On the 23rd of November 2023, technology marketing recruitment specialist, Katie Scott,...
On the 23rd of November 2023, technology marketing recruitment specialist, Katie Scott, hosted a roundtable discussion for industry leaders. The technology industry has undergone a number of changes over the past couple of years. This event was a great opportunity to come together as a community to discuss the impact on marketing teams.
A key theme of the morning’s conversation focussed on AI. Each technology business seemed to be at a different stage with their understanding and adoption of the software. While some marketers joined us from an artificial intelligence background, others were still growing their knowledge in the space.
This was a great opportunity to share learnings and opportunities for the tool in marketing teams. Read on for key takeaways from their conversation.
Interestingly, there was some divide in the room around AI and its adoption into marketing teams. Some have fully embraced its ability to create content, going as far as using tools to create videos using avatars. Meanwhile, others have had the software restricted from their businesses, due to ownership concerns.
There are several benefits of using artificial intelligence in your marketing across a range of skills, including:
While the above may seem advanced, where AI can really benefit any business is removing the repetitive, monotonous tasks. By reducing the time spent on these, your marketing teams can make better use of their skills and deliver value elsewhere. Re-focussing their efforts on driving brand awareness and improving customer experiences, for instance.
As with any new technology, there are concerns. The main internal concern is around the legalities, policies and data security when using artificial intelligence. As a result, many businesses are avoiding the software.
“Because of fear, they have said no ChatGPT, no AI tools for creation."
When using publicly available technology, your business doesn’t own the rights to anything that is produced. In fact, the machine learning algorithms will use the data you input to continue generating content for your competitors. This puts your intellectual property at risk.
AutogenAI’s founder warned against the use of publicly available AI tools, such as ChatGPT, in our recent webinar on the topic.
Many businesses have taken this approach, especially larger enterprises, professional services and financial services organisations who need to protect highly confidential information. Instead, these organisations are building their own tools that will be used for internal use only. This allows them to use data without restrictions or fear.
Meanwhile, customers also have concerns. Many are nervous about artificial intelligence from an ethical perspective.
The public has become increasingly conscious of fake news over the past few years, and AI has certainly increased its production. This has caused a level of fear, with 76% of consumers concerned about misinformation from AI tools.
“Part of our messaging is a data nutrition label."
It was agreed that this is largely due to a lack of education on artificial intelligence and how consumer data is being protected.
One of the marketing leaders in the room shared that one way to combat this trepidation is to become more transparent with your marketing and AI use. Many big corporations and social media platforms are already marking which piece of content have been created with artificial intelligence. This attendee suggested taking it a step further, and sharing where your data has been sourced from, too.
Despite these concerns, it’s undeniable that the modern marketer must adopt AI technology into their strategies to stay competitive. A blanket ban is not the solution. Companies need to put the strategies and people in place to successfully introduce AI into marketing teams.
“There is a longevity risk. If you don’t adopt it early on, catching up skills-wise is near impossible."
The development of artificial intelligence is certainly varied. Whilst some will be finding massive advantages to using the technology already, others will be yet to see its benefits.
Nevertheless, it’s crucial to get to grips with the tools. This way you’re prepared for when you must adopt AI into your marketing strategies. Keep in mind that the later you adopt, the more difficult it will be difficult to catch up to your competitors. You’ll find that those who moved quickly have already built teams around it.
The marketing leaders who have already adopted artificial intelligence into their strategies have started to build teams around it. Re-structuring and upskilling members of their organisation to accommodate for artificial intelligence.
This fact led to the marketing leaders questioning whether jobs can be or will be replaced by AI.
They agreed that there is no risk to marketers for the foreseeable future. It will, however, be important for candidates to upskill in AI-based skills, including:
“The people who are capable on the tool are far less likely to be replaced than those who aren’t."
The introduction of these skills might mean that job titles change, but our marketing leaders believe that this does not risk people’s careers. New jobs will be and have already been created, such as Prompt Engineers.
Outside of the need to re-structure their marketing teams, the marketing leaders in the room also shared how expectations of marketing has changed since the introduction of AI. Now that artificial intelligence has sped up processes, the senior leadership team expect a lot more from marketers. Where previously they could expect one blog post a day, now they can expect 100.
The next challenge is whether or not this is the best use of marketing time. Should marketers use their time creating hundreds of pieces of content? Or should they re-focus on brand messaging and tailor content to their target audience? It's a question of quantity or quality.
Thank you to the technology marketing leaders for joining us and sharing your thoughts on AI marketing with us. We hope you found it as insightful as us!
If you missed out on this event, but would like to join us in the future, register your details below. We have lots of events planned for 2024 and would love for you to join us.
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