The opinions expressed by Entrepreneur authors are their very own.
Generative AI has taken the marketing world by storm over the past few years — but it’s no surprise that the approach to AI implementation and the results themselves has often been mixed.
As the age of promoting reportsAmazon wants marketers to embrace AI as the backbone of digital marketing, highlighting LLM’s ability to higher connect with customers through dynamic and more targeted content. However, modern retail notes that many people are still hesitant to quit control of their brand and its creative messaging, even under pressure from Amazon, Google and others to hand over more of their marketing efforts to artificial intelligence.
While the level of AI adoption and the form of AI used vary from company to company, there are key trends that CMOs in particular need to listen to to ensure AI implementation goes easily inside their very own marketing teams.
There are discrepancies between CMOs and entry-level marketers
One of the most important concerns across industries is the disparity in enthusiasm for AI between senior management and lower-level employees. Especially with mass layoffs in the tech industry becoming widespread anxiety about artificial intelligence has made many employees reluctant to use it or see it as an opportunity in their field.
This discrepancy also exists in marketing. According to research report by Lightricks, while 55% of CMOs say they have great confidence in AI’s ability to improve marketing, only 33% of emerging marketers feel the same. This insecurity among emerging marketers can be attributed to differing attitudes about the desired outcomes of using AI in general. The report found that while 27% of CMOs “want a world where little human oversight is needed,” only 5% of emerging marketers felt the same.
Notably, the Lightricks report found that executives were significantly more likely to receive AI training and use AI in meaningful ways in their current roles. When emerging marketers fall behind in such initiatives, feelings of fear and uncertainty turn into more comprehensible.
Such discrepancies may be the results of a number of aspects, but a lack of communication or a clear strategic vision for implementing AI will often be to blame. CMOs could also be excited about testing AI and incorporating it into their work, but failing to address the concerns and needs of the marketing team as a whole will lead to resistance and pushback. This is very true for teams that lack knowledge simply because they have not had the opportunity to experiment with AI in ad targeting, visual asset design, message personalization, or creative ideation.
Eliminating divisions is crucial
For CMOs, the most pressing issue when it comes to implementing AI in their marketing teams is education—namely, helping marketing teams who could also be resistant to the idea of AI understand how it will possibly help them in their work and how it is going to impact strategy marketing of the company as a whole.
Examples of AI getting used to profit marketing teams are common. AND report McKinsey cites several examples equivalent to Michaels Stores using Gen AI to personalize 95% of its email campaigns to increase click-through rates by 25%, Mattel using AI to quadruple product concept images, and Stitch Fix using Gen AI to offer product recommendations and higher understand customer opinions.
Such case studies are useful, but reluctant marketing teams will likely need additional context to understand how AI will profit them, not only the company’s bottom line. The specific use cases for marketing AI in your organization may vary, but eliminating any discrepancies that currently exist is a critical first step towards achieving more uniform results.
CMOs can achieve this in several ways. Offering training on how to use AI tools that are relevant to your team’s work can go a great distance in breaking down barriers and helping everyone involved discover practical use cases. Those who have more experience using a number of AI marketing tools should consider how they will share their knowledge and experience, as it will dramatically increase the capabilities of the entire organization.
CMOs also needs to want to discuss the organization’s strategic vision for the use of AI in marketing, with an emphasis on how it is going to enhance moderately than replace human work. As a part of this effort, CMOs must be open to listening to others in the organization (including entry-level employees) about their concerns or ideas about how to use AI more effectively. This may also help increase trust in an issue that usually lacks trust and transparency.
Ensuring higher use of AI in marketing
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to how a brand can (or should) use AI in its marketing efforts. What works for one brand and its audience could also be completely ineffective or even problematic for one other.
However, marketing directors mustn’t only consider the potential response of their target market. As the disconnect between CMOs and emerging marketers around AI reveals, much stays to be done to ensure AI is incorporated into marketing practices in an ethical and effective way.
By collaborating with managers and finding the only solutions for implementing AI, CMOs may also help their teams successfully navigate this transformation and higher position their organization for significant competitive advantage.