for a while, got a new client, and started riffing with ChatGPT on specific SEO performance metrics. After directing it to a few reputable websites (e.g. Search Engine Journal) and some back and forth, I was up to speed with current SEO thinking and had some great questions for the agency.”
4. AI from first draft to final product (goodbye to the blinking cursor)
In a world where your phone can prevent you from getting lost, I think another problem—staring at a blank screen with that blinking cursor of doom—could soon be a thing of the past. AI is making it easier than ever to get started. Whether it’s a first draft or planning out a content calendar, AI is a handy tool to kickstart the creative process.
The copywriting process with AI reminds me of working in excellent communication teams. These teams are highly collaborative and iterative, from ideation to creation and honing, ending with a firm and remarkably concise editor who takes a red pen to work and sharpens the end product.
AI and marketing: the bottom line
AI is undeniably transforming marketing, but it’s no magic bullet. The key to success is knowing where AI adds actual value and where it’s just hype. AI can help streamline tasks, unlock creativity, and boost efficiency, but it will never replace the human touch. The best marketers know how to blend AI with their expertise, using it to enhance their strategies without losing the personal connection and emotional intelligence that connects with audiences.