🤖 AI for humans: Demystifying AI in Marketing with Kirsty Fraser.
Read time: 5 minutes
Table of Contents
- 🤖 AI for humans: Demystifying AI in Marketing with Kirsty Fraser.
- 💭 Everyone is talking about AI
- ⁉️ AI, AI AI – what is AI anyway?
- 😨‘Why are marketers so concerned about AI at the moment?’
- 🔋 Ai has the power to supercharge you, not replace you..
- 🙏Think of it as marketers AND the machine, rather than us VS it
- 🔧 Thought starters and tools that can enhance your marketing
- 🗒️ In summary
Kirsty Fraser wouldn’t call herself an AI specialist, but she is a marketer who is using AI to help her and her busy marketing team achieve more. Which is why she was the perfect person to guide us through this presentation and Q&A session. Here’s what you can expect:
- A guide to the basics of AI
- An exploration into how marketers can navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape
- Practical tips on how to be smart about using AI and turn it into your superpower
- A signpost to future AI trends and opportunities to jump on now
Watch the full session back, or read on for the key takeaways.
💭 Everyone is talking about AI
AI (artificial intelligence) isn’t new. It’s been around for decades but it’s taken until 2023 to see AI consistently being talked about in the mainstream. Now, it feels like you can’t get away from it. Everyone is talking about AI – the potential threats attached to it and how we can utilise it.
It’s being used for everything from inventing new products, to marketing those new products in increasingly creative ways. Because of the advancements in technology, this is happening at a pace that can feel impossible to keep up with.
⁉️ AI, AI AI – what is AI anyway?
According to ChatGPT;
😨‘Why are marketers so concerned about AI at the moment?’
That’s the question Kirsty asked ChatGPT for this presentation. The tool found that according to a survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, the answer is that ‘38% of marketers are concerned about losing their jobs to AI and automation’ – which does sound pretty scary.
Kirsty decided to dig a little deeper and look for evidence of when people have been scared of new technology in the past, and what the results have been. She asked ChatGPT:
The examples GPT gave;
- The invention of the printing press
- New machinery being introduced to the textile industry
- The introduction of the automobile in the early 20th Century
History tells us that there is always resistance to new technology when it arrives, but the people who embrace the tech and work with, instead of against it, come out on top.
🔋 Ai has the power to supercharge you, not replace you..
With all that said, having a fear of the unknown is normal. Kirsty says you’re right to be scared about AI, but not in the way you might initially think.
When we get stuck in the same old ways of thinking, whether as an individual or as part of a team, we can stagnate. Adam Grant’s bestselling book, Think Again, begins with this quote from George Bernard Shaw:
We all want to make progress. Chances are you definitely do, because you’re here, spending your time reading a summary of a webinar on how AI might affect marketers. And the key to making progress, is to be open to changing our minds. Another quote from Think Again explains why this can feel difficult:
The core principle of Think Again is that we can embrace progress in life, by constantly unlearning and rethinking what we believe to be true. Learn more about the philosophy here.
Instead of feeling worried that AI is going to make your skills redundant and take your job, Kirsty explains how your biggest fear should in fact be, ‘not embracing AI when your competitors do’. You can become part of the conversation and innovation attached to AI by embracing change, instead of running away from it.
🙏Think of it as marketers AND the machine, rather than us VS it
Whilst AI can perform certain tasks more efficiently than humans, it lacks creativity, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking skills, which we all know are essential in marketing. And as it stands, these skills are unique to humans. They cannot be replicated by AI. So, it’s time to start thinking about how you, uniquely, can use AI to determine what results you get. From the use cases you can apply it to, to the prompts and questions you ask the tools, use the machine to amplify what makes you (and your business), you.
🔧 Thought starters and tools that can enhance your marketing
Throughout the presentation, Kirsty shared loads of examples of AI and how AI tools can support your marketing efforts. Here are some of the best thought starters:
- Speed up/summarise
Want to communicate a big idea or concept to a group of people who haven’t been exposed to it before? Ask AI to summarise the idea and produce a bitesize explainer to kick things off.
- Banish the blank
Starting off a campaign from a blank piece of paper can be hard. Most of us have been in situations where we need to kickstart a plan and struggle when the ideas just aren’t flowing. AI could provide the boost your project needs. You’re not asking for a finished product, you’re just looking for prompts to get you started. AI can create a starting point to ensure we can find what we’re looking for.
- Personalisation
Can AI make your brand more human? Kirsty shared a sophisticated example of how AI can support us in personalising our marketing efforts, and moving away from product-led segments, to customer-centric experiences. We’d highly recommend watching from 25:05.
🗒️ In summary
Kirsty spoke so humanly about the real fears, thoughts and ideas around AI. If you take just 3 things away and incorporate them into your work today, consider these;
- Questions are the new answers. The most valued case studies of AI show that it’s about asking the right questions to get to where you want.
- AI is a tool and we’re all inventing new ways to use it. Find out what’s right for you and your business.
- Playing it safe is the biggest business risk you could take. The biggest challenge you face right now, is keeping up with your competitors. Don’t fall behind in terms of efficiency, accuracy and customer experience.